Maddy Mitchell ‘22
Inter-Academic League schools are currently in the process of reopening and are making diverse choices regarding in-person and virtual learning options. They have to implement unprecedented procedures to ensure safety while maintaining their quality of education. Although there are slight variations in the measures being taken, students at the Haverford School and the Baldwin School voiced their opinions on their school’s reopening procedures, which are similar to what is happening here at EA.
Bram Schork ‘22, a student at the Haverford School, explains his thoughts on Haverford’s reopening, “Haverford did a fantastic job reopening, but, at first, it was very different from our normal school routine and a little hard to adjust to.” He highlights the changes Haverford implemented in the classroom, “They rearranged the desks to be six feet apart and made a year-long seating chart for every classroom. We also have to wipe down desks after every class and lunch. The school also installed cameras that move with the teacher to record the class for students who chose to virtually learn.”
Diane Tian ‘21, a student at the Baldwin School, describes similar procedures, “In school, there are classroom monitors that set up a Zoom call in the front of the room so the virtual students and in person students are in the same ‘room’ with the teacher…The grades are separated on different floors to maximize the number of rooms and lesser amounts of students in each classroom, and we have directional walking so everyone stays six feet apart. The class sizes are a lot smaller –three to five people in each room–and larger classes are separated into two rooms and we Zoom into class.” Izzy Lee ‘21, also a student at Baldwin, says, “Before school started, we all took a COVID test to make sure no one tested positive before coming back to school.”
Schork describes how the new reopening procedures have impacted sports, “Currently, spring sports have a four-week season that resumes from last year’s spring season. After that, there will be a three-week season for fall sports with competition in the spring.” Tian elaborates on Baldwin sports as well, “Sports are running normally, which is also the only time we get to see students in different grades.” Both Baldwin and Haverford have made this new situation as comfortable and safe as possible for athletics.
Zac Fuscaldo ‘25 discusses changes to Haverford Middle School, “The middle schoolers eat lunch outside where we can socialize six feet apart.” The teachers follow a cohort system where the boys are split into groups, and the teacher rotates to different classes. Haverford has also adjusted their dress code to only allow clothing that can be washed everyday.
Baldwin students have to take similar precautions for lunch and free periods. Tian continues, “During lunch and free periods we have to sit outside in chairs that are marked six feet apart in squares, and we are limited in the rooms we can go in for frees. The library also does not allow us to use the printers and checkout books.”
Haverford mom, Karen Fuscaldo, believes that Haverford has done a great job reopening and is impressed with the school’s safety efforts. She states, “Haverford has made a great effort to mimic a normal school routine where everything is safe and comfortable. They remind the kids to obey the rules by wearing a mask and staying six feet apart so they can stay in school, which has been an easy rule to follow.” Her son, Zac Fuscaldo, expresses his overall opinion on Haverford’s reopening, “At first school was weird to adjust to, but now it feels like school during a pandemic, which is the new norm.” Tian holds similar views, “I’m thankful to have the option of going in-person, but it’s honestly so different. Everything is a little weird. I think it’s definitely important to make sure that everyone in-person is following guidelines of being healthy and minimizing contact with others because our school is so small and an outbreak could occur so quickly.” Both agree, though, that it is extremely important to adhere to the safety guidelines that each school has set in place. Tian states, “I think it’s definitely important to make sure that everyone in-person is following guidelines of being healthy and minimizing contact with others because our school is so small and an outbreak could occur so quickly. Overall, I think that if we continue to remain safe we will hopefully not close, and be able to provide students the option of in-person learning despite it being a little different.”