March 9, 2020

Dear Families,

I want to share the latest updates around BB&N’s multi-faceted planning pertaining to the COVID-19 virus as conditions continue to evolve worldwide, nationally, and locally. I know that this is an anxious, unsettling time for all of us. Please know that my leadership team and I are meeting daily to review necessary decisions, policies, and precautions as we work to ensure the health and well-being of our entire school community.

As we all know, the start of Spring Break is five days away, so let me give you a sense of where things stand in the short-term (now and up until Break), the medium-term (during Break), and the longer term (March 29 and onward). 

Short-Term (March 9-13)
  • We are currently aware of no cases of COVID-19 infection in our community (students, parents, faculty, staff, household members).  
  • This week, we ask you to continue to carefully monitor your child(ren)’s health carefully. If your student is showing symptoms of any illness whatsoever, please stay home and consult with your physician if necessary. We are emphasizing this same request to our faculty and staff. 
  • I also remind parents that you always have the discretion to make your own decisions regarding the attendance of your children. If you wish to keep your child at home for any reason this week, please simply contact your campus office to inform them.
  • We ask our parent community to please reach out to the nurse on your child’s campus if you or any member of your household is either currently self-quarantined, or enters self-quarantine in the days and weeks ahead. For any cases of self-quarantine or quarantine that may occur, we would work in partnership with you and your family, under Mass. DPH guidelines, to determine appropriate next steps and to ensure that the recommendations are being followed appropriately.
  • For the past several weeks, we have intensified our sanitation procedures so that disinfectant-level cleaning is occurring on a nightly basis in all classrooms, labs, and high-traffic areas across all three campuses. 
  • We have placed signs at the entry points on all of our campuses asking visitors to self-report if they have been directed to self-quarantine or have members in their households who have been directed to self-quarantine. Any such visitor will be asked to not remain on campus. 
  • For the remainder of this week, out of an abundance of caution, we have postponed any larger-group event that would have included larger groups of external visitors attending any of our campuses. We will be in touch shortly with specifics about which events will be postponed. 
  • For those who might have questions about various aspects of COVID-19, we have created a page on our school website that includes Frequently Asked Questions and other appropriate resources. The critical supervising agencies, CDC and Mass. DPH, also maintain excellent informational sites that are updated frequently. 

Medium-Term (during Break, March 14-March 28)
  • We have cancelled all school-sponsored trips to international and domestic destinations that were scheduled to take place over the two weeks of Spring Break. These sorts of decisions are always difficult; we have communicated directly with the affected families and thanked them for their ongoing partnership in helping to keep our students safe and healthy.
  • In addition, for precautionary reasons, we are canceling any school-funded professional development trips that a faculty or staff member is scheduled to take between now and April 1st. 
  • As I’ve mentioned in my previous two letters, I’d ask any family who is planning a trip over Break—whether international or domestic—to pay very close attention to advisories that are listed on the CDC Travelers‘ Health page. For example, as I wrote last Thursday, any trip to a Level III country (China, South Korea, Italy, Iran) will result in a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine upon your return to the United States. Please be sure to evaluate potential consequences, such as return travel complications or self-quarantine restrictions, that could possibly develop in respect to trips planned to other destinations. 

Longer-Term (Post-Break, March 28-onward)
  • Over the break, my team and I will be keeping a close eye on larger-scale events scheduled for the first couple of weeks back from Break, such as Admission Office revisit days. 
  • My leadership team and I continue to conduct extensive planning for contingencies that may potentially emerge statewide regarding mandatory school closures. Please look for an email from me later this week that will include further details about our plan for contingencies such as these. 

I know that for some this might seem like an overwhelming amount of information to process. Please do take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions section of our COVID-19 resource page , which we hope will answer your questions/concerns and provide resources to talk to your kids.

As you all know based on previous communications from me, I believe in sharing as much as possible with respect to matters that impact all members of our shared community. Please know that while my team and I focus on these planning measures to safeguard the health of our community, our teachers and staff are working non-stop on what they always do exceptionally well—that is, instructing, guiding, advising, coaching, and supporting your children. 

I have learned in my time here that challenging times bring out the best in our community. Thank you all for your continued partnership in helping to keep our students healthy, safe, and happy.

Best,

Dr. Jennifer Price
Head of School