CovED ’20-’21

We have always felt blessed to have our school located in the tranquil hills of Hardwick, and never more so than at this moment in our history. You would be hard-pressed to find a more ideal location to educate bright young minds in the midst of a pandemic. With 300 acres of open space, we are remote enough largely to avoid urban levels of COVID-19 transmission, and yet we are only thirty minutes from first-class medical care. We intend to use these advantages—and the advantage of having the additional months to prepare our plans and our campus—to provide our students with a safe, world-class education.

We will continue to follow our school year calendar as published, including maintaining the dates of our April 16 - 25 vacation. In addition to providing all students the typical and necessary spring break, this will also preserve the opportunity for a sooner return to in-person learning (on April 26) for any students whose quarantine period did not allow them to return in February.   

All domestic boarding and day students must complete a PCR Covid-19 test taken on Thursday, February 18, 2021 (not a day before or a day after). We strongly recommend that everyone utilize Vault testing (https://www.vaulthealth.com/covid) to complete this requirement as Vault has guaranteed EHS that they will have your child’s result back before the Sunday return.  In the unlikely event that you do not have your results back from Vault prior to your child’s return on Sunday, February 21, 2021, then your child will still be allowed to return on that Sunday if you are able to submit documentation confirming that the Vault test was taken and mailed on Thursday, February 18^th. My suggestion is that you order your child’s Vault home test kit today to have it ready.  If you choose not to follow the Vault recommendation and do not have your PCR test results by Sunday, February 21^st, then your child will not be permitted to return to campus until after the April vacation.  Similarly, PCR tests taken prior to Thursday February 18, 2021 will not be accepted, and your child will be required to learn online from home until after April vacation. Antigen tests will not be accepted as a substitute for a PCR test.

International Boarding Students:  Per U.S. requirements, international students flying in from outside the U.S. must present a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than three days prior to flight. Eagle Hill is requiring that this test be a PCR test.

All faculty and staff will also be tested for COVID-19 just prior to the start of school on February 21.

Boarding students will be administered an antigen test by EHS upon their arrival to campus on February 21^st.  Day students will be administered an antigen test prior to their first period on February 22^nd or may sign up for a slot on Sunday the 21^st. These tests cannot substitute for the PCR test required above. Further instructions about the antigen testing as it relates to drop-offs will be sent in the coming weeks. It will run similarly to January’s drop-off protocol.

On February 28^th and March 1^st, in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, we will administer another PCR test to all students. We will begin lifting campus restrictions in a phased approach once we have received negative Covid-19 results from the Mayo Clinic.. 

Importantly, evaluation and access to testing will also be available through the Health Center throughout the year. In addition, all faculty, staff, and students on campus will be required to complete simple symptom and wellness checks each day to help screen for possible illness.

All domestic boarding and day students must complete a PCR Covid-19 test taken on Thursday, February 18, 2021 (not a day before or a day after). We strongly recommend that everyone utilize Vault testing (https://www.vaulthealth.com/covid) to complete this requirement as Vault has guaranteed EHS that they will have your child’s result back before the Sunday return.  In the unlikely event that you do not have your results back from Vault prior to your child’s return on Sunday, February 21, 2021, then your child will still be allowed to return on that Sunday if you are able to submit documentation confirming that the Vault test was taken and mailed on Thursday, February 18^th. My suggestion is that you order your child’s Vault home test kit today to have it ready.  If you choose not to follow the Vault recommendation and do not have your PCR test results by Sunday, February 21^st, then your child will not be permitted to return to campus until after the April vacation.  Similarly, PCR tests taken prior to Thursday February 18, 2021 will not be accepted, and your child will be required to learn online from home until after April vacation. Antigen tests will not be accepted as a substitute for a PCR test.

Masks are an essential part of minimizing the transmission and spread of COVID-19. Students, faculty, and staff will be required to wear masks beginning upon arrival in September 2020. If conditions change favorably, the phased approach is designed to allow us to adjust the times and places that masks are required. In the interim, though, students should plan to bring a minimum of one cloth mask for each day of the week and launder them through the laundry service weekly. Students may also choose to bring an ample supply of disposable masks. Eagle Hill will have masks available on campus as well to be used as needed.

Students who are exposed to someone with COVID-19 will be required to quarantine for ten days from the date of exposure in designated locations. Those students will enter a testing protocol determined by the school over the course of the quarantine period and will remain quarantined until the results are determined. Supervision and testing costs are the responsibility of the family. Students who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms will be evaluated by the Health Center and a determination will be made whether they enter the quarantine protocol.

Any student who tests positive for COVID-19 will be isolated from other students and faculty until he or she can be safely transported home or to a caregiver off campus. It is imperative that every student’s emergency contact information is up to date on the parent portal. Contact tracing will be performed to identify any close contacts requiring quarantine. 

Any student requiring hospitalization will be transported to UMass Medical Center in Worcester or to another regional health care facility as necessary. Again, it is essential that every student’s emergency contact information is updated on the parent portal.

Dorms

Fortunately, we are not required to change any of our student housing offerings given that all of Eagle Hill’s dormitories are single- or double-occupancy.

Each dormitory wing will be considered a “house.” Houses will average eighteen students. Upon arrival in September 2020, students will be required to wear masks on the dormitory floor but may remove their masks in their own dormitory rooms. If during the first fourteen days of school we feel confident that a house is free from the virus, we will permit students within that house to socialize without masks and in closer proximity while on their own dormitory floor. Similarly, cleared houses will then also be allowed to eat together in the dining commons, use the sports and fitness center and play sports together, and socialize in the student union and café without masks or distancing restrictions when they are not in the presence of another house.

Dining

A schedule allowing for multiple breakfasts, lunches, and dinners daily has been created to minimize space-sharing and contact among different houses. Additionally, new protocol for preparing and serving food will be launched in January 2021.

Shared Spaces

All of the shared spaces will continue to be open to students on campus with new and appropriate physical distancing, masking, and density expectations in place. For example, students may be able to use the sports and fitness center, student union, theatre, café, library, and other spaces, and new protocols and scheduling will be in place to ensure health and safety in mixed-house circumstances.

Sanitation

Eagle Hill already thoroughly cleans shared spaces daily, including door handles and light switches. However, we will considerably expand our disinfection and sanitizing routines upon reopening. We have purchased five industrial fogging machines that will allow us to effectively and efficiently clean classrooms, dormitories, and other common areas. We have used one of these machines in the sports and fitness center for years with great success. During the day, students and faculty will wipe down commonly touched surfaces between uses in classrooms.

Weekends

Students should arrive to campus in January 2021 with the expectation that all boarding students will be remaining on campus during weekends. We have designed a full array of on-campus programming that will keep students engaged and safe. As conditions improve, we will transition to a less restrictive weekend policy, offering off-campus trips and allowing home visits.

Visitors

As COVID-19 numbers in our community and state continue to rise, we will again be restricting visitors to campus in order to keep our community as safe and healthy as possible. As conditions change, our hope is to relax that restriction.

Day students and faculty

Day students, faculty, and staff will be screened daily for physical symptoms and signs of COVID-19 before being allowed to be in the presence of others on campus.

Academics

Fortunately, our ability to personalize course scheduling, individualize instruction, and provide for a small classroom experience will remain largely unchanged from years past. Of course, the wearing of masks by students and faculty will be a necessary change.

Classrooms

Eagle Hill’s small class sizes will allow for adequate physical distancing between students. Classes with numbers that cannot safely be accommodated in a typical EHS classroom will be scheduled in larger spaces (e.g., Lecture Hall, Kresge Theatre, Abby Theatre, etc.). In addition, we will be mindful of the benefits of the house model in the academic scheduling process.

Athletics

Decisions regarding winter athletics are made in conjunction with the River Valley Athletic League (RVAL) and the Southeastern New England Independent Schools Athletic Association (SENE). If RVAL and SENE deem it safe for students to play interscholastic sports, Eagle Hill will allow its student-athletes to compete, provided the opposing school completes a questionnaire that indicates satisfactory policies, procedures, and preventative measures related to COVID-19 are in place at their respective institutions. We will postpone or cancel any sporting event if an opponent’s school presents undue risk to our athletes or has insufficient preventative or response measures.  

In the event that interscholastic athletics are cancelled for safety reasons, Eagle Hill will provide a full intramural program on campus as well as enhanced SPARK, personal training, and nutrition counseling options.

Arts

Creative ways to learn and practice all art forms are being explored with consideration being given to appropriate physical distancing.

Domestic air travel

As a general rule for 2020–21, we recommend that you do not book your child’s air travel to and from school vacations too far in advance, and we recommend that you allow yourself financial flexibility in the type of ticket you choose.

Domestic public transportation

As a general rule for 2020–21, we recommend that you wait to purchase tickets on public transportation (buses, trains, etc.) to see if the particular mode of transportation is permissible under our phased restriction guide at the time of the vacation travel.

International students and student visas

International students who are unable to return to campus on time will be permitted to join classes remotely and rejoin the student body on campus at a later entry point. International families should consider making flight plans with flexibility and consider travel insurance. International students should also make themselves aware of any government quarantine policies in place that might affect their arrival into the United States, and they should consider adjusting their arrival date accordingly.

Transportation assistance

We are currently only providing transportation assistance to Bradley Airport in Springfield/Windsor Locks and Boston’s Logan International. As conditions improve we will develop plans to support students with ground transportation. Plans will account for appropriate physical distancing in vehicles. We suggest that you leave yourself flexibility and protection as you plan your child’s transportation to and from campus this year.