Welcoming Students, With Joy, Excitement, and Strict Protocols

Groton School welcomed back students this week, amidst joy, excitement, and strict protocols to reduce risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student arrival was staggered over four days to allow for a smooth testing process: every student was required to submit a recent negative COVID-19 test before coming to campus and was tested again as soon as they arrived.

After their tests, students moved into their dorm rooms and quarantined there (with meals delivered) until they received their negative results. The school has partnered with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for its COVID-19 surveillance tests, which are being administered weekly until further notice. The testing, which will continue regularly for students and employees, is one of many mitigation protocols in place—from mandatory masks and distancing to reduced density in classes and dorms and improved ventilation in buildings.

Groton School is offering a hybrid model, with some students present and others studying remotely. Nearly 20 percent of boarders have opted to study remotely, and new technology has been placed in classrooms to help teachers integrate their remote learners with their on-campus students.

In many ways, this term is a new beginning, even for the oldest students and most veteran teachers. The tents are a reminder: Grotonians are used to seeing tents on the Circle for events like Prize Day and Reunion, but the main tent now is a COVID-19 testing station, where students received tests and flu shots upon arrival and where members of the community will be tested regularly. A tent is set up beside it, for outdoor, distanced dining until it is safe and prudent to open the Dining Hall indoors.

Even with everyday reminders that this is a very new “normal,” the Circle remains the beautiful Circle, and move-in day is still exciting. Groton sends gratitude to all the families for adhering to our protocols when they dropped off their children and for supporting the school’s ongoing efforts to help reduce risk on campus.

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