A Summary of Brearley’s Plans for Reopening in September 2020 Planning for the reopening of school has been led by the Brearley Board’s COVID-19 Task Force, an interdisciplinary group of medical professionals, trustees and administrators including Stephanie Perlman, MD (P ’18); Lauren Wasson, MD, MPH (P ’32, ’30); Eileen Racanelli, RN; Christine Alfaro ’91 (P ’25); Susan Berresford ’61; and Jocelyn Strauber ’91 (P ’22); and senior administrators Jane Fried; Maria Zimmermann; Jim Mulkin; Doris Coleman; Rahul Tripathi; and Maria Duckett. We are also well served by the School’s highly experienced and knowledgeable network of supportive parents and alumnae who provide us with wide-ranging expertise and guidance on public health, infectious disease, political and governmental affairs, finance and technology. We have also engaged external consultants, including environmental engineers, who are experts in mitigating infectious diseases.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Physical Distancing
Movement within the Building
• Directional arrows and floor indicators are now in place. Clear safety and procedure signage is being prepared.
Facilities
• Student movement in the buildings will be limited. Lower School students will spend
• Brearley’s two schoolhouses and field house together have the capacity for the
most of their days in a classroom with regular visits outside. Students in Classes V-X will spend most of their time on an assigned floor; students in Classes XI and XII will spend most of their time on two assigned floors, in addition to time outside. Teachers will come to the students in their classrooms, with the goal of limiting time that students spend in the hallways and stairwells.
whole student body, faculty and staff to be on-site and maintain the recommended physical distancing (6 feet between individuals).
• Tents have been ordered for the 590 and 610 Play Decks to maximize outdoor spaces for frequent use.
• Class sizes will be reduced to ensure appropriate physical distancing in each classroom. • Each student will have her own desk in a clearly defined learning area, and all
Food Service
• Students will eat in their classrooms. • Food will be prepared in our kitchens and delivered to students. • Students will receive individually packed snacks. • More information about menus and food preparation will come in a future communication.
desks will face in the same direction.
• Lower School desks will have 3-sided detachable polycarbonate barriers. Arrival and Dismissal
• Physical distancing will be indicated and maintained on the sidewalks, at the en-
Transportation
trance and inside the lobbies of the buildings. Clear safety and procedure signage is being prepared.
• We expect local authorities to provide guidance. For our families of younger children,
• Two entryways for each schoolhouse will be used. • Parents, caregivers and guests will not be permitted inside Brearley buildings. • Please make note of the staggered arrival times assigned to each grade level in
we await plans for busing from the Department of Education. To view a letter from Mario Transportation, please click here.
• In the meantime, we strongly encourage all families to begin considering the key ques-
order to minimize unnecessary contact in the mornings:
Lower School @ 590
Middle and Upper School @ 610
Lower school Arrival Times:
Middle School Arrival Times:
IVs: Arrival window: 8:00–8:10 am IIIs: Arrival window: 8:10–8:20 am IIs: Arrival window: 8:20–8:30 am Is: Arrival window: 8:30–8:40 am Ks: Arrival window: 8:40–8:50 am
V/VIs: Arrival window: 8:00–8:15 am VII/VIIIs: Arrival window: 8:15–8:30 am
tion of how they will get their daughters to and from school in the safest manner.
Upper School Arrival Times:
6 ft
IXs/Xs: Arrival window: 8:30–8:45 am XIs/XIIs: Arrival window: 8:45–9:00 am
Early arrivals will be supervised for quiet reading at 7:15am.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Prevention, Screening and Management Masks
Cohorts
• All community members must wear masks. • Younger students may need to practice mask-wearing at home before school reopens. • Community members may choose their own masks (cloth or disposable). Currently,
• Lower School: Lower School grade levels will be broken into small groups with a range
of students per group depending on the size of the respective classrooms. Individual desks will be arranged in each of the rooms to achieve 6-feet physical distancing. Students will interact only with students in their cohort.
bandanas, masks with breathing valves and neck gaiters are not acceptable.
• Middle School/Upper School: In Class V, the cohort will be a single homeroom. In
• The School will provide each student with two cloth masks and will also have a supply
Classes VI-VIII, a half-grade is a cohort. In the US, a grade will be considered a cohort, with the exception of Classes XI and XII, which together will be considered a cohort. Students will mix with one another at half-grade and grade level, but contact between students in different grade levels will be reduced to an absolute minimum. In this way we will maintain protective measures while preserving the integrity of the academic program. Each grade has been assigned a particular floor in 610 as its home; its classes will take place largely on that floor, and smaller groups within the grade will stay together in the same classroom for much of the day, including lunch. Students may move to other classrooms when required by the capacity of a particular room and will be connected to the teacher and other students in the class via Google Meet hardware, software and their own devices. All students will follow social distance guidelines of six feet of separation. Desks in the classrooms have been arranged to this end.
of masks at school in case a student forgets her mask or it gets wet or soiled on the way to school or during the day.
• The School has procured 3-ply disposable masks and clear plastic face shields for all faculty and staff who want them.
• The
School will be providing additional information and resources on masks and face coverings before school and education for all community members on proper mask-wearing, removing, storage and disposal.
Hand Hygiene
• Portable sinks will be set up outside both 590 and 610. • Sensor-operated Purell dispensers have been ordered for every classroom as have additional floor-standing dispensers for entries.
• Restrooms will be hands-free, including toilets, sinks, soap dispensers and paper towel
dispensers. (590 already has hands-free systems in all restrooms; we are retrofitting 610 to be hands-free.)
• Frequent handwashing will be encouraged throughout the day with both direct instruction and signage throughout the building as well as before and after eating.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Prevention, Screening and Management (continued) Screening
• We will require daily symptom self-screen and COVID-19 exposure questions of all community members so that no one with COVID-19-like symptoms or recent exposure will enter the building. We are developing plans for implementing this requirement.
• We are weighing several plans for daily temperature assessment of all community members so that no one with a fever will be permitted to enter the building.
Protocols for Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
• If a student or teacher feels sick before school, s/he will be required to stay home and, if her or his symptoms are consistent with COVID-19, s/he will be asked to see a healthcare provider for evaluation and testing.
• If a student begins experiencing symptoms at school, she will be isolated and monitored until a parent or guardian promptly picks her up. Employees who become symptomatic at school will be asked to leave campus immediately.
• Whether symptoms begin at home or in school, there will be a clear flow of information to facilitate fast action and prevent spread. A positive case should be reported to the Health Office by a staff member, parent or student. A positive confirmed case will trigger an investigation by the NYC Test & Trace Corps and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to determine close contacts within the School. We will communicate to all families and students any time a case is laboratory-confirmed. We will follow all guidelines for medical information confidentiality.
• In the event that there is a laboratory-confirmed case in school, all students and teachers in that cohort or class who are determined to be close contacts will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days after their last exposure to that case. Additionally, the NYC Test & Trace Corps and DOHMH will begin an investigation into the risk of exposure to the school community and will issue clear guidance and decisions for next steps based on the outcome. Please communicate exposure or positive tests to Eileen Racanelli, School Nurse.
• All decisions to quarantine classrooms or close school will depend on the facts of each investigation as well as DOH guidelines for school closures.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Environmental Infection Control Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sanitizing
• CDC guidelines for cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing have already been implemented. This includes non-porous surfaces being cleaned and disinfected a minimum of 2-3 times during the day shift (6:00 am–2:30 pm) and day cleaning that focuses on high touch points such as elevator buttons, door handles, tables, desks, backs of chairs, trash, railings, light switches, etc.
• We use a Clorox360 machine for disinfecting after we complete our cleaning and disinfecting. It is an electrostatic sprayer paired with CDC-approved disinfectants. The technology allows for hard-to-reach places to be disinfected.
• All staff and faculty will be educated on proper protocols. Ventilation
• Environmental consulting group Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc., which special-
izes in infectious diseases, has been hired to assess our facilities and plans for reopening. Their assessment includes HVAC system evaluation.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Communication, Education and Commitment Communication
Family Commitment
• The School is preparing a digital guidebook of its health and safety protocols that will
• A Fully Remote Option for the school year is available to students whose families have
be located on our website.
significant concerns about returning to in-person learning. Families are being surveyed about their plans to return to in-person learning or to seek more information on the fully remote option. Should a family choose the fully remote option, the student will need to commit to at least a trimester of distance learning.
• Division Leaders are available throughout the summer to speak with any families seek-
ing further clarification. Lower School: Maria Zimmermann, mzimmermann@brearley.org; Middle School: Tim Brownell, tbrownell@brearley.org; Upper School: Betty Pierre-Noel, bnoel@brearley.org
• We ask every family to join our efforts to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of all members of the Brearley community by supporting and adhering to our policies.
Faculty Professional Development
• We ask families to help prepare students for their roles in implementing school policies. • Younger students may need to practice mask-wearing at home, before school reopens.
• Faculty and staff will return to school on August 24 to continue training in several critical domains, including school health and safety procedures.
We want them to be able to wear masks that cover their nose and mouth without touching their masks/faces frequently.
• Faculty will continue training in providing emotional support for students. • As previously announced, anti-racist training for faculty, staff and students will be part
• Younger students may need to practice handwashing. • Students may need to practice physical distancing. • We will phase in the grades first by half and then full groups over the course of the first
of our opening-of-school programming.
two weeks of school. Coming to school in full groups will be dependent on students in each grade consistently observing the required health and safety guidelines.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Planning for Virtual Learning Personal Technology
Preparing Students
• Lower and Middle School students will receive devices from the School in order to facil-
• Students will receive extensive training on both their new devices and the use of Google
itate ease of blended learning, since there may be remote learning from home or even virtually within the school building.
Classroom
Faculty Professional Development
• Upper School students will continue with their BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program.
• Faculty have already begun intensive training under the guidance of our Technology
Classroom Technology
Integrators in the use of Google Classroom (details above in “Classroom Technology”).
• All classrooms are being outfitted with technology so that teachers may communicate
• Middle and Upper School faculty are participating in summer training courses conduct-
with students both in person and remotely.
ed by a leader in online education, One Schoolhouse. The training highlights the distinctions between effective remote and in-person teaching and helps teachers prepare for hybrid learning, moving seamlessly back and forth between the two modalities to maximize student engagement, even in challenging circumstances.
• Teachers will use the online learning management system Google Classroom to distribute and receive assignments.
• This will allow the School to limit paper use and to transition quickly to remote learning if needed. Moreover, it will allow students who are absent to stay caught up on their work.
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summary of the plan for reopening school
Key Questions • Will the School continue to fund extra materials and necessary devices for financial aid students? Yes, Brearley is committed to ensuring that all students have what they need to participate fully in either in-person or distance-learning school. Families should be in touch with Melissa Cassis, Director of Financial Assistance, with any questions or concerns.
• What happens if there is another surge in coronavirus cases in NYC? This key question is highly dependent on guidance from the state with regard to testing, tracing, isolation and quarantining. If there is another surge, we will continue to follow the guiding principles above and apply all the information we have to make decisions prioritizing the health, safety and well-being of all members of the Brearley community while continuing to immerse our students in their Brearley education. We are planning for reopening in person, but we also are preparing for the possibility of remote learning at any point in the 2020-2021 school year through professional development this summer, careful consideration of parent and student survey responses, and application of lessons learned this spring.
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