working together again

How Belmont Hill Opened During the Pandemic

By Bill Mahoney

When Belmont Hill was forced to shut down the campus back in March of 2020 due to the global pandemic, the School administration was well prepared and had a remote-learning plan in place. The hope was that the remote-learning period would be temporary and that the boys would return to campus soon. But in the weeks that followed, as the situation grew more dire, it became clear that for the safety of the boys and faculty and staff, Belmont Hill would remain closed through the end of the school year.

As summer began, the administration worked tirelessly with one goal in mind: to open the School in September and hold classes on campus. It was not an easy task. But following guidelines set by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as maintaining regular communication with the Belmont Board of Health and consultations with medical professionals and external consultants, many new protocols and procedures were established. The School also engaged with the consulting group Fusion Cell, a firm that has taken deep experience from pandemic planning on military bases and transferred this expertise to schools. Additionally, an audit of the HVAC systems was commissioned in all campus buildings and improvements were made to ensure they were operating in accordance with guidelines from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). This included the addition of portable medical grade HEPA filters where necessary. Finally, the School’s formal written plans were reviewed by its consulting pediatrician as well as the chief medical officer affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital.

“It took great creativity and even a few minor construction projects to prepare the campus,” noted Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School. Six tents were set up to provide safe outdoor spaces for teaching and learning. Many teachers took their classes outdoors in the warmer days of September and October, which allowed for students to easily spread out. The athletic center, large study halls, and dining hall were converted to classroom and study hall space to accommodate social distancing.

Everyone seemed thrilled to be together again on campus, even though things were not quite the same. Mask wearing, three-ply only, was strictly enforced. The dining room remained closed for lunch each day, as boxed lunches were delivered to advisor homerooms. Corridors, stairs, and walkways were carefully marked to relieve congestion and allow for spacing. The schedule worked in a weekly remote-learning day, Wednesday, to allow for deep cleaning (which was also done on weekends).

Each morning, students show their health attestation to faculty at strategically located entry points on campus.

Bathrooms were cleaned a minimum of two times per day. Students and faculty were required to sanitize their workspace whenever they transitioned to a new space or used any shared equipment such as printers and copiers. Hand sanitizer as well as soap and water were available throughout the campus. A significant number of additional teachers and proctors were brought in to support new needs and to provide assistance to remote teachers.

Later in September, COVID-19 testing was set in place to test all faculty and staff with a randomized sample of approximately 10–15% of the student body to assess the status of the community. The boarding community was tested once a week given the larger amount of time spent on campus in fairly close proximity. In December, testing was expanded to include all students.

As the Bulletin went to press in late March, the School remained open even as the pandemic surged. Students and faculty were on campus five days a week. The strict protocols and new guidelines could not dampen the spirits of a community that was happy and thankful to be working together again.

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1. The Jordan Athletic Center was repurposed so that academic classes could be held in spaces such as the wrestling room.

2. Walls were removed in smaller classrooms to create larger spaces to accommodate social distancing. 3. Social distancing and masks are key to keeping in-person learning as safe as possible.

4. Students and faculty utilize outdoor spaces for classes, lunch, and mask breaks when possible.