What additional details do boarding students need to know about returning to campus in January 2021?

Updated on Dec. 14, 2020

Dear Boarding Parents,

Following are additional details about the plan for boarding students to return to campus in January after the Winter Break.

Plan to Return to Campus in January — Dorms Will Open on Jan. 3

As Mr. Gunnin stated in his email on Nov. 18, classes will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 5, and all students will participate in remote learning that first week. We will then resume in-person classes the week of Jan. 11. If you wish to participate in in-person learning on campus beginning on Jan. 11, you should plan to return to campus on Sunday, Jan. 3. That’s when the dorms will reopen. Surveillance testing will be available on campus for students the week of Jan. 4.

All boarding students will need to present a negative PCR nasopharyngeal test result when they arrive on campus and then do a one-week quarantine (minimum of 7 days). During this quarantine, students will take two surveillance tests, with the second test occurring no earlier than day 7 of the quarantine. Students who obtain two negative test results during this quarantine will be cleared to resume in-person learning. Boarding students will be quarantined by dorm, not individually. I will provide more details on how these dorm quarantines will work after I get a better understanding of students' return-to-campus plans.

For those boarding students who decide to pursue remote learning in January following the Winter Break, we will continue to support them with outstanding online programming for the remainder of the school year.

Plan for Returning to Campus in January Is Based on Three Assumptions

This plan is based on three assumptions: 1) Austin does not experience a significant surge in positive cases between now and Jan. 11 that results in city orders restricting in-person school programming, 2) we do not have a significant outbreak of positive cases in our school community between now and then, and 3) we are able to maintain our capacity to conduct surveillance tests so that all students, employees and residential family members on campus can be tested twice a week.

In the coming weeks, we will continue to monitor CDC travel guidance and update our health and safety protocols accordingly, including our quarantine policies.

Please Complete Survey to Let Us Know Your Plans to Return in January

We will be sending you a survey in the next day or two about your plans to return to campus in January after the Winter Break. Please be sure to complete the survey as soon as possible so we can begin planning for boarding students’ arrival in January. If you have any questions or would like to change your return plans, please contact me directly at gphillips@sstx.org.

Thanks for your cooperation with this request.

Sincerely,

Gene Phillips

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