Against the Odds
» Kimberly Reid ’13 shows Ella Beth Wiedmer ’25 how to use the screening kiosk.
HOW GPS STAYED SAFE AMID A PANDEMIC « Coverings were constructed for outdoor patio areas to allow students to eat, study, connect, and even have classes without face coverings.
By Pamela Hammonds
IF THE GPS 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR were a postcard, it might read: Greetings from a Year of COVID-19—where everyone tried really hard to stay safe. And it worked!
Perhaps that’s oversimplifying the hours of planning and execution needed to transform our physical campus and the way we typically conduct school, but the end result was an in-person experience for the entire school year when other schools in our area and across the nation learned mostly from home. » Students primarily ate lunches outdoors, with the senior class having exclusive access to the dining hall seating. In inclement weather, classrooms were used as dining spaces.
Months before school began, our facilities team was hard at work, making changes to campus and classrooms to enhance the safety and learning environment for all students and faculty, and the administration worked to establish guidelines and protocols for the start of school. Fifteen walls were removed, and outdoor structures were added to allow students to be outside even during inclement weather. For students and teachers who preferred to conduct school at home, accommodations including state-of-theart cameras helped everyone learn in real-time.
» Lunchtime remained a favorite time of day, with our chef and Sage associates painstakingly preparing individualized servings to minimize contact.
PL AYING IT SAFE
For more about how our athletic-specific precautions kept us competitive all year, please see page 16.
» Our students and teachers worked so hard to follow our COVID protocols, including wearing face coverings indoors and keeping desks distanced to limit contact.
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C O R N E R S T O N E S G I R L S P R E P A R A T O R Y S C H O O L G P S .E D U
To minimize contact with others, the campus was closed to outside visitors, including parents and alumnae, with a very limited number of guests allowed to attend indoor athletic events and Chapel Talks. Later those restrictions were lessened to include athletic signings and other special events. Freestanding kiosks monitored temperatures and the presence of a face covering for everyone who entered the building. And everyone had to answer a series of health screening questions prior to coming on campus. Those who were exposed to COVID or tested positive were required to remain off campus for a period of time until deemed safe to return by the current health protocols. Key to managing the stipulations associated with an ever-developing pandemic was our COVID Coordinator, Kimberly Reid ’13. She monitored cases, performed close-contact tracing as mandated by local and state health organizations, established guidelines for athletics and other events and, in the spring, set up four on-campus vaccine clinics in partnership with Access Pharmacy. Reid was later featured in CityScope magazine in their “On the Map” section, which highlights area alumni succeeding at the next level.
