Despite pandemic, students still explore Conn. boarding schools
Students across Connecticut suddenly found themselves learning at home when the coronavirus hit, but for those attending boarding schools, the switch meant more than leaving their classrooms.
For many, this also meant saying goodbye to where they had been living for about six months.
But the virus hasn’t deterred them and, in fact, has attracted even more students looking to attend one of Connecticut’s boarding schools as most of the schools ready to reopen for in-person classes this fall. Many recognize the experience will most likely look different from what students are used to, as the schools roll out plans to meet state and national guidelines.
“Our goal is to keep everyone as safe as possible while maintaining the supportive, caring environment that we are known for,” said Julie Anderson, Cheshire Academy’s head of school.
Growing enrollment
Boarding schools are seeing a greater interest from new students, if not increased enrollment, especially from those close to the school who don’t want to continue distance learning and from students leaving cities.
“Our enrollment trends are as strong as they have been at any point in the last 10 years,” said Doug Day, The Gunnery’s director of marketing and communications. “The remoteness of our campus has always been an attractive aspect of our school, perhaps even a bit more so in the current moment.”
The Gunnery is located in Washington, a town that has a population of about 3,600 people. Day said they’re anticipating enrolling a few additional students over the summer, as some families consider relocating from larger cities.
A similar trend is happening in Kent at Marvelwood School, which will have its largest freshman class in years. Caitlyn Lynch, Marvelwood’s assistant head of school for institutional advancement, said the active real estate market in northwestern Connecticut has increased interest for the mountaintop school.
Moves from New York City to Connecticut grew 74 percent between March 15 and April 28 compared to the same time the previous year, The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, Cheshire Academy is seeing its growth closer to home.
“Interestingly, we continue to interview students virtually despite the coronavirus, and have received more interest from domestic families, especially those with students who may not have had a positive remote schooling experience and are looking for a change,” Anderson said.
Creating a reopening plan
Each boarding school has its own groups creating reopening plans to meet the guidelines. Most are still being drafted or fine-tuned, and could change based on the number of cases in Connecticut come the fall or if state guidelines change.
“Our biggest hurdle is unpredictability, ”said Kelly Slonaker, with Canterbury School in New Milford.
Canterbury already completed the state’s self-certification requirements to begin its phased reopening for staff this summer. Daily health assessments, using personal protective equipment while in the office, maintaining proper social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing work stations, having staff complete the Safe Schools Training and implementing safety guidelines for campus visitors and vendors are part of its safety measures.
Rachel Stone, Canterbury’s head of school, will also help set the standard for safe openings among boarding schools by serving on a committee for The Association of Boarding Schools.
The Gunnery will do a phased reopening with students allowed to drop off belongings on campus before classes begin. They’re also getting more personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, as well as examining how they can socially distance in the classrooms, dorms and dining hall.
“We understand that these guidelines will continue to evolve as more information and best practices become known,” Day said. “Evolving guidelines are an understandable challenge, which is exactly why we have our planning teams considering a multitude of scenarios that will enable us to have maximum flexibility when our students return to campus.”
Cheshire Academy is redesigning classroom and common spaces to ensure social distancing, increasing all cleaning and sanitizing throughout campus, limiting groups, requiring facemasks and reimagining typical events and celebrations to include virtual components. The new schedule will also allow for more time to dive deep into content and less time moving from classroom to classroom. The dormitories will now have student and faculty cohorts to enhance the concept of families and deepen relationships, Anderson said.
Keeping an online element
Schools are also still building on their distance learning in case there’s a spike of cases or students aren’t able to return due to illness or travel restrictions. “We know that for some families, the need for remote learning may continue into the fall,” Slonaker said. “As needed, we will offer a robust virtual academic program this fall — and winter and spring if necessary — that provides access to our traditional and innovative on-campus academic schedule.”
The Cheshire Academy is also readying for both.
“We are currently developing a daily schedule and a schedule for the calendar year with a lot of built-in flexibility to allow us to pivot from in-person to remote schooling with ease, if needed, and our faculty are participating in extensive professional development this summer to further enhance their remote teaching,” Anderson said.
Returning students facing the biggest hurdles will most likely be those coming from other countries — a big component of these schools’ populations. So far, those returning to Connecticut’s boarding schools already have their student visas, while new students might have trouble setting up interviews for them. Travel restrictions might also be added if the virus worsens in different parts of the world.
Anderson said students delayed can start the semester online in their home country and then join in person when they’re able.
“Our international students absolutely want to be on campus,” Anderson said. “We have held several town hall meetings over the past few months with both domestic and international students, and there is excitement about coming to campus. International students are an incredibly important part of who we are and we look forward to having all of our students together as soon as possible.”
The Gunnery’s delayed international students can continue the online learning program and participate in many of the school’s extracurricular offerings.
“We received very positive feedback about the students’ experience in our online learning program this spring and will be working to further develop the program over the summer,” Day said.