Updated Covid Color: YELLOW

Dear Parents, Students, and Friends of the Academy,

What a whirlwind these past months have been, stretching back to the first shelter-in-place orders nearly a year ago. Much has changed in the past year, with facemasks, social distancing, and all the rest. But here at The Academy, there is more that has not changed. We are committed to assisting parents in shaping students’ affections for Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, for the benefit of man and the glory of Jesus Christ. To carry out our mission effectively, we have a dual commitment to keeping our community safe from Covid, while also pursuing at every turn the richest possible on-campus learning experience for our students, teachers, and parents.

Throughout this journey, the Covid Response Team has held weekly meetings to review Covid statistics in our school community, at the county and state level, input and guidance from the Academy Physicians Advisory Group, CDC, and County Health Department. We also review feedback on the effectiveness and impact of our Covid protocols from teachers, parents, and students. Based on the rapid decline of COVID  cases in our community, the input of our physicians, and coupled with rising immunity statistics, we are thrilled to announce that as of 3/1/2021, the Academy is returning to YELLOW status in our color code system. This is the color code we started the school year with, and after many weeks at level orange, we’re excited for this change! A brief summary of what this means:

What will stay the same?

• The Academy community will continue with the current masking protocols.
• Contact tracing for Covid exposure and close contact will continue, with quarantines as recommended by the CDC and/or Health Department.
• Diligent attention to symptoms of Covid-19 such as fever, loss of taste or smell, or persistent coughing.

What will change?

• Students will return to a number of routines that were in place at the beginning of the year, such as opportunities to eat lunch in the gym (distanced in pods).
• Festivals, feasts, performances, and other campus events will be carefully reviewed, planning opportunities to enjoy socially distanced on-campus community. In other words, “Plan A” instead of “Plan B”.

You can read more about these precautions here.

We’re also excited to share that around 3/4ths of our teachers have received the first course of a Covid vaccine! We will continue to carefully review new information about Covid, and look forward to sharing more in the future about what to expect for a future change to the green color status!

Stephen Taylor

Assistant Headmaster