- Menu

Update on Bryn Mawr's Reopening

Dear Bryn Mawr Families,

I am sure you are closely following the rise and fall of COVID-19 cases in our area and eager to hear about our plans for the reopening of school this fall. As you may know, many of our surrounding public schools have made the decision to begin virtually, as have some of the local independent schools. Bryn Mawr is balancing a number of different factors as we determine the best way to begin the 2020-2021 school year, including community spread of the virus, the sense of safety of our faculty and families, the psychological wellbeing of our children, our campus resources and our mission to deliver high quality learning.

All summer we have been planning for multiple learning scenarios, knowing that the path of the virus is unpredictable, and that we will need to be nimble in our response to its changing impact on our community. At this time, we think a very conservative approach to bringing students back to campus is required, prioritizing our youngest learners and intentionally phasing in the number of students on campus as we begin the year. We also know that our plan may continue to evolve, depending on the trends in local COVID-19 numbers.

Phased Reopening Plan

Based on our successful opening of the Little School eight weeks ago and the downward trend of the overall transmission rate and infection rate in Maryland as reported by Johns Hopkins, the State of Maryland, and additional sources, we are preparing to slowly phase-in our on-campus program starting with our youngest learners. Therefore, Little School and pre-kindergarten through first grade students will begin the year on campus. All other grades will begin the year virtually, and will be phased in each week to on-campus learning. Please read the details for each grade’s staggered start dates below.

Little School

All children will begin in-person learning on Monday, August 31.

Lower School

Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade will start school on campus on Tuesday, September 1, beginning with half days (8-11:30 a.m.) and increasing to full days beginning Tuesday, September 8.
Grade 2 and 3 will begin in-person learning on Tuesday, September 8, with half days on campus (8-11:30 a.m.) and increase to full days beginning Monday, September 14.
Grades 4 and 5 will begin with full days on campus starting Monday, September 14.

Middle School

Students in grade 6 will begin on campus classes on Monday, September 14.
Students in grade 7-8 will begin on campus classes on Monday, September 21.

Upper School

Grade 9 will begin on campus classes on Monday, September 14, possibly split into A/B cohorts.
Grades 10-11 will begin on campus classes on Tuesday, September 29, possibly split into A/B cohorts.
Grade 12 will begin on campus learning on Monday, September 21, possibly split into A/B cohorts.
Further information about the A/B cohorts will be sent from the Upper School in coming days.

This slow repopulation of campus will allow us to manage new behaviors, help students and faculty with new routines, track health trends, and to monitor the effects of additional people as we add to the number of individuals on campus. A chart with projected start dates is included below and linked here.

Please note—as we’ve all learned through this pandemic experience—no plans are final. We may adjust these dates based on current public health conditions, the amount of time it takes students to acclimate to new campus routines, and the degree to which students are able to comply with COVID-19 campus conventions. While we acknowledge that a phased reopening may present challenges with childcare or other family logistics, we feel this is the best way to mitigate risk for our students and teachers on campus. Please ensure that your household is ready with back up care in the event that our ability to open campus on this timeline is compromised.

While many grades will begin virtually on September 1, there will be opportunities for students to come to campus for short periods of time in small groups for targeted activities to help orient them to their new grade level, meet their teachers, administrators and classmates, and learn the routines that will help them succeed in the coming year. More information about these events will be forthcoming from our division directors. Know that we will do all in our power to build a thriving sense of school community with our students this coming school year.

Looking Ahead

Members of Bryn Mawr’s COVID-19 Task Force will continue to convene regularly to monitor health indicators reported by the State of Maryland agencies as well as our school community. We will track the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state; the health of our students and employees on campus; attendance and a host of other data points that will factor into our community’s health status and inform any actions Bryn Mawr will take. Our goal will be to calibrate our school operations and instruction to the latest conditions.

If, at any time, increasing community spread or Bryn Mawr campus conditions require a slowdown for in-person learning or moving to a full Distance Learning model, we will be ready to make the shift. Throughout the pandemic, we are committed to providing Distance Learning to any PK-12 family who feels that a return to campus is uncomfortable or inadvisable for their personal situation. Students will be able to participate virtually, even if their grade level returns to campus. Bryn Mawr faculty have spent this summer enhancing and strengthening skills in designing online learning experiences that promote student agency, building community in online spaces, and designing assessments. Additionally, we’ve made improvements to the technology in classrooms to facilitate better delivery of virtual classes.

Community Commitment

Even as we look forward with hope and anticipation to returning physically to school, we must recognize that risks cannot be eliminated entirely, and it will take an extraordinary level of commitment and shared responsibility to make this effort succeed. Bryn Mawr students, parents, faculty and staff must protect each other through safe behavior, both on and off campus. Strict adherence to mask-wearing, physical distancing and handwashing, as well as avoiding both large gatherings and travel to locations with high incidence of COVID-19 will be critical to the ongoing safety of our children and our teachers. We ask that families be ready to quarantine if necessary, and to communicate with us in the event of illness in your household or close contacts. By sharing the responsibility for safe behavior, we will increase the likelihood that our campus can remain open.

Upcoming Communication

Later this week, you will receive Bryn Mawr’s Campus Reopening Plan, which provides greater detail about new policies and procedures on campus.
You will also receive your Summer Mailing forms that must be returned by next Friday, August 21. Please be sure to review the Student and Parent Handbook updates that will be included in that communication.
Division Directors will be in touch in the coming days with specific details about your child’s schedule and start up information.
Prior to the date your child is scheduled to begin on-campus classes, you will receive a survey in which we ask that you indicate whether your child will begin the year remotely or in person. Completion of this survey will help us plan for a smoother start.

This was not the letter I envisioned writing to you three weeks ago when I last communicated so optimistically about our reopening plans! Since March 12 when we closed campus due to the coronavirus, we have been looking forward to our return to campus. While we are severely disappointed to slow down our reopening, we know that the health and safety of our community is paramount. We also know that we will need to be ready to regroup if a full return to campus does not seem like the safe thing to do.

I am extremely appreciative of the tireless work our faculty and staff, Board of Trustees, and the members of our COVID-19 Task Force are doing to prepare for the start of school. Thank you for supporting the wellbeing of our entire school family as we look forward to returning to campus for the year ahead. Stay healthy and safe!

Sincerely,

Sue Sadler
Head of School

Back