October 23, 2020
Dear St. Mark’s Families,
Greetings from Southborough. At a time when St. Mark’s is educating students amidst limitations brought about by COVID-19, our calendar decisions are guided by two priorities: Employing the approach that is best for teaching and learning, and employing the approach that is safest. With these priorities in mind, I am pleased to share preliminary details of how St. Mark’s is currently planning to approach 2021. While some information is still to come, I hope that the details shared here will assist you in your planning for the next few months. Of course, given the dynamic nature of our environment during the pandemic, all information below is subject to change.
Return to Campus
Remote learning will begin on Monday, January 4, for all students. St. Mark’s will begin classes on campus on Tuesday, January 19. Boarding students will move in beginning on Saturday, January 16. There will be a 14-day quarantine period for day and boarding students before they return to campus (details below).
In the coming days, we will be reaching out to all families to ask for your preference in regard to remote, boarding, or day status for the spring term.
The School is currently seeking preliminary information through advisor-advisee conversations, and we will follow up with a more formal survey. While we will make every effort to accommodate your request, the School’s boarding capacity, adjusted for COVID-19, will be a factor in this process, as will the capacity of our classrooms. There is the potential that demand for boarding could exceed our available occupancy in residential Houses, in which case we will determine a process for deciding which boarding students we are able to welcome to campus for the spring.
Quarantine Period and Testing
A 14-day quarantine period will again be required for all boarding and day students before arrival on campus. For students who require a place to quarantine, we are again looking to secure rooms at the Residence Inn Boston Framingham for this purpose. Details on the Residence Inn will be shared in the coming weeks so that families can make arrangements.
When students arrive on the St. Mark’s campus in January, they will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test that is no more than seven days old. Students will also take a PCR test when they arrive on campus. Day students will quarantine at home until they receive results of the PCR test they take at St. Mark’s, while boarding students will quarantine in their rooms. Meals will be delivered to boarding students in their rooms during this time.
Athletics
All of us at St. Mark’s understand that our student-athletes are eager to get back to athletic competition at both the interscholastic and club level. However, after studying the risks and carefully examining our current situation, we have determined that the School’s current policy regarding club sports will remain in effect for the winter season. Any student who wishes to participate in club sports must choose the fully remote option of learning. Boarding and day students will not be permitted to participate in club sports.
Like off-campus travel, allowing students to participate in club sports inherently increases the number of contacts per student. By regularly mixing with participants in clubs sports outside of the St. Mark’s community, student athletes returning from these settings will threaten the protective barriers St. Mark’s has worked to create for its on-campus community. This is particularly true now that the prevalence of COVID-19 infections is rising in New England and many other areas of the United States. The risk of bringing COVID-19 back to campus unwittingly would be greater still if athletes, coaches, and support staff for the club sport organizations are not tested or screened for the coronavirus as a criterion for participation.
On October 22, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health ordered that all indoor ice rinks and indoor skating and hockey facilities may not host games, practices, or any other on-ice hockey or skating activities until November 7. This applies to the Gardner Rink and other private school facilities.
In addition, at the current time, we do not envision a return to normal ISL competition this fall or winter, given our league-wide conversations and the varying calendars that ISL schools are considering for their return in January. Circumstances will, in all likelihood, limit our athletic program to skills training and intrasquad play, similar to the activity of the fall season.
Student Policies and Restrictions
All of our decision-making around student policies and restrictions is made in consultation with the St. Mark’s Health and Safety Task Force, and all decisions are made in the interest of keeping our small boarding school open and safe for all of our students and adults. We are in close touch with our peer boarding schools, and while we have discovered that boarding schools are approaching calendar decisions in a variety of ways, we know that our approach is in alignment with the approach of some of our peers.
Decisions regarding our boarding students may be different than decisions for day students because our boarding students are part of a congregate living community in our residential Houses and thus have an experience that is very different from that of our day students as far as potential spread of COVID-19 (or any virus). At this time, we imagine that our current approach restricting boarding students’ travel off campus will remain in place in January.
Spring Break
St. Mark’s is currently exploring its approach to spring break. We recognize that families are eager to have details about the spring as soon as possible. Please know that we are engaged in thoughtful internal discussions about the spring to ensure, to the extent possible, the health and safety of the entire community while providing a break of some kind in the academic schedule. We realize that some of our students may face travel restrictions based on their home state or country. St. Mark’s is committed to supporting all of our families, no matter where they live. More details about spring break will be shared with you soon.
Social Agreements
Given the continued fluidity of our situation at this time, our approach to the winter and spring are subject to change, if and when conditions change. Families should make any plans with this recognition.
I know that many of you will have questions, and I encourage you to submit your questions to return@stmarksschool.org. This mailbox is monitored regularly, and you will receive a personal response. I also look forward to sharing more details about our return to school in January in mid-November. In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and patience during this most challenging year.
