How Brewster Academy is Preparing for the Start of the Academic Year

Boarding schools face a uniquely complex set of reopening challenges given the residential component of their model. The following is an excerpt taken from a Magnus Health webinar conducted last week. Contributing panelist, Susan Harrington, Chief Financial Officer at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, presents a valuable set of tactics and strategies specific to boarding schools.   The outline below describes the considerations and steps within each aspect of a reopening plan. Beyond governmental approval, Brewster Academy created a series of criteria to be met along with a Reopening Campus Strategy Team to help determine and evaluate their standing.  

As of April 29th, forty-three states have announced statewide school closures through the remainder of the school year. While teachers are continuing to develop eLearning lesson plans and engaging with students, school administrators around the country are trying to wrap their heads around the post COVID-19 landscape for K-12. So many unknowns with every scenario dependent on the country’s ability to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and predicated on federal and state guidelines

With schools closed due to COVID-19, eLearning/remote learning has become a new way for students to learn since they are now unable to physically go to their classrooms. Lucky for us, the web has countless practice guides and curated tools to help students continue their studies online. Many schools have also implemented their own custom programs to help students learn during these difficult times.

Due to the spread of COVID-19 and the health concerns of the Nation, many businesses have their employees working remotely, and for some, this is a new adjustment. Working from home is a benefit that has become increasingly popular with employers throughout the years, but in the current climate, many companies have mandated or recommended all of their employees work remotely.

COVID-19 has brought a lot of changes into our daily lives and everyone’s journey is different. But, what we hear often during these uncertain times is the exhaustion of parents who feel like they are drowning in the sea of responsibilities… Work while homeschooling and entertaining your kids, and ensuring that they don’t hurt each other! Make home-cooked meals, take care of all family members, and do housework. Keep things running smoothly and stay healthy. And… STOP and take a deep breath! Refuel your tank. Take some time for yourself!

Providing a safe, thriving environment for students to learn and staff to work in is the foremost goal of any school setting. But, creating a safe environment that facilitates learning can be a challenging task. School administrators and emergency managers must work together to create a healthy school climate, effective intervention, and crisis plans that prepare staff and students for emergencies. Unfortunately, many schools focus so much on the physical prevention process such as upgrading equipment, creating task forces, and establishing hotlines and phone trees, that they forget that they must also take mental health into consideration. That means social stigma and bullying-related prevention.  

Social distancing means that you should not, at any time, be closer than 6 feet to any person who is not from your household. Currently, social distancing is crucial and something that everyone should be practicing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, we must understand the difference between physical distancing and social distancing, and realize there are still ways to socially interact while maintaining physical distance. In a time of physical isolation, it is more important than ever to stay in touch with your loved ones!

For most of us, it seems like it has been ages since we have left our house and interacted with people outside of our family. It certainly has been nice to slow down a bit and to spend more time at home! And, how amazing are the teachers and staff to implement eLearning for their students in what seems like overnight? However, the COVID-19 quarantine is starting to wear on parents who are trying to work, homeschool, and entertain their kids… all at the same time!