GFA Reopens In-Person, With Caution
by Will San Jose, ‘22
As schools nationwide plan how to reopen whilst preventing the spread of COVID-19, Greens Farms Academy welcomed back its own students to campus on Sep. 1.
“Right now—at least in Connecticut—we’re the recipients of good decisions that people are making around the state that are keeping transmission rates low,” Head of Upper School Andrew Jones said.
Students and faculty are required to wear masks indoors, keep six feet apart and follow one-way paths in hallways.
“If we get creative and do some repurposing [...] we have enough room to space everybody out more than adequately and have everybody on campus every day,” Jones said.
The school has also adopted a rotating schedule, with four of the eight total class cycles meeting during the first eight weeks of school, and the other half meeting during the next eight. Transitions between classes are fewer and staggered, and class periods have been extended to 90 minutes.
GFA Upper Schoolers had mixed reactions to reopening.
“As much as I would love to go back in person again, I don't know if it is the safest option, considering how hard it is to maintain students' interaction,” sophomore Ella DeAddio said. “Students will see their friends outside of school and at sports.”
Junior Alexander Valbuena stated he is in favor of the plan. “It's up to the GFA community to keep itself safe,” he said. “Although I believe GFA handled online learning in the best way they could, I don't think it's the best long-term solution.
Jones said any plans for a hybrid return were scrapped in May after determining GFA’s campus was large enough for all students to attend school while maintaining social distancing protocols. Discussions also began in May on distance and in-person plans.
In a video released to the GFA community, Head of School Bob Whelan outlined his rationale for reopening in-person. “Our mission is to engage students as partners, and we believe that engagement is best done in person,” he stated.
“I don’t see this plan lasting longer than a month because if one person gets sick, everyone’s done,” senior Cayla Bernstein said. “But I also trust GFA and our staff and know for a fact that they are working their hardest to do what they think is best for us.”
A remote-learning schedule has also been fully prepared and released, in the event that school cannot continue safely in person, though Jones added he is confident in the ability of community members to slow the spread of the virus.
“We’re trusting our students to do what they know is best for all of us, to take responsibility for themselves and for each other. You’re not going to have a teacher looking at you every second of the day, but you will have your accountability to your classmates and yourself,” he said. “I think it’s hard to go too far wrong betting on GFA students and teachers.”