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Villanova’s Fall Reopening Focuses on In-Person Learning, Safety and Flexibility
First day of school is August 19, planning for in-person learning.
Villanova Preparatory School will open with in-person learning in the fall. In a letter to parents and students, Headmaster Brian Grisin announced a tiered structure to school days that allows the school to be ready to make adjustments as conditions warrant.
“Our plan is to be in classrooms as much as possible during the upcoming school year. This is something our students and teachers both value and miss, and is integral to our Augustinian Catholic approach to education,” said Grisin.
In addition to social distancing and sanitizing, the school has outlined school days that have staggered start times to allow for health screening in the morning and minimize contact with other students during the day. In the case of an increase in COVID-19 cases in the county, Villanova also plans to offer hybrid learning where only a designated portion of the students are on campus, while the remainder learn from home.
“Due to our small class sizes combined with our large campus, we are able to safely operate our school with in-person learning while ensuring we follow the national, state, and local guidelines to protect the health and safety of every member of our community. We realize that projections show the potential of county-wide school closures during the year and we will be ready if that does become a reality. For now, we are excited to move forward with in-person learning starting next month.”
Grisin has been a teacher at Villanova for over twenty years and was named Headmaster by the Augustinian Order just months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a boarding school, much of the planning has also centered around maintaining a healthy and safe place for students around the clock. Residents will be quarantining on campus for two weeks prior to the start of school.
“All students, day and resident, will need to be tested and receive a negative COVID test result prior to arriving on campus. We are also requesting all students to perform daily health checks at least two weeks prior to the start of classes on August 19,” said Grisin.
Faculty have been preparing for the upcoming school year and participating in online professional development classes throughout the summer learning best practices for both hybrid classes and online learning. “I am grateful for the dedication and extra work of our teachers to prepare themselves for the various scenarios that we may face during the upcoming school year.They were fantastic in our quick and successful transition to online learning last year and now feel even more prepared if we need to provide online or hybrid classes during the year. We live in unprecedented times and am so proud that our school has been able to adjust and adapt as necessary,” said Grisin.
