Hun and Covid-19

A PANDEMIC TIMELINE

How Covid-19 Affected Life and Learning at The Hun School

News of a deadly virus in China and Europe was percolating here in the United States as the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2019. Of course, few could know what 2020 had in store for us. We long for the day when the pandemic, and its devastating effects, are a distant memory. Until then, we remember the year that challenged us to rethink how we live, learn, compete, and connect.

JANUARY 27

The Hun School’s health director meets with senior administrators about Coronavirus 2019-nCoV taking hold of people in Wuhan, China. The School begins to closely monitor the virus and consider a broad range of scenarios and contingencies. Following CDC guidelines and in consultation with experts and peer institutions, the School makes a difficult decision to isolate a student who recently returned from Taiwan.

MARCH 3

The School cancels all upcoming international travel for students, faculty, and school groups due to a Coronavirus outbreak in Italy. The decision is made to keep all international boarders on campus during Spring Break. Domestic trips take place as planned.

MARCH 26

All in-person activities and classes are suspended for three weeks. After one week of planning, training, and Zoom orientation, The Hun School transitions to all-virtual learning for the first time in its 106-year history. With a reimagined daily schedule, students and faculty attend classes via Zoom from 18 states and 26 countries. Alumni Weekend and all Admission tours are cancelled. All campus buildings are closed, except for essential employees. The world turns its focus to thorough hand-washing.

MARCH 31

Social distancing guidelines are extended nationally and remote learning at Hun is extended through May. Hun cancels its NextTerm and Senior Capstone programs and extends classes until May 29 to augment class time in core subjects. Departments throughout campus launch virtual programs, from college counseling webinars to athletic training videos. The Parents’ Association hosts its first virtual event: a Middle School Parent Virtual Wine and Cheese.

JANUARY 31

In deference to the recommendations issued by the U.S. Government, World Health Organization, and in the best interests of the community, the School prohibits travel to China during its upcoming Spring Break. In addition to health concerns, it seems likely that international air travel would soon be restricted and potentially prevent students from returning.

MARCH 12

Princeton, NJ reports its first positive case; the Governors of New Jersey and New York have declared states of emergency; and the President announces unprecedented global travel restrictions. Athletic teams are called home and the School asks International students to return home ahead of what are expected to be long-term travel restrictions. The School delays re-opening for one week following Spring Break.

MARCH 27

The School launches a series of virtual Admission events for newly accepted students.

APRIL 2

Students and faculty work to support first responders. Community members deliver meals, sew masks and PPE, 3D print face shields, etc. Hunsung Heroes, a series highlighting alumni on the frontlines in the fight against Covid, begins.

In response to Covid-19’s unprecedented impact on the global economy, Hun issues partial tuition credits to day and boarding families. The School announces the Raider Relief fundraising effort to support financial aid for seventy-four current Hun families experiencing immediate financial hardship related to Covid-19. The fund would eventually raise $207,920 in relief.

APRIL 18

Ninety-four percent of parents approve of the School’s Covid-related decisions and operations. Still, students and families miss one another and crave more social and emotional programming. Seniors begin to fear the loss of their senior spring and all the milestones that accompany it.

AUGUST 19

Boarding faculty and students begin a staged return to allow for quarantine, physical distancing, and Covid-19 testing. The second floor of Russell Hall is converted to a quarantine clinic, outdoor classrooms are erected, and advanced air filtration systems are installed throughout campus.

SEPTEMBER 8

The School hosts an in-person, physically distant graduation ceremony for members of the eighth grade, now rising freshmen.

SEPTEMBER 9

The Hun School reopens for in-person classes in a hybrid format. Most students attend classes on alternating days to reduce classroom density; others select an all-virtual format. Masks are required everywhere on campus, daily health screenings, and non-stop disinfection are a way of life. The Dining Hall is closed, meals are delivered to classrooms, and all gatherings of ten or more are virtual. Enrollment is 664 students. Approximately half of boarders are learning virtually and nearly 15% of faculty qualify for health accommodations and are teaching virtually, necessitating an army of teaching assistants, most of whom are young alumni, to aid with classroom management.

NOVEMBER 19

The School closes for Thanksgiving break and all resident students return home. The administration determines that in an effort to further mitigate risk of community spread, all boarders will remain home and learn virtually until January. All-virtual weeks are scheduled after each break to add an additional layer of mitigation.

APRIL 17

New Jersey and New York emerge as global hotspots. Governor Murphy closes New Jersey Schools through May 15th. The Hun School announces a fully virtual operation for the remainder of the academic year. Students, especially seniors, begin to mourn the spring they have lost.

MAY 29

Middle School Head Ken Weinstein and Hun’s mascot, Raider, visit all forty-nine Middle School graduates’ homes to say farewell and offer congratulatory gifts. All Middle and Upper School students are invited to attend one academic course, taught virtually, during the Hun Summer Session at no additional cost.

JULY 25

Restrictions on outdoor gatherings in New Jersey are lifted briefly, allowing the School to host an outdoor, physically distant graduation ceremony for members of the Class of 2020 and limited guests. Departing from tradition, the event takes place on Natale Field and graduates are seated with their parents, rather than as a class. Due to travel restrictions and illness and potential exposures, not all students are able to attend; the ceremony is broadcast live all over the world.

AUGUST 20

All Hun School families, faculty, and staff are asked to sign a Good Faith Commitment to Community Health asserting their intentions to comply with the School’s health and safety protocols which include: remaining home when ill, wearing masks on campus and in public, maintaining physical distancing, limiting risk, and refraining from most travel, among other guidelines.

SEPTEMBER 22

Most athletic teams resume physically distant training, with hopes for a modified athletic season. The Mid-Atlantic Prep League cancels interscholastic play for the season, later extending it to include the winter season. Testing is instituted for high risk activities.

OCTOBER 16

The School reports its first positive Coronavirus case while in session. Additional cases are reported throughout the fall, though luckily, the community remains vigilant and manages to prevent any on-campus transmissions (this magazine went to press in February.) Individuals experience a wide variety of symptoms and virus severity.

DECEMBER 17

Faculty and staff spent the last ten months glued to their Zoom screens, but that did not deter them from gathering (virtually, of course) for the School’s first-ever Zoom holiday party.