Opening of School Challenges

Opening of school a complete team effort

Walking down The Hill on a casual dress code day.

from thE vEry BEginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, long before most other schools began thinking about the 2020–2021 school year, the Wilbraham & Monson Academy Administration and Board of Trustees began planning.

Why?

Because we knew that we needed to open the campus, safely, to in-person programming. Families invest in WMA for the educational experience, not simply an online instructional program. With so much unknown, especially early on, we knew this would be a significant undertaking.

WMA’s rapid transition to online learning in the spring was extremely effective, especially for the limited time available to make it happen. We were thoughtful and decisive in our actions, and we led the way among our peer schools for timely and successful communication and implementation of our plans.

But, we also knew, with four spring and summer months to plan, that we could do even better.

So, we started with one primary goal in mind: safely open the Academy for the 2020–2021 school year and end the year in a solid position to launch into the equally critical following year.

To guide us in our planning and preparations, we utilized the expertise of four leaders in their respective fields who served as our unofficial advisory council.

Dr. Bob Brown, president of Boston University and a member of the panel of college and university presidents that provided school-opening guidance to the state

Dr. Tom LeBlanc, president of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Bonnie Faulkner Ryan ’82, a WMA Trustee and emergency medicine physician at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester and front-line COVID-19 care specialist

Dr. Mark Keroack ’72, a specialist in infectious disease, president and CEO of Baystate Health in Springfield and member of (Massachusetts) Governor Baker’s Reopening Advisory Board

This assembly of professionally and geographically ideal advisors was a critical source of information and guidance, especially in the early stages of planning, and a sounding board for WMA as we prepared to navigate uncharted territory.

We quickly realized that our efforts would need to revolve around three primary directives:

1. We would need an educationally sound program that could adapt quickly to potentially changing circumstances and that afforded seamless engagement, whether people could be on campus or were required to be remote.

2. We would need a rigorous testing program— fear of the unknown was a primary adversary in this effort, so knowing when and where the virus was on campus was a key to managing it.

3. We would need to implement as many precautions as possible to prevent transmission of the virus on campus when it inevitably arrived.

Of course, we do not know exactly what lies ahead for WMA for the remainder of the year, but we are confident that we will overcome any challenges with the kind of grit and thoughtfulness that has gone into our planning thus far and with the continued support and encouragement of our loyal alumni family.

What follows, in outline form to keep it concise, is the summary of the plans that led to an overwhelmingly successful opening of the Academy in the midst of unprecedented, societal upheaval.

Academic Plans

Created a true hybrid educational model where students and teachers can learn together synchronously with everyone on campus, everyone off campus or any percentage necessitated by circumstances at the time Remodeled the entire academic program from a trimester 5-course system to a semester block schedule system to better transition to and from in-person and online learning Adopted a new school-wide Learning Management System, Canvas, to better support students and teachers on or off campus Committed very early to a fully online academic plan for the three-week interim period between the fall and winter vacations, to limit the impact of typical related travel

• Thumbs up from Cara Murphy ’22 Engaged faculty in significant summer training programs and curricular revision Purchased laptops and other single-use technology for faculty members to limit device cross-contamination

Testing/Quarantine Plans

Contracted with The Broad Institute in Cambridge for “gold-standard” PCR testing of every person on campus, twice every week with no more than four days between tests Purchased analysis capacity, guaranteeing 24-hour results regardless of local or regional circumstances Signed lease with Quidel for two Sofia2 rapid antigen test machines (all leases superseded by the Federal Government, so we are utilizing PCR testing 100%) Leased a temperature-controlled trailer for twice-weekly testing to keep it distinct from Health Services functions Renovated a handful of offices on campus, which had attached bathrooms, into comfortable individual quarantine rooms Purchased five RV travel trailers and installed them on campus as individual quarantine quarters Planned for the quick transition of several large spaces on campus into isolation wards, should that become necessary All faculty and staff were PCR tested during the weeks leading up to the opening of school All boarding students quarantined for five days upon arrival and underwent a series of three PCR tests, every other day All day students were PCR tested the week before classes began

Transmission Prevention Plans

Masks properly worn, at all times, when on campus—the only exceptions are when eating meals at shielded tables or when sitting in Mask-Free Zones Designated several large outdoor, six-footdistanced Mask-Free Zones and outdoor teaching spaces to give community members a healthy break from mask wearing Renovated indoor spaces across campus to fully accommodate six-foot distancing in all classrooms at all times, with 100% attendance every day Designated building entrances and exits to help prevent hallway crowding Turned Alumni Memorial Chapel into a grab-and-go dining hall in order to split dining capacity to meet state requirements and create additional safe indoor dining space Repurposed the Campus Center as a Middle School Dining Hall to accommodate cohorting Plexiglass dividers on all dining hall tables for safe and communal meals Designated all restrooms on campus as single-use only All HVAC systems on campus outfitted with ionizing air purification systems All mini-split heat and AC units in the dorms outfitted with ionizing filters Every classroom and meeting space on campus outfitted with a True HEPA air purifier, sized appropriately for square footage Constructed three new bathrooms in Rich Hall, one on the south wing of each of the three dormitory floors, to split capacity and facilitate cohorting of residential students Enhanced campus-wide cleaning operations with an additional crew designated specifically to disinfection of high-touch surfaces and high-risk areas Continued daily extracurricular activities, after alterations, in accordance with guidance from DPH and CDC Canceled all early-season interscholastic events or performances in favor of late-season events, if they become feasible

As you can see, it was quite a busy few months at WMA, but we are thrilled with the results. Even under these circumstances, school still opened with a flourish of student energy and enthusiasm at being back ... and the students have been truly exemplary in their acceptance of the new campus expectations: “It’s not that bad, Mr. Easler, and we would rather be here, together, with a little inconvenience than not be able to be here.” We are all so proud of them.