Schools across the country are continuously updating and adjusting reopening plans, leaving families little in the way of certainty. We believe that it is in the best interest of our cadets that we remain firm in our commitment to a full reopening for the 2020 school year.
Hargrave will reopen as scheduled for our Fall 2020 semester, with all matriculations occurring before our first day of classes on August 27th. We are excited to get the school year started, get the cadets in the classroom for in-person instruction, on the athletic fields for rigorous sports and athletics, into the chapel for uplifting faith development and building their character through engaged leadership and relationship building.
Chatham, Virginia, has been a very safe environment from COVID-19, and we expect it to remain so. Hargrave is committed to doing our part to minimize any risk. We are diligently working to test all staff, faculty, TACs, and cadets for COVID-19 upon arrival to campus. We will follow all CDC, state, and local health and safety measures.
We will implement these safety protocols in a common-sense approach to ensure the safest, healthiest, and most productive environment possible for our cadets. Safety measures on campus include:
- Daily temperature checks
- Monitoring for students, faculty, and staff with symptoms by our Registered Nurses
- Quarantining symptomatic students
- Pre-screening of visitors to campus to include surveys and temperature checks upon arrival
- Reinforcement of our ongoing cleaning and sanitation efforts to keep our environment as healthy as possible and minimize the risk of surface transmission
- Continued social distancing practices
- Face mask utilization when appropriate
Our nursing staff of registered nurses will maintain around-the-clock staffing of our infirmary. We have expanded our infirmary capacity to create a designated quarantine area for cadets exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 infection while we await test results. This will mitigate any potential cross-contamination between cadets and others.
The importance of athletics in the development of young men cannot be overstated. We are working out logistics of interscholastic sports with other boarding schools around the state. In the event that we are prohibited from participating in interscholastic athletics, we will execute plans for robust intramural sports across the campus. We have also bolstered our on-campus club and activity offerings to provide our cadets with a myriad of engaging and fun opportunities. We are committed to providing opportunities for fitness, athletics, and physical activity for our young men.
We know our cadets will achieve greater academic success with in-person instruction. Should there be restrictions levied by the state, boarding cadets will receive traditional classroom instruction and remain on campus vice returning home and doing virtual classwork. However, we will allow families to remove their son and participate in virtual learning should they so choose. Day cadets would attend classes remotely, but will be able to come to campus for individual academic support. By doing so, our program will continue providing the greatest potential for cadet success, while safeguarding our cadets and their families.
Again, we are excited to get the school year started with cadets on campus engaging in fun and productive activity. If you believe a Hargrave education could benefit your son or a young man in your life, please contact our Admissions team by clicking Inquire Now or calling our Admissions Office at 1 (800) 432-2480.
