COVID-19 Information & School Updates

We currently plan to fully open in the fall and we are working towards that goal. Please know that the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is the priority in our planning. With this in mind, we are very aware that this will require many adjustments for our entire community with safety standards in place.

We are all eager to know when we will have sufficient information to make a decision. If we announce too soon, we may have to alter plans in June or July because of a decision by Governor Northam or rapidly changing infection rates. We are using everything that is available to us right now to make a decision which appropriately addresses safety concerns at Country Day School.

We are looking at the following areas to address:

• Health and Safety
• Staffing
• Financial
• Virtual Learning
• Logistics – daily schedules, meetings on campus, beginning of school activities

The CDS administrative team, teaching teams and the Board of Directors are all working diligently to come up with best practice strategic planning to make this a great year for everyone. As we proceed in this process, we will keep you updated. We realize there are many questions and concerns out there and we will need your continued input as we work through this difficult time.

We are working on a contingency plan in the event we do not open or are forced to shut down during the school year. We expect to provide virtual learning for our students and are considering an appropriate tuition refund plan in the event we need to close for all or a portion of the year.

Country Day has provided reimbursements for Auxiliary programs but no reimbursement for the 2019-2020 school year tuition is planned. (5/27/2020)

CDS is looking closely at this and we plan to address it on an individual basis considering privacy concerns. If you are in this category, please contact me so we can address your concerns.

Virtual learning is not part of our culture, but it allowed us to try and keep some socialization going for our students in a very difficult time when they were cut off from their regular routines, friends and teachers. It facilitated continued learning when classrooms were not accessible. We are currently re-evaluating Zoom and its appropriateness for 2- and 3-year old’s and probably won’t use it if we find ourselves in this situation. We do not use technology as part of our curriculum except Kindergarten and it is very regulated. (5/27/2020)

Right now, we are planning to open on time if not in mid-August, if the Governor says we must stay closed for the fall semester we will have to follow his guidance. (5/27/2020)

We have reopened the ability to apply for financial aid for those families in financial need;

We have included the ability for families to pay tuition over 10 months and switch to monthly payments;

We expect to offer a window in mid to late June that will allow families to withdraw from contracts for the 2020-21 school year. We expect to provide you with more information in mid-June; prior to the July tuition payment being due.

While we expect to open in the Fall, we are analyzing tuition refunds for the Fall semester in the event we need to implement a partial or full shut down. We also expect to provide this information in mid-June.” Along with a scale for refunds should we have to resume distance learning.

(5/27/2020)