School Day Experience

The USM campus will reopen for in-person learning for the 2021–22 school year on Tuesday, Aug. 31. With face masks required for all students (other than prekindergartners, for whom face masks are optional), faculty, staff, and campus visitors to start the school year, USM will resume its regular operation, with students changing classrooms for specials and electives. Specific grade levels will be prepared to resume a cohort model as needed, similar to what was implemented for the 2020–21 school year, at any point during the school year.

As Head of School Steve Hancock first announced to families in March, USM will return fully to in-person learning, and there will no longer be an option for families to use an elective hybrid distance learning option for their children. While USM teachers did an amazing job last year in making distance learning work for students in isolation or quarantine, and for families who preferred that option, the school has reaffirmed that there is no substitute for an in-person USM education, as it has always been intended to be delivered.

We know that it is highly likely that some individuals in our community will test positive for COVID-19 and need to isolate, and that contact tracing—even with the new recommendations from the CDC in place—may lead to additional close-contact individuals who need to quarantine. Should this occur, teachers will work with students and their families on an as-needed basis while they are away from school, as has always been the case for other illnesses and absences, to ensure students are able to keep up with lessons, homework, and other assignments as they are able to from home. Teachers will also make sure their students are fully supported when they do return to the classroom.

Although USM was able to offer a distance learning option during the 2020–21 school year that offered much flexibility, the school has determined that it is not in students' best interest to continue offering an elective hybrid distance learning option for families to use. Rather, our goal is to do everything we can to continue to provide a safe and healthy physical environment for students to learn in person, where they can be fully and completely supported by their teachers, advisors, and others, and where they can engage fully in the entire USM experience as it is meant to be enjoyed.

While we will not offer the distance learning option on a case-by-case basis for families, there remains the possibility that the school may need to transition a classroom, grade level, or entire division to distance learning for some period of time due to COVID-19 spread among students and/or teachers. These types of situations would be different than the elective option, as all impacted students in that classroom, grade level, or division would use the distance learning option, along with their teachers, who in these situations would be only utilizing one learning mode for all students. Our hope is that this type of situation will not be needed, but in the event it is, USM is prepared to move impacted students to distance learning using Zoom and/or Google Meet, depending on grade level.

Teachers and staff have worked throughout the summer to rearrange classrooms to follow the 3-foot distancing recommendation from the CDC and other organizations. This move from the 6-foot distancing model followed during the 2020–21 school year will allow USM to again make use of its unique classroom setups, including the kidney-shaped group tables in the Lower School and the roundtables in the Upper School.

All fine and performing arts classrooms and spaces will also follow the 3-foot physical distancing recommendation. Other accommodations, such as specialty masks for chorus classes provided by the school, may be in place to help keep students and teachers safe, and these details will be communicated to families by teachers as they may apply. Performances such as concerts and theatre productions are planned to proceed as normal, with guests in attendance.

Physical education classes will again be safely offered in all divisions, and will be held outdoors whenever possible. All Upper School students will change into physical education gear for classes, as will all students in 6th through 8th grades, with all Preschool, Lower School, and 5th grade students not changing for classes. Locker room access for students to change will be supervised, with 3-foot physical distancing in place.

For Upper School students, face masks will not be required for indoor physical education classes when students are actively engaging in physical activity, since all of these students have the opportunity to be fully vaccinated. To start the school year, all Preschool, Lower School, and Middle School students will be required to wear face masks at all times while participating in indoor physical education classes, since these students do not all have the opportunity to be fully vaccinated at this time. USM will reevaluate this policy once COVID-19 vaccinations are made available to these younger students. For all outdoor physical education activities, face masks will be optional for students and teachers.

Shared educational spaces, such as the makerspaces (Lubar Center for Innovation and Exploration and Nerdvana), the Virginia Henes Young Theatre, and gymnasiums, will be utilized, some with slightly smaller capacities than normal due to 3-foot physical distancing recommendations, but with larger capacities than last year, when the recommended 6-foot distancing was in place.

USM plans to run all field trips and retreats as scheduled for the 2021–22 school year, with some modifications in place. Face masks will be required for all individuals traveling on buses, and rules for masks at these events will be the same as those in place on campus, unless a location has a more restrictive policy the school must follow. More information about specific events and activities will be shared with families ahead of each of these.

Changes to this year's dress code vary by division. Information about the division-specific dress codes for families can be found on the division parent posts on the myUSM Resources tab.

We are excited to welcome back parent volunteers for our many trips and activities. Effective starting Friday, Nov. 5, parent visitors are no longer required to complete a health screening form prior to entering the building, although individuals with COVID-19 symptoms should not come to school. While in the building, volunteers are currently required to wear a well-fitted face mask that covers their nose and chin. Additionally, volunteers who help during regular school-day hours (8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and are in direct contact with students need to show proof of being fully vaccinated or have a negative rapid antigen COVID-19 test result.

The rapid antigen test should be done no earlier than 72 hours before volunteering and is good for 7 calendar days. Volunteers should show the rapid test result to the division office prior to entering the classroom. USM volunteers can be tested for free at the USM transportation building by Novir. (Please see Testing section for more details.) A rapid test will be done as long as the volunteer is asymptomatic. If the rapid test is positive, a PCR test (several day return time) will be conducted and the volunteer must isolate until results are known. A person with potential COVID-19 symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test result should not come to school.

Showing proof of vaccination is done only one time. Volunteers can show their vaccination cards to the division head, assistant division head, and/or division administrative assistant. Volunteers' names will be collected and shared among divisions and the Parents' Association.

Individuals who wish to chaperone a field trip will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test result, done no earlier than 72 hours in advance, regardless of their vaccination status.  

The lunch experience for most students will return to the typical USM experience, with all kindergarten through 12th grade students eating in the two dining rooms. Prekindergarten and junior kindergarten students will start the school year eating in classrooms, with various hot and cold menu items delivered directly to the classrooms, but may move back to the dining room later in the year. All lunch periods will follow the recommended 3-foot physical distancing. While 5th and 6th graders will use the Preschool/Lower School/Middle School dining room, this year, students in 7th and 8th grades will use the Palermo Hall servery for their lunches and eat in the Olson Commons. Face masks are expected to be worn by students who serve themselves as they select their meal items, but can be removed while eating. All dining rooms and classrooms will have recommended 3-foot physical distancing in place for student, teachers, and staff. All spaces where lunch is eaten will be cleaned in between lunch periods.

For the start of the 2021–22 school year, USM is returning to its regular plates, bowls, cups, and silverware, in place of the disposable materials and single-use containers used last year, although some single-use items, such as milk and water cartons, may still be in use throughout the year. The salad bars will also return this year, with those self-service utensils cleaned and replaced regularly by Flik Independent School Dining staff.

Preschool and Lower School students will continue to use classroom cubbies, as they did last year, with recommended 3-foot physical distancing in mind for access by students. Middle School students will again use lockers for personal belongings, with access managed and supervised to ensure 3-foot physical distancing recommendations. Upper School students will have access to lockers again for the 2021–22 school year.