July 12, 2020
Dear Prince Families:
The start of school is still a month away, and the publishing of our detailed reopening plan remains on schedule for one week from today. Until then, here is a summary of key topics contained in our plan to help keep you informed of our general approach to reopening:
- We will return to a traditional school environment on August 10th with several modifications that emphasize the safety of our students, faculty, and staff.
- Masks will be optional. All faculty and staff will be issued face shields, and their use will be voluntary.
- Faculty and staff will be required to report daily that they are symptom-free. Temperatures of students, faculty, and staff will be taken throughout the day by a preidentified list determined by our new full-time school nurse; select administrators will assist in this effort. We already have an abundant supply of touch-free temperature thermometers.
- We have increased our cleaning staff to facilitate the sanitizing of common touch surfaces like door handles, push bars, bathroom fixtures, etcetera, throughout the school day.
- Ample supplies of hand sanitizer will be distributed throughout all classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, etcetera, and students will be “trained” to use these products as we operate in this new normal.
- Clorox and Lysol wipes will be used by teachers to facilitate wiping down desks and common classroom surfaces throughout the day.
- All classrooms will be disinfected each night with Bioesque Disinfectant, which is 99.9 percent effective against the human Coronavirus.
- We have increased our cafeteria staff so food and drinks can be placed on students’ trays by a gloved, masked, and face-shielded food service worker. Flatware dispensers have been replaced by prepackaged flatware, and self-serve drink stations have been eliminated.
- Students will be socially distanced during lunch, and we will rotate students to eat lunch outside on tables in the pavilion.
- Visitors will not be allowed on campus for the first nine weeks of school, after which we will reevaluate this policy. Parents are not visitors and are allowed on campus.
- Chapel services will be socially distanced utilizing the spacious seating in the church’s worship center.
- Field trips and off-campus overnight spiritual retreats are canceled for the first nine weeks after which we will reevaluate this policy.
- Each student in PreK-12th grade will have a school-issued laptop, and we will offer hybrid online instruction for quarantined students. More details regarding online education will follow in our detailed plan.
- Athletics have been up and running since June, and we have learned a great deal about sanitation procedures and phase-in plans. Our athletic protocols will be applied to our physical education classes using the coaching staff as facilitators to ensure continuity in implementation.
- Band classes have been moved to the middle school theater at the church to facilitate improved social distancing over our current band room. Both band and choral music selections have been chosen to reduce exposure risks.
- Enrollment in the lower school has been capped to facilitate social distancing. We are now wait listing students in select grades, and we will open another class should the number of wait listed students allow it.
Over the past four months, our Campus Safety Committee has continuously reviewed and discussed information and recommendations from the World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control, Georgia Department of Public Health, American Academy of Pediatrics, Georgia Department of Education, National Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Georgia Association of Independent Schools, and consulted with local healthcare providers in COVID-19 leadership positions. The information published by these organizations is legion; we have assembled a concise plan based upon science and common sense that is consistent with Prince’s culture.
As a community of believers, we must recognize and understand we are returning to a communal environment during a global pandemic for which no vaccine exists; there are a great many unknowns. One thing we do know is students will continue to contract this virus during the school year, and our procedures for responding to that scenario have been designed to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, and staff remain at the forefront of our decision-making process.
Please remember, this is a summary of our detailed reopening plan, which will follow one week from today. All the faculty and staff are very eager to welcome your student back and return to a traditional school environment, and we thank you for your continued investment in a Christ-centered education.
With warm regards and in His service,
