Campus Closed Due to Increased Absence

As a school community, our goal is to provide in-person instruction delivering high-quality, engaging, and safe experience for your sons. The pandemic illustrated that there may be times the campus will need to close in the case of excessive absences due to illness. We are aware that any number of viruses, not limited solely to COVID, may challenge our ability to be on campus together.

We have created a scale that will be used to determine whether or not we can realize our goal of being in person/on campus.

After-school Activities Reasoning

Scenario 1

Faculty Absence is between 6-9

Campus Remains Open: classes with faculty present are held in-person, classes with absent faculty will be held in open spaces across campus (CSI Lobby, Stewart Hall etc.) to accommodate asynchronous or virtual learning.

Internal systems will be activated to cover additional spaces for asynchronous learning.

Scenario 2

Faculty Absence is 10 or greater

Scenario 3

25% of students absent or if Scenario 2 is extended for more than 2 consecutive days

Campus Remains Open with ‘Hoteling’ approach: physical space will be provided for students to take classes virtually at Malvern Prep. Students also have the option to stay home and learn virtually.

Virtual day schedule: only students have the option to be on campus or virtual.

After-school activities proceed as scheduled: students participating in after school activities/ athletics are expected to be on campus for classes.

More than four classes in the CSI is difficult to manage. Stewart can absorb 1-2 additional sections, but after that, we are in need of additional space, and staff to be able to cover that space. Duffy and/or Amphitheater will serve as that space.

Our ability to effectively cover 10+ classes, which equates to roughly 360 students over the course of an academic day, is too difficult to manage given the space and human resources available. Therefore, students will be welcomed to campus, with the ability to learn online in dedicated spaces throughout the day.

Campus is closed for five calendar days.

Virtual day schedule: Students/faculty/staff to teach/work/learn virtually for five calendar days.

Five calendar days allows the campus to rest and recover before returning to campus. Virtual classes will ensure that students are able to continue to progress towards curricular goals established each academic term.

Note: If a critical mass of our Dining Hall is absent, we will be unable to safely prepare and serve food for 650 students. If this happens, parent/guardians will be notified and students are strongly encourage students to bring their own lunch to school. Malvern will only be able to provide non-perishable items and vending options.

Car Drop-off / Pick-up Policies & Procedures

• Students being dropped off and/or picked up by car must do so only at the designated areas. Students who have an early dismissal should be signed out and picked up at the Visitor Center.

• The St. Augustine Statue Circle and/or bus drop-off lanes located at the O‘Neill Center and Dougherty Hall cannot be used for student drop-off or pick-up at any time.

• It is important for parents who drop their son(s) off at school before 7:45 a.m. and/ or who pick up their son after 3:30 p.m. to understand that he may be unsupervised while on campus.

• The following areas on campus will be supervised in the morning - before 7:45 a.m.: Strength and Conditioning Center will be open for student use from 6:30 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.

- Both the St. Augustine Center and Stewart Hall will be open beginning at 7:45 a.m.

• The following areas on campus will be supervised after school:

- Both the St. Augustine Center and the Strength & Conditioning Center will be open for all students from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

- These times may be subject to change.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What if my school district is bussing, but Malvern has closed campus?

A: Please keep your son home. Due to the wide area that students travel from, there may be instances where we have closed campus but buses are still running Conversely, your school district may not be bussing while Malvern’s campus remains open. Students should not report to campus if the campus is closed. If students rely on the bus for transportation and their school district is not bussing due to weather, that will be considered an excused absence if he cannot find alternate transportation.

Q: My school district has alerted that they will start bussing earlier but Malvern has not closed, should he stay at school?

A: In the event of impending weather, school districts may opt for an early dismissal. If your son relies on the bus, he will be excused from class.

Q: My son is a student driver, when will he be dismissed if the weather deteriorates that day?

A: On days when the weather is forecasted to deteriorate during that day, student drivers will be dismissed early, typically when we are notified of the first school district to request early dismissal. Families will be notified if/ when student drivers have been dismissed due to inclement weather.

Q: If school closes early, can my son remain in the CSI until I pick him up?

A: After-school supervision in the CSI is also weather dependent and may be closed earlier if there is a weather event or safety issue. We will communicate to all families as quickly as we can as to its availability.