Back to Boarding

Below is a list of frequently asked questions from students and families about the reopening of our residential life program slated for March 22nd.

Will the School be doing regular testing for COVID-19? 
COVID-19 testing will be an important part of reopening the residential life program at CH-CH.  

• All boarding students will be required to submit a negative test result for themselves (test taken between March 17th and move-in day) prior to moving on to campus on March 22nd.  
• We will then offer (and required of boarding students) universal school testing on campus on March 24th. 
• Weekly testing for all boarding students and boarding faculty will commence the following week on March 31st and continue weekly through June 2nd. 

What other steps will CH-CH take to keep the community safe? 
There are a number of other mitigation measures we will be putting in place to keep our students and staff safe in the residential program. These include: 

• Students will be assigned to a single room. 
• Student move-in will be staggered on March 22nd so that no more than 2 students and families will be on any dormitory floor at any one time. 
• In Harrington and South Halls, where there are communal bathrooms, students will be assigned specific toilet and shower stalls. 
• Bathrooms will be cleaned daily by our professional cleaning staff. 
• Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes will be available throughout the dormitories. 
• Students will be required to bring a personal thermometer to school in order to complete the daily health screening appropriately. (CH-CH can help provide a thermometer should a student need this.) 
• Masks will be required throughout campus, including in dormitories, throughout the day. 
• Students will be able to take their masks off when alone in their rooms. 
• Foodservice will continue with a similar schedule to previous years.  The Charger Cafe has been modified with reduced seating and the addition of plexiglass barriers to improve safety. 
• Additional nursing staff on campus Monday-Friday as well as 24 hour on-call nursing staff. 

What happens if a student becomes symptomatic for COVID-19 or is the close contact of someone who is? 
First and foremost, please know that the health and safety of our whole community is at the forefront of our minds.  With that, we are requiring that all students to be picked up by a parent, guardian, or other adult within six hours of being asked by the school to do so due to COVID-19 symptoms and/or being a close contact of a symptomatic individual.  
 
This reflects the need to quarantine students who are symptomatic as well as their “close contacts,” which is defined as any person who was within six feet of a symptomatic individual for more than ten minutes.  We have space to isolate students on campus for a limited time, but do need families to take on that responsibility in the longer term.   
 
Are there new, COVID-related expectations for boarding students on campus during the spring trimester? 
Due to COVID-19, there will be significant changes to student expectations on campus this spring.  To note: 

• Students will be required to wear masks while on campus unless they are in their room alone.  This includes inside dormitories and outside even when classes are not in session. 
• Students will be allowed one in-dorm visitor in their room at a time with the door remaining open.  Windows should be open during visits, face coverings on, and physical distancing in place. Students will not be allowed to visit a dorm in which they do not reside. 
• Capacity in common areas will be limited to enforce physical distancing. 
• Students will be required to check-in with dorm parents on weekday mornings prior to classes and on weekends during both brunch and dinner times. 
• Students will be allowed to order food via delivery but must do so via contactless pick-up at the pavilion (across from Peebles Hall/Admissions). 

What happens if a student cannot meet the new expectations? 
Though we do not expect this to be an issue, if a student has multiple violations of our expectations in the spring, they will be asked to leave the boarding program for some or all of the term. 
 
Will the housing arrangements be any different? 
In addition to students being assigned single rooms, it is possible that we will switch dormitories for the spring term, i.e. Harrington will become a dormitory for students who identify as male and     Worcester a dormitory for students who identify as female.  We expect this to be a spring term change only. 
 
What will expectations be for boarding students permissions during the spring trimester? 
Due to COVID-19, there will be significant changes to the permissions for boarding students during the spring trimester.  To note: 

• Students will only be allowed to leave campus on school supervised trips.  These trips will be to less populated areas (e.g. hiking in Blue Hills) and we will not be taking trips to the mall or movies as we would in a more typical year. 
• Students will not be allowed to leave campus with their parents, guardians, friends or others while part of the boarding program.  The School will take care of all necessary transportation (e.g. to doctor’s appointments) 
• Students will not be allowed to return home until the end of the spring trimester unless they move to day or remote student status upon their return home. 
• Immediate family members and/or guardians may visit students on weekends with prior permission from the AOD.  Families may not enter school buildings and must have face coverings on at all times.  

 
Will CH-CH mandate vaccination against COVID-19? 
At this point, we will not mandate vaccination against COVID-19, but we are strongly encouraging all of our faculty & staff to be vaccinated when it becomes available to us this spring.  We are working with both state and local officials to make sure this is available for our adult community as soon as possible.  Vaccinations for high school-aged persons are still being studied, and as we have more information, we will share that with families.