Reconnecting Our Community

UPDATED 8/28

Students will begin to move on to campus on September 11. Classes will begin on September 16.

As we prepare for the opening of the 2020-21 academic year, we ask that each family fill out this pre-arrival travel form as soon as possible. This form is essential in that it will give Taft important information about your travel plans, arrival date, and your ability to meet U.S. and state of Connecticut quarantine requirements.  

We are working on a plan to allow for an orderly and safe move-in process. Detailed information about moving on to Taft’s campus will be available soon. In the meantime, arrival and opening day information is as follows:

• September 11 - Students who live more than 200 miles from Taft’s campus and ACT Test Takers arrive
• September 12 - ACT test 
• September 13 - Day Student Registration, New Day Student Orientation, Student Programming
• September 14 - Student Programming for students who arrived on 9/11
• September 15 - Special “Practice Day” Schedule
• September 16 - Day Students arrive. Classes formally begin.
• September 19 - Remaining lower mids and mids arrive
• September 20 - Remaining upper mids, seniors, and PGs arrive

Students may not arrive on campus without a parent or guardian. It will be essential for each student to have a parent or guardian with them in case of missing paperwork or a positive PCR result that requires the student to remain off campus for a time. 

In an effort to keep campus as healthy as possible, we hope to limit travel on and off campus. This means that there will not be a Fall Long Weekend. Weekend leaves in the fall semester will only be granted through permission of the Dean’s Office. (See Student Life.) Here are key dates for the academic year:

• September 16, 2020: Classes begin
• November 24, 2020: Thanksgiving break begins, students depart campus
• December 2-15, 2020: All classes meet remotely
• January 4, 2021: Students begin to return to campus*
• March 11-28, 2021: Spring Break (tentative)
• May 30, 2021: Commencement
• June 4, 2021: Academic year ends for lower mids, mids, and upper mids (tentative)

*More information on plans for the return to campus in January will be communicated as circumstances develop throughout the fall semester. 

In order for a student to return to campus, they must:

Updated 8/27

i) Come from a low-risk state and have a negative PCR test within four days of arriving on campus. (See below and additional FAQs about testing for specifics. Please note that a PCR test is a nasal swab test. Saliva and cheek swab tests will NOT be accepted.)

ii) If coming from a high-risk state or traveling internationally, meet Connecticut or federal requirements by quarantining for 14 days in Connecticut or another low-risk state and have a negative PCR test within four days of arriving on campus. Please find the most up to date information for Connecticut here. 

iii) Dr. Fountas requests that we each quarantine — wherever we are and in alignment with the State of Connecticut and CDC — for the 14 days prior to coming to campus. Students should minimize contact with others during this 14-day period. Specifically, students should not attend any large social events or interact with more than a few people (3-5) at a time. Students should be vigilant in physical distancing (maintaining at least a 6-foot distance between the student and others), using a face covering, washing hands frequently, refraining from touching their face (especially eyes) without washing hands first. Limiting the potential for exposure to people in general helps reduce the chance of being exposed to COVID and potentially bringing COVID to Taft’s campus. Thank you for your help with this.  

This policy, consistent with state guidelines and advice of medical experts, is critical as we try to open campus safely. For students who are unable or choose not to return to campus, we will support you fully with remote learning. Please know that we will miss seeing you in person, know how challenging this moment is, and look forward to welcoming you back to campus when conditions allow. 

Complete our Return to School Form and All Health Forms

First, we ask that each family respond to this survey -- the Return to School form -- as soon as possible. If you have multiple children attending Taft, please submit this form for each student. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Assistant Head of School Jeremy LaCasse at jlacasse@taftschool.org.

All students returning to campus must submit all health center forms as soon as possible. If the Health Center has not received your forms by August 25, you may not be able to return to campus with your class. The forms may be found on the Parents page of the Taft website under the header titled “Health Center: 2020-21 Documents and Forms.” If you have any questions at all about the status of your forms, please email or call the Health Center (healthcenter@taftschool.org or 860-945-7762).

Get Tested

Before being allowed on campus, students must present proof of a negative PCR test administered no more than four days pre-arrival.

The preferred type of test is a nasal swab PCR test, though quick antigen tests (aka “rapid tests”) tests will be accepted. Any community member presenting an initial rapid test will be given a repeat PCR test during the first week of school. Please let the Health Center know if you had the rapid antigen test rather than the 24-48 hour PCR. Please note that we will not accept saliva and buccal mucosal tests (aka cheek swabs).

If you have difficulty arranging a test, please contact Taft's Health Center at healthcenter@taftschool.org or 860-945-7762. We strongly advise you to get a PCR test where you are and within four days of arrival on campus. Taft will offer testing that fits within the four-day testing window for families unable to procure testing elsewhere, but families will need to come to Taft, get tested, and then remain off campus until Taft has the confirmed results. 

UPDATED 7/22: Follow-up Guidance on Pre-Arrival Testing
We understand that COVID-19 PCR testing is difficult to access in many parts of the US at the moment — and that when testing is available results often take longer than four days. Guidance from the state of Connecticut for independent schools has functioned to keep our communities safe; we are hopeful that it will adjust to the reality of testing availability. We expect additional state guidance to be released soon. We are working on solutions to the testing issues facing many families as you plan for your student’s return to campus. At this moment, our guidance is that you have your child tested as close as possible to their arrival on campus, knowing that our previously communicated policy of testing within 4 days of arrival may not be possible for all students.

Know and Adhere to Quarantine Guidelines

All Taft students, employees, and visitors will be expected to abide by US government and state of Connecticut quarantine regulations. For the latest on these guidelines please visit the CDC and State of Connecticut websites. 

UPDATED 8/1: On- campus Quarantine Update
Taft will no longer offer an August 20 quarantine. Please refrain from making any travel arrangements in the short run as we continue to determine how to best proceed.

UPDATED 7/30: Clarification about the “72 hour rule”
The Connecticut Department of Public Health has explained that a negative test result may only be used in lieu of the 14-day quarantine in very specific and rare circumstances such as coming to Connecticut for a funeral service, not for general travel or vacation. Therefore, all students coming from high-risk states must quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Connecticut.

* Note to international travelers: Please note that the federal government is requiring anyone arriving from outside of the U.S. to quarantine for 14 days once they arrive in the United States. 

In an effort to control the spread of COVID, Connecticut is responding on almost a daily basis to the uptick in cases throughout the rest of the United States.  It is likely that Connecticut will continue to issue further guidance as we approach the opening of school and we encourage you to visit their website at:  https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Covid-19-Knowledge-Base/Travel-In-or-Out-of-CT for the most up to date information.

Arrange Your Transportation to Campus

Required safety protocol will not allow the school to provide transportation from airports and train stations for the school opening. While we do not anticipate providing such services during the fall semester, we would resume offering such services as conditions allow.

Where initially remote learning was limited to those international students unable to travel to Taft, with evolving challenges, the option is now open to all Taft students who prefer to begin the academic year this way. Should your family be more comfortable with the remote option, please notify the school by emailing enrollment@taftschool.org no later than August 15, 2020, noting your preference for the remote option. Please note that, in accordance with prior communications, all adjustments to tuition as a result of studying remotely will take place with a refund at the end of the impacted semester. (See FAQ titled Notice about 2020-21 Tuition Rates).

The school is committed to following the guidelines put forward by the state of Connecticut and the CDC. Further, alongside 32 of our peer schools, we engaged the services of a consultant, Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E), to advise on best practices around safety and cleaning protocols for our campus. You will find more detail in the questions and answers that follow.

All faculty and staff will be tested for COVID-19 prior to the arrival of students.

Students must complete a PCR test no more than four days before arriving on campus and must present proof of a negative test to be allowed on campus. Students who do not have negative test results will not be allowed on campus.

The preferred type of test is a nasal swab PCR test, though quick antigen tests (aka “rapid tests”) tests will be accepted. Any community member presenting an initial rapid test will be given a repeat PCR test during the first week of school. Please let the Health Center know if you had the rapid antigen test rather than the 24-48 hour PCR. Please note that we will not accept saliva and buccal mucosal tests (aka cheek swabs).

Any students coming from areas of high infection rate or who have spent an extended time on public transportation to reach campus will likely be tested a week after arriving on campus. Taft will arrange for this follow-up testing.

Taft's entire on-campus community will be retested 10-14 days after the opening of school.

For information about testing in Connecticut visit this web page. A list of Connecticut test centers is available here. This information is likely to change in the coming days and weeks, so please check back frequently.

As a reminder, the preferred type of test is a nasal swab PCR test, though quick antigen tests (aka “rapid tests”) tests will be accepted. Any community member presenting an initial rapid test will be given a repeat PCR test during the first week of school. Please let the Health Center know if you had the rapid antigen test rather than the 24-48 hour PCR. Please note that we will not accept saliva and buccal mucosal tests (aka cheek swabs).

 

All Taft faculty, staff, and students will complete a brief electronic daily health survey  (five questions which will take less than a minute to answer) using the REACH Boarding platform already in use at Taft. When any individual indicates symptoms of infectious disease and, particularly, COVID-19, they will be directed to stay home (for employees) or stay in their rooms and await direction from the health center personnel (for students).

Taft's entire on-campus community will be retested 10-14 days after on campus classes begin. In addition to ongoing surveillance testing, students and employees who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 at any time throughout the year will be required to be tested.

We will not be administering daily temperature checks, but the daily health survey (which all community members who access campus must complete every day) will include a question about fever.

Given the low virus levels in Connecticut at the moment, we are asking day students and their families to follow physical distancing protocols — mask wearing, six feet of physical distance, and hand washing. Day students (along with all other community members) will also fill out the daily health survey and will be directed to stay home and see their physician, should they exhibit any symptoms. They will communicate with the health center before being allowed to return to campus.

Students are required to have a guardian or parent who can collect them from campus within 48 hours of the school requesting that the child leave campus. Taft will be unable to assist with the transportation to the guardian or parent. Students testing positive for COVID-19 will be isolated in separate on-campus housing during this 48-hour period.  

Should a student be confirmed to have COVID-19, the school will require his or her roommate and any students who have been in close contact with the infected student to be quarantined in the care of their parents or guardian for 14 days. These students will be quarantined in a separate location on campus until the parent/guardian can pick up their child.

As announced in June, all Taft students MUST have a parent or guardian who will be able to pick up their child within 48 hours of that request being made. Taft cannot help with this arrangement — this is the responsibility of each student’s parent or guardian.

Yes. Treatment should be coordinated through the Taft Health Center with Dr. Fountas ordering all tests/ treatments to ensure insurance coverage.

A list of area accommodations — local hotels where you may want to convalesce — is available on the Taft accommodations web page.

Masks are our greatest defense against the spread of the virus, therefore, masks will be required on campus in all common spaces, including hallways, classrooms, and when entering the dining hall until seated at a table. Masks will also be required in all Taft vehicles. Teachers and administrators will hold students accountable, should they fail to follow physical distancing and mask-wearing requirements. It is a privilege to be on campus and our work together in adhering to these guidelines keeps us all safe.  

All employees (faculty and staff) will follow state and industry guidelines for PPE utilization.  Kitchen staff, custodial staff, and health center staff will all follow state and industry guidelines for PPE utilization and will engage in mandated educational programs to ensure PPE knowledge and compliance.

Acceptable face masks include multiple layer cloth face coverings or surgical masks. Masks may not be knitted, made of fleece, or have vents. Neck gaiters and bandanas are also not acceptable face coverings. Face masks must fully cover the nose and mouth. Because face masks with one-way valves or vents allow exhaled air to be expelled out through holes in the material, they are not recommended by the CDC and will not be permitted at Taft. Face shields may be worn in addition to (but may not replace) a face mask or face covering.

Every Taft student and employee will be provided with a reusable cloth mask and will be educated on the appropriate wearing of a mask. In addition, all students should bring no fewer than five additional reusable cloth masks; limited additional reusable masks will be available for sale in the bookstore, and the school will have disposable masks available should students lose or misplace their mask.

Acceptable face masks include multiple layer cloth face coverings or surgical masks. Masks may not be knitted, made of fleece, or have vents. Neck gaiters and bandanas are also not acceptable face coverings. Face masks must fully cover the nose and mouth. Because face masks with one-way valves or vents allow exhaled air to be expelled out through holes in the material, they are not recommended by the CDC and will not be permitted at Taft. Face shields may be worn in addition to (but may not replace) a face mask or face covering.

As recommended by the CDC, Taft will be asking all community members to maintain six feet of physical distance whenever possible. All classrooms have been measured and furniture adjusted to allow for six feet of physical distance between students in all classrooms. Classes will be assigned to classrooms based on enrollment in that class and the capacity of the room. The classrooms will be cleaned regularly according to state guidelines.

Outside of the classroom, Taft has a wide-range of campus locations where students can congregate during unstructured time. Helping students stay safe during this time will begin with thorough and supportive education about both COVID-19 and how individuals can behave in a manner that keeps themselves and others safe. Signs of various kinds will promote behaviors to keep the community healthy and safe as well as providing guidance for appropriate behavior.

Spaces will also be delineated to make students and others aware of the physical distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing requirements. Appropriate separation and social distance will be created between bathroom spaces, for example, with additional partitions, and plexiglass shields will be installed in other select locations across campus.

The importance of hand washing will be a major focus of education across campus; the school is tripling the number of hands-free sanitizer dispensers across campus to approximately 100.

Enhanced and detailed daily campus-wide cleaning as recommended by EH&E will be a priority this year. Cleaning and disinfecting in accordance with CDC guidelines will occur in common areas such as classrooms, dining halls, and bathrooms, in some instances multiple times per day. The school has purchased and is committed to using CDC recommended cleaning agents proven to kill the virus. Extra supplies will be located in spaces such as bathrooms and classrooms to allow students and employees to properly wipe down spaces after individual use; education on how to do so will be provided to all.

A third-party vendor is reviewing all buildings with HVAC units to certify air handlers and units are up to appropriate standards; in older spaces, the school will follow ventilation guidance put forward by EH&E. CDC recommendations will guide air handler intake levels where relevant and automation will be set accordingly.

The School may close the campus at any time in order to maintain the health and safety of the Taft community.  Taft will follow any State of Connecticut or United States mandate to close the school.  Other factors the School will consider in deciding whether to shut down on-campus operations and operate remotely include: guidelines from local public health officials, level of Taft community transmission, level of Watertown community transmission, local healthcare capacity (i.e. ICU bed occupancy, staff levels), change in newly identified COVID cases and percentage change in people testing positive for COVID in Taft and Watertown community as well as the State of Connecticut COVID levels. 

If directed by state or local health officials to close campus, all students will need to leave campus within 48 hours and must be in the care of a parent or a parent-appointed guardian. 

In the event of school closure, classes will be paused for a short period (days, not weeks) in order to permit students to return home. Students will be expected to take all of their belongings in the event that campus is closed. Please pack for the fall semester with that in mind.

We will take adherence to safety practices very seriously. The three most important practices—mask wearing, physical distancing, and handwashing—will govern all interactions. All students and families will be asked to sign Taft's Community Agreement that outlines all of our expectations surrounding the health and safety guidelines. If a student fails to comply, there will be consequences which will vary depending on the violation. Serious or repeated violations will likely lead to a student no longer being allowed to remain on the campus and instead having to be remote. The Community Agreement will be sent to all families and students (as part of the Dean of Students permission forms mailing) before the start of school.

In many ways, Taft’s academic day will remain the same. Students on campus will attend classes in classrooms and classes will be the same number of instructional minutes as in previous years. Hallway traffic will be designed to lower density and the daily schedule has been adjusted to accommodate 10 minutes passing time between classes. All classroom spaces have been evaluated and adapted in order to create a plan for physically distanced learning. This includes new classrooms being brought online and the use of outdoor space. The most significant changes to the class day are that students and faculty will be wearing masks during class time (see the Health and Safety Standards section) and that furniture has been adjusted in each classroom to allow for 6 feet of physical space between all students. 

The 2020-21 on-campus academic day schedule looks like this:

Classroom safety is paramount, and we have consulted with experts and done considerable work all summer to ensure that these spaces are safe. Classroom safety will be achieved through the de-densification of classrooms; physical distancing and mask wearing in classrooms; and, specific COVID cleaning practices using specialized products. Best practices for classroom safety were established through a comprehensive study of all academic spaces.  Throughout this process the school has referenced the suggested guidance of Environmental Health & Engineering as well as the Reopen CT Education Committee. Classroom spaces were redesigned with health and safety in mind, and ten new classrooms were brought online. In some classrooms, large conference tables were replaced with individual desks.

In lieu of school-wide assembly and morning meetings we will hold required de-densified community events. There will be a weekly group advisee meeting time and I block (Taft’s health and wellness program for lower mids and new mids) has been moved to Thursday mornings.

Taft will offer a hybrid learning model this fall. That is, students who are not able to be on campus will attend live Zoom classes with their classmates if the class falls between 6:00 AM and 12:45 AM in their time zone. Zoom will be the primary platform used to facilitate hybrid learning. This technology creates the experience that nearly feels like being in the classroom alongside peers. 

The school will provide more information about distance learning for families whose circumstances make this option a necessity. 

Study hall will be held Sunday through Friday evenings. 

Yes.

Unfortunately, we do not yet have an answer to this question. Students’ ability to sit for tests off campus will be determined by health circumstances at the time. At this time, the following on-campus test dates are planned for the fall:

• Saturday, September 12 - ACT - for Taft students only and will offer with or without essay
• Wednesday, September 23 - SAT School Day Testing - for Taft students only and offered with and without essay - Please note that Subject Tests will NOT be offered that day.
• Saturday, October 24 - ACT - for Taft students only and will offer with or without essay
• Wednesday, October 28 - Make-Up Day for SAT - if a registered student misses the September 23 date, they may take a makeup exam on this day

Yes, with some stipulations on numbers of occupants and circumstances.

Colleges will only see a transcript, indicating that a student attended Taft. All students will receive grades per normal.

The first semester will end on December 15. Classes will meet remotely from December 2-15.

Updated 8/28

In general, as is the case for many areas of school life, what you will see in on move-in day will be familiar (excited and nervous students and parents) and also different: you will not see a packed Main Circle with happy students hugging each other or crowded stairways of families lugging in boxes. In order to have a safe opening and with minimal crowding, families will be able to sign up for a move-in time, and measures will be in place to make move-in as safe, efficient and orderly as possible.

Each Taft student coming to campus this fall MUST be accompanied by an adult guardian. Any student arriving without a parent/guardian will not be allowed to stay on campus. One family member may help each student move into the dorm. We ask that you move in as quickly as possible. Boarding families with children in multiple grades may arrive and move in on the same day. Mask wearing will be mandated.

We will be directing families to a single registration location, in all likelihood the parking lot across from the Main Entrance, and we will then facilitate the actual moving process by directing traffic from there. Our goal is that we minimize the number of people and the time they are in the dormitories.

Connecticut state guidelines for dormitories will be followed in full. Students in rooming pairs or triples will be viewed as a family unit. Hallways, common areas, and bathrooms will be managed so as to ensure physical distancing necessary to maintain a healthy and safe space. Common rooms will have specific guidelines to allow for their safe use, although all dorm kitchens will be closed. We will delay the start of dorm visitation (allowing students to visit other dorms during study hall) for all students until the school has deemed it safe. A mask will not be required in a student’s own room but masks will be required when walking to and from the bathroom. Students will not be allowed in dorm rooms other than their own.

Similar to helping students appropriately and safely use common spaces, the school has devised a plan to help students safely utilize bathroom facilities. All boarding students will be assigned to a bathroom pod; bathroom items will not be allowed to be stored in the bathroom. The school’s dormitory renovation strategy of the past decade means that most spaces have recently been renovated, ensuring spacing/divisions between toilets and showers, and ventilation systems have all been updated. Signs and direction from dorm faculty will help students to safely utilize bathroom facilities.

In more heavily trafficked bathrooms, sinks will be partitioned to ensure proper distancing. Motorized hand blowers have been disabled throughout campus and paper towel dispensers added to each bathroom. 

As you prepare to return to campus this fall, we request you to bring only the necessary items that you will need for the fall term. All students will be strongly encouraged to take many personal items when they depart the campus for Thanksgiving Break, including clothes, computers/monitors, room decorations and books. Taft will not be in a position to store or ship student belongings should the school be required to close. An updated packing list is available here.

Yes, students can ship items to campus at any point during the summer. Please make sure to address or ship any boxes with student name and year (Ex: John Smith ‘23). Students will be able to pick these items up from the package room when they arrive. Students must be prepared to remove all of their belongings, should they be required to vacate campus because of closing. They should not send more than they can take with them. Also please note that the elevators will not be in use during dorm move-in (another reason to pack light!).

Taft sees residential life as a critical part of the educational experience, and the curriculum often entails dorm meetings and feeds—some informational, some discussion based, some involving the entire dorm, some in smaller groups. This commitment will continue, with topics that include Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work, mental and physical health, student life, and leadership and citizenship. Time and location of these meetings will be determined by the dormitory faculty, with wellness and safety paramount.

Study hall will function much as it always has, running from 8:00-10:00 pm for all boarders, and students will be permitted to sign-out to approved places, like the library for upper schoolers. We will make some adjustments, and they are significant: for instance, lights will be slightly later in order to avoid the bathroom rush at 10:30; dorm room doors will be open at certain times to make it easier for faculty to check on students; and students will not be allowed to enter rooms of other students. But we believe that boarding students will still be able to have what they have always had: a place that serves as a home away from home and where they feel safe, relaxed and included.

We will be using the REACH boarding app for dorm sign out (as well as the daily health survey) and ask all students to make sure they have downloaded the app before their return to campus.

Students will have ample places and opportunities to socialize, as long as they are wearing masks and physically distant. 

At least for the start of the year, students will not be allowed to go to town. We will review that policy when appropriate.

The school will continue to have fun, bonding community activities. While some events cannot be held (Super Sunday, Colors Dance, etc.), new ones will occur. The director of student activities is already working on offerings, and our hope is that students will generate ideas which they know will be fun: we can imagine virtual spectators cheering on a peer in a Taft Fortnite Battle Royal, students enjoying Movie Night, or applauding a performance at a virtual coffee house.

Day and boarding students may not engage in off-campus group activities, such as, but not limited to, club sports teams, showcases, concerts, music and theater offerings. If the school is made aware of students engaging in these activities or travels to a high-risk area, they will be required to be remote for some time period and/or quarantine for 14 days.

We will take adherence to safety practices very seriously. The three most important practices—mask wearing, physical distancing, and handwashing—will govern all interactions. All students and families will be asked to sign a Community Agreement that outlines all of our expectations surrounding the health and safety guidelines. If a student fails to comply, there will be consequences which will vary depending on the violation. Serious or repeated violations will likely lead to a student no longer being allowed to remain on the campus and instead having to be remote. The Community Agreement will be sent to all families and students (as part of the Dean of Students permission forms mailing) before the start of school.

Our goal is to be a closed campus at the outset of the year: that is, to the extent possible, we hope to insulate and isolate Taft. Doing this will require the commitment and cooperation of all community members. All students will be required to limit travel off campus to that which is essential. Weekend sign-out and open weekends will not happen during the fall semester as they normally do. Exceptions, such as a family emergency, will need to be cleared through the dean of students office. Any student’s plan to return to campus from time away will require sign-off from the school doctor and possibly a period of quarantine.

We will support students in critical ways — utilizing counseling, advising and other elements — as well as engaging in robust community building efforts to ensure that our students have a full Taft experience. Working in service to others will be an essential part of aiding the learning of our students and the health of our community.

Yes.

Updated 8/28

School leaders have begun discussions with day student leaders about life on campus this fall, and are exploring how the changes required by COVID-19 will affect the day student experience, specifically.  We will work creatively to identify spaces for day students to study and socialize when they are not in class or involved in the afternoon program. For all of our students, we are working to create the best of what Taft is — a connected and supportive community — within the framework of this health crisis. We acknowledge that life will be different and that we will find our way through it, together.

Please know that day students (and their families) are essential to keeping the Taft community healthy and safe. We request that day families work to keep their circles of potential exposure small--people they come in contact with who are not wearing masks and/or are within six feet; we're asking the same of faculty and staff who leave campus each day. If you have any questions about this, please contact Mr. LaCasse. 

Day students will register on Sunday, September 13 and new day students will have orientation on the afternoon of September 13. All day students will begin classes on campus on September 16th. 

Yes.

Yes, although it will have an occupancy limit and students will be expected to adhere to all mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines.

Since only members of a specific dorm room will be permitted in that room, day students will not be able to “hang out” in a boarder’s room, but will be allowed in dorm common rooms. Day students will be able to participate in Saturday evening activities.

Taft’s food service company (Aramark) and the school have worked in close partnership to determine how to best feed our community during various meals while following all state-mandated health rules. Following state health guidelines, up to 150 people can be fed every 30 minutes; our adjusted schedule allows for feeding people at that interval, allowing for one of the three dining halls to be cleaned during each rotation. During the class day, the dining hall will be open for an extended period to allow ample opportunity for all to eat.

Meals will be pre-packaged, available for quick grab-and-go in the servery area, and without the “action stations” and “serve yourself” buffet. However, choices will be available, including vegetarian and vegan options. We will have instructional signage to aid in traffic flow.

Tables will have a maximum of three (conforming to a detailed plan commissioned with Beacon Associates, an architect vendor-partner of Aramark), and hours will be expanded to allow appropriate thinning and physical distancing. We also plan on offering meals in the Jig, and community members will be allowed to take their meals outside or to their rooms.

Breakfast will be available in “grab-and-go” forms in common rooms and designated locations. In order to manage the numbers at lunch, students will be assigned windows of time in their lunch block. Dinners will also have assigned times, in all likelihood by class. While reading this may lead to the conclusion that the experience will be totally different, we think otherwise: a visitor to campus at lunch or dinner would see students sharing a good meal with friends or chatting with their advisor. And, for all those students who complained about Sit Down dinner, they will get a reprieve—but that tradition will be back as soon as it is allowed!

 

Teenagers always seem to be hungry. We will use the dining hall as a central distribution of snack food throughout the day and evening; we are already investigating a phase-in for online Jig ordering which could be implemented as soon as October; and students will still be able to order take out from select local vendors. (Yes, they can still order pizza!)

We are fortunate to have three large dining halls in addition to the student lounge (or Jig) to be used for physically distanced seating. The servery will provide a traffic pattern for people to safely and efficiently get food. Appropriate PPE will be in place per CDC guidance, including plexiglass shields. Signage addressing required hygiene practices, appropriate traffic flow and social distancing both when picking up food and limiting table capacity will be prominently displayed.

The dining halls will be cleaned throughout operational times, and Aramark staff will be assigned to each dining hall throughout each meal to “trail clean” as each diner vacates a space. Dining spaces will be periodically closed on a rotating basis each block for a thorough space cleaning.

All students will be expected to sign up for an afternoon activity, whether this means a high-level sport, an intramural program, a dramatic production, or community service: that policy has not changed. An observer walking campus on a sunny October afternoon will see a familiar sight: students and coaches practicing on fields. What will change is what those activities look like as we meet community safety guidelines and athletes will not be playing games against other schools. A cross-country runner laboring up Walnut Hill may be training the way they were last year, but the soccer team on the field below will not be: those athletes may be in spaced grids doing skill training.

Students, coaches, and supervisors will be required to wear masks in accordance with public health and government guidelines for athletics.

Physical distancing will be required, and measures will be taken to facilitate this practice (e.g. grid lines on fields).

Students will sign up for an afternoon activity much as they always have. Athletic activities will include upper and lower level groups in the traditional sports (soccer, cross country, field hockey, football, and volleyball) and with coaches supervising and running sessions.

Students who want to train in their winter and spring sports will have the opportunity to, as we are working on plans that will allow us to safely have the athletic center open for skating, squash, basketball and other sports.

Other traditional activities will be offered, albeit with modifications. For instance, Community Service will be offered, but with reduced numbers and limited offerings; we will have a fall dramatic production, but it will not be a musical with forty students on the stage.

As communicated earlier, the Founders League schools have made the unanimous decision to cancel interscholastic athletics for the fall term. 

Taft is committed to the growth and development of student-athletes, just as we are to their intellectual and artistic growth. Importantly, the New England Prep School Athletic Council has suspended its prohibition of out of season training and coaching, and this means that coaches will be able to work with players—consistent with health guidelines—in their off-season. For that reason, we will facilitate the softball player who wants to practice pitching, or the hockey player who is looking to stick handle, or the squash player hoping to practice shots. Further, fall coaches will be able to work with teams, albeit in different ways, both with groups appropriately distanced and also in individual training sessions. We believe that players will absolutely be able to advance their skills and play.

There will be a Fall theater program, though what a production will look like under physical distancing guidelines has yet to be determined.

Yes, gym facilities will be open with specific physical distancing requirements in effect.

Physical distancing requirements will mean that the kind of use we have always taken for granted—a group of students having an impromptu pick-up basketball game on Cobb Court, a weight room crowded with students and faculty—will no longer be possible. These activities are shaped by things we cannot control, including state guidelines. However, knowing how vital the athletic center is for community health, the facility will be available for community use during the fall. Hours will be more restricted, rules and regulations will be posted specific to each facility, and supervision will be present to enforce compliance and ensure safety. And cleanliness will be a high priority, with a variety of new protocols in place. Again, a visitor in the facility will see students and faculty exercising and playing sports—just in different ways and in different conditions. 

Our goal is to be a closed campus at the outset of the year: that is, to the extent possible, we hope to insulate and isolate Taft. Doing this will require the commitment and cooperation of all community members. To that end, family members will not be allowed on campus for social visits or to take their students out to dinner for at least the first six weeks of the school year.

All admissions visits will be conducted virtually this fall. We are working on guidelines that will allow families to safely visit their children on campus this fall and expect to have more information on that in the coming weeks. 

All visitors will fill out a daily health survey in advance of coming to campus. Visitors experiencing COVID symptoms should not come to campus. When visitors arrive on campus, they will provide the results of their health survey and confirm that they are symptom-free. The person welcoming them to campus will explain campus safety protocols including physical distancing, mask-wearing, and hand sanitizing requirements.