On Wednesday, September 30, in an email sent out to University Prep students, Head of School Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau announced students will begin returning to campus starting October 26. According to Director of Global Programs and UPrep’s COVID Committee Co-Chair Brian Gonzales, that daate will mark the 234th day since students have attended classes in person. 

“Our goal as educators is always to think about what is in the best interest of our students. We know our 11 to 18-year-old students need to engage with and see each other,” Codrington-Cazeau said in an all-school email. “And, although I do not think it is prudent to bring 300 plus students back to campus at this time, I do think we need to grant the opportunity for smaller groups of students to come together on campus, even if only for one day.”

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Photo: Abby Headstrom

Tables are now spread out in the library.

According to Codrington-Cazeau, over the course of two weeks, grades will be grouped into pairs and within the pairs, students will be further divided into either a green or blue group. They will then have the opportunity to attend in-person school once during the first 2 week trial period. 

Pending how the first two weeks go, students may have another opportunity to return to school for another two-week cycle before Thanksgiving break. The period in between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be all online.

Gonzales noted that students can expect to see changes to the building and in-school procedures. For example, UPrep now has handwashing stations, a new air filtration system, a temperature check machine, new classroom and commons configurations to account for social distancing and a directional system for walking through hallways. 

“A lot of work went into making sure that our teachers feel safe and secure coming back, and that you, students, feel safe and secure coming back,” Gonzales said.