July 10, 2020

Dear Chatham Hall Families,

Long before the conclusion of the 2019-2020 school year, we were planning diligently for the upcoming opening of school; ensuring our buildings are clean, our employees are well, and safeguarding our campus as much as possible as we anticipate the return of your daughters. As you know from my last communication, Chatham Hall has engaged with professionals in the medical, academic, and health fields to ensure we are as safe and cautious as possible with the goal of returning to on-campus and in-person learning. 

A series of presidential proclamations beginning on January 31, 2020, have led to some stringent guidelines which will affect the ways many international students are able to return to Chatham Hall to begin school in the fall. We have also been monitoring the travel restrictions from the United States, temporary closures of visa offices, and transportation options. This impacts you and your family, and I want to share below the information we have now and the ways everyone at Chatham Hall will help your daughter and your family during this time. 

Currently, international families/students traveling from China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Iran, and Schengen countries including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland may not enter the United States if they were physically present in those countries during the 14 days prior to their attempted entry into the U.S. In other words, families/students must quarantine in another country which is not subject to these restrictions for 14 days after departing their country (Mexico may be a possibility). Once families/students enter the U.S., they will be requested to self-isolate and monitor for 14 days, which can take place on our campus. U.S. passport holders are not subject to this restriction even if they reside in one of these areas.

Additionally, on July 6, 2020, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a broadcast message which tightened some of the restrictions which had been relaxed for F-1 students at the onset of COVID-19 in the United States back to the regulations in place prior to that time.  Over the last few days we have done a great bit of study around this message and have spoken with colleagues at fellow schools and organizations.  This has a far greater effect on students in university than it will for students at the secondary school level. What this means for us, today, is that in order to remain in active status as an F-1 student, all international students must be present on campus for in person classes. 

The good news is the state of Virginia's guidelines for opening and our conversations with local public health officials and other schools confirm that Chatham Hall can and should be open in the fall.  As a result, the campus will be fully open for residency and in-classroom learning.  We cannot wait for our students to be here!

Chatham Hall is committed to your daughters and your family. We believe this is vital information for you as you begin making plans for your daughter’s travel to Chatham Hall. These guidelines are often confusing and can change frequently so we want to stay updated and be sure you do as well. We also understand that this may create an additional responsibility for your family. In order to be as accommodating as possible, we have made the following adjustments for international students during the academic school year: 

  • Flexible arrival time beginning on August 20, but please contact us individually before you book your tickets.
  • For the Opening of School, we will provide a Chatham Hall driver for your daughter at no additional cost to pick her up from Dulles Airport (IAD) in Washington, D.C. and the Raleigh-Durham Airport ( RDU) in Raleigh, NC even if not a designated travel day. This is contingent upon your family providing information to us frequently and prior to arrival.
  • Campus will remain open for all long weekends, Spring Break, and the time in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Important dates are attached. 
  • Connecting you and your family with other Chatham Hall families in your area to potentially travel together.
  • From an academic standpoint, teachers are currently fortifying hybrid teaching methods to ensure your daughter will not be behind in coursework should she be unable to join us for Opening Day. 
  • Increasing our technology in classrooms to ensure your daughter feels part of the academic day should she not yet be able to be physically present. 

Returning students:   At this time, you have the necessary travel documents required by the United States and should be able to travel back to school in August provided you follow the guidelines for the quarantine mentioned above.   Under the July 6 message, we are required to send you a new I-20, however, it should not require a new visa.  We hope to be able to reissue these as soon as possible--updated with Chatham Hall’s plans so reopen in the fall--and to send them by email. We thank you for your patience as we work to reissue all of these.   If you do have to apply for a new visa this summer because yours has expired and we are not aware, please let us know immediately.

New students:   You are affected by the consulate closures. Some countries are already scheduling appointments for later in the summer or fall. We advise trying to make an appointment as soon as you can, even if the appointment is late. Consulates in some countries, but not all, will consider an F-1 visa application to meet the criteria for an emergency appointment.  If you can get an emergency appointment, please take it.  Do not worry if you will be late returning to school. You will be able to participate in classes, advisory time, and more until you are able to arrive. Please let us know when you have scheduled an appointment even if it will not be for some time.   We will also be reissuing I-20s to you with our updated plans for the fall.

Chatham Hall is proud to be a community of scholars from around the world.  We would not be the school we are--nor could we provide the vibrant educational opportunities we do--without international students and students from around the United States.  The diversity of thought in our classrooms and of perspective in our dormitories pushes us to listen, to learn, and to make our school community a better place.  Our students enter university and then go forward in their lives with a broad worldview, friends around the globe, and a fervent desire to change the world for the better.  We stand as one community with all of our families, united in our steadfast belief that each of our students deserves to be here in August and, as long as the school can open safely, should not have any disruption to her education.  We deeply regret these new guidelines which were issued with no input from the schools or students who are directly affected.  At the same time, we wish to make this disheartening news as easy to interpret as we can, so we share it with you now.  We will update you if and when we learn more, as we still have questions about this.  Like other secondary schools and universities who share our grief and our outrage, we are fighting for you as we work to understand fully what this will mean.

We realize this is a lot of information to process. We have arranged Zoom meetings on July 15 at 2:30pm (EST) and July 17 at 8:30am (EST) to speak about this. Meeting links are below.  In the interim, I know you will have questions. I am providing a list of people who are here to help you and your family below. This is not what any of us want, but we remain unwavering in our goal to educate young women to empower the world.  Your family is our family, we missed your daughters so much this spring, and we look forward to the day we are all together again.


Important resources and reminders:



Esto Perpetua,
Rachel A. Connell
Rector