2020-2021 School Year

There will be both personal and institutional health and safety measures that the Perkiomen Community is asked to follow.

Personal

• Masks: Face coverings must be worn in indoor spaces and if social distancing is not possible. Perkiomen will adhere to the guidelines set by the PA Department of Health's Universal Face Coverings Order.
• Handwashing/Sanitizing: Frequent hand washing and use of sanitizing stations is required.
• Distancing: Furniture in classrooms, lounges, and foyers will be rearranged with marked guidelines so individuals can remain distanced.
• Monitoring: Students and employees will self-monitor for symptoms of illness and record their findings daily.

Institutional

• Interior Adjustments: Doors will be propped open during period changes. Hallways and doorways will be designated with directional signs.
• Cleaning and Sanitizing: Areas will be cleaned with EPA and CDC approved cleaning supplies.  Regular cleaning will be completed by professionals and interim cleaning of high-touch surfaces will be carried out by all school employees.
• Distancing: Clear barriers will be installed for dining in Parents Hall and at sinks in shared restrooms. Common gatherings will be moved outside when possible and may be live-streamed. Classroom furniture will be positioned for proper social distancing. The sharing of devices and school supplies is unsafe. Students will receive a school supply list or be provided personal use supplies. 
• Air Filtration: We are increasing air filtration and air exchange in multiple buildings.  The Health Center will have two air filtration units installed. 

A study released June 30, 2020 in the scientific journal Physics of Fluids describes how the materials and construction of a face mask can impact its effectiveness. The study’s findings state that well-fitted homemade masks with multiple layers of quilting fabric, and off-the-shelf cone-style masks, proved to be the most effective in reducing droplet dispersal.  It is also important to use masks made of good quality tightly-woven fabric as well as masks that provide a good seal along the edges without being uncomfortable. 

We are recommending all face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) should:

• Be made with at least two layers of material
• Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
• Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
• Be secured with ties, ear loops or elastic 

At this time, based on guidance from this study, neck gaiters and open-chin triangle bandanas are not acceptable face coverings. Students should also not wear masks with valves or mesh. 

Students may wear additional protective equipment, like a face shield or goggles, if desired. 

Students should launder reusable masks properly. The CDC offers guidelines on washing and drying masks.  

When not wearing while eating or drinking, masks for reuse should be stored in paper bags that are clean and breathable to reduce the potential for microbial growth - a brown paper lunch bag is recommended and should be disposed at the end of the day, with a new bag used each day. The CDC recommends a similar practice in health care settings.  

Some students should quarantine, depending on recent travel. 

US Travel
If you have traveled, or plan to travel, to an area where there are high amounts of COVID-19 cases within the United States, it is recommended that you stay at home for 14 days upon return to Pennsylvania. As of October 15, guidelines state that if you travel to the following states, you will need to quarantine for 14 days upon return to Pennsylvania:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

International Travel

Families are expected to monitor and follow travel guidelines pertaining to their home country. The President has issued five COVID-19-related proclamations to limit travel to the United States. These proclamations will remain in effect until terminated by the President. The affected countries are listed on the CDC website. Any student or family member arriving from one of these countries would need to isolate in another location for 14 days before entering the United States. Because of the changing array of restrictions, we recommend regularly checking travel advisories. 

Note: Travel related-restrictions change rapidly. Please continue to check the CDC or Pennsylvania websites for the most updated information.  

Quarantine keeps someone who might have been exposed to a virus away from others.

Isolation separates people who are infected with a virus from people who are not infected.

All students will need to meet with health center staff for a health assessment before being permitted in any building on campus. To keep this transition as smooth and safe as possible, we are staggering arrival for boarding and day students – between August 27 and September 2. An appointment must be confirmed with Student Life for Boarding Students to arrive and move into the dorms. Day students will be assigned an arrival day and time. Classes begin on September 7.

Please review Registration and Orientation details here.  

Perkiomen has set new guidelines for dormitory occupancy. Only residents of that dormitory, dorm parents, or on-duty faculty and administrators may enter those buildings.  Our families will be required to adhere to the same guidelines and while on campus, all visitors will have very limited access to buildings. Perkiomen staff will be available to assist students who are moving into their dorm rooms during Registration.  

Any family member who is not feeling well or has symptoms of COVID-19, which include a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, should remain home and not accompany the student to campus. Anyone coming to campus will be required to follow the Universal Face Covering Order and adhere to social distancing measures. 

Symptom screening and testing are both strategies to identify individuals with COVID-19. Testing capabilities are rapidly changing. If widespread testing of asymptomatic individuals is recommended and becomes readily available, we will consider testing on campus.  

Boarding students should contact their dorm parent and the health center and remain in their room for follow up.  Day students should not come to school if ill and should contact their primary care physician. 

Perkiomen School will communicate a confirmed case to all members of the community, maintaining the privacy of the student or faculty/staff member. 

Click here for our communication plan as of August 18, 2020.

Please note: directives from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health may change at any time. We will stay up to date on all protocols and guidelines. 

If a change in the Instructional Model (shifting from hybrid learning to all online learning or a need to close the physical campus) is required, Perkiomen School will notify community members as soon as possible. 

Click here for our Shift in Instructional Model Communication Plan. 

Please note: directives from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health may change at any time. We will stay up to date on all protocols and guidelines. 

All students living within 500 miles of campus will return home if they become ill due to COVID-19 or if self-isolation is necessary. Boarding students whose primary residence is more than 500 miles away from campus must designate a host person or family who will house the student if this is required due to student illness or other COVID-19-related issue, including campus closure.  The host would need to live within driving distance of campus and be able to transport the student by car.  Any family that cannot provide this is required to contact Student Life for help in developing a pandemic care plan for the student.

If a student is unable to arrive on campus prior to the first day of classes, due to travel restrictions or visa issues, the student will participate in online classes and campus activities like Advisory, Institute-related programming, Purple & Gold Games, and more. When the student is able to return, dormitory space will be ready for the student to resume on-campus instruction and residential life. 

Yes, a student can participate in virtual classes and if travel restrictions or individual situations change, the student can return to campus as a full boarding student. There will be seven terms within the year where a pivot point can happen and the transition would be appropriate. The student would resume on campus instruction without much disruption to the academic calendar or individual subjects. 

Yes, for the 2020-2021 school year, students will wear School Dress during all five days of the week in order to wear more easily laundered clothing pieces. There will be no formal Monday Dress. 

School Dress is:

• solid slacks or solid skirt
• Perkiomen School polo in white, black, or purple
• socks or hose/tights
• dress or casual shoes, sneakers are permitted
• a sweater or Perkiomen sweatshirt may be worn over the polo in cooler temperatures
• tailored, knee-length shorts may be worn in September and May

Masks must also be worn, as directed in the PA Universal Face Coverings Order. Students should have 2-3 clean masks available each school day, either disposable or reusable. For proper cleaning of reusable masks, refer to the CDC website.  

Yes, Perkiomen remains a closed testing site. Only enrolled Perkiomen students are able to take these tests on Perkiomen School’s campus.

The SAT is scheduled on campus on the following dates:

August 29
September 26
October 3
November 7
December 5
May 8
June 5

The ACT is offered on October 1 and March 24.

Students can register for the SAT through their College Board accounts, and for the ACT, through Mrs. Davidson-Kellogg.

We are planning for a fall athletic season and will hold practices. At this time, we are exploring ways to safely hold competitions - either among teammates, independently, virtually, or with neighboring schools who have followed the same health and safety guidelines.  

We have make modifications based on PIAA, PDE & CDC guidelines for youth sports. The modifications are in line with mitigation practices put in place during the academic day – minimizing contact, social distancing when possible, assessing equipment, limiting numbers, increasing cleaning, using live streaming.

The PA Department of Health’s Universal Face Coverings Order applies to sports:  Coaches, athletes and spectators must wear face coverings unless they are outdoors and can consistently maintain social distancing of at least six feet. Athletes are not required to wear face coverings while actively engaged in workouts and competition that prevent the wearing of face coverings, but must wear face coverings when on the sidelines, in the dugout, etc. and anytime six feet of social distancing is not possible.

Offerings for the fall season are posted on the website including some additions to our typical list in order to offer a fall playing opportunity for a few of the teams that had incomplete seasons.  

As guidelines change, as with all our programs, we will make further modifications if necessary. 

If you have questions about the athletic program, please contact Director of Athletics Kendall Baker at kbaker@perkiomen.org. 

The arts are an important and integral part of the Perkiomen School experience. Our goal is to increase participation in the arts by creating a variety of experiences for a range of skill levels and maintain a safe and healthy environment for our students.

Studio and digital art will continue to be offered in a similar manner to previous years. 

Our intent is to offer theater with some modifications. Theater will meet in the afternoons during the fall and winter terms. We will select productions that maximize the ability to continue mitigation practices put in place during the academic day including social distancing and exploring costumes that can incorporate masks. Additionally, all productions will be filmed and released via Zoom watch parties to maximize our audience. We anticipate taking advantage of various venues on campus, not just the theater, to film the productions. 

Our music program will shift for the year for safety purposes. Each term, we plan to offer percussion ensembles during the school day. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced and beginning musicians. We plan to springboard class content similar to performance groups like The Blue Man Group and Stomp.  Additionally, during Terms 2 and 3 we plan to offer hand bells.

All vocal and instrumental instruction will be one-on-one or remote to minimize potential risks. We will work to create ensembles and continue the rock band tradition. There will be numerous performance opportunities that will be filmed and released via watch parties. 

If you have questions about arranging lessons, please contact Associate Head of School Carol Dougherty at cdoughtery@perkiomen.org.

TLC will meet three out of the seven terms for curricular work. During the other four terms, students in TLC will meet once a week for a scheduled afternoon conference, continuing a weekly connection throughout the year regardless of term. For students requesting an additional meeting time, morning conference and the additional afternoon conference will be available at the discretion of student and teacher.

English Literature courses will be held three out of seven terms as 70-minute classes. English Language courses will be held two evenings per week as 70-minute classes. 

Within the revised academic schedule for 2020-2021, there is no dedicated time for midterms or exams. As we encouraged formative rather than summative assessments in the spring, we will do the same this year. 

At this time we are limiting visitors and guests on campus with a goal of reducing the number of people intersecting with our community.

Until further notice, family members and guests will not be invited to campus events. We will live stream events that a family member might normally attend. We hope that will allow even more attendance than usual since guests won't be limited by their geographic location. 

Use of pianos during free-time, including the school day, is encouraged. Wipes and hand sanitizer will be available on all pianos. Students should hand sanitize, wipe the piano, play, wipe the piano, and hand sanitize. Additionally, daily piano cleaning will happen by our professional cleaning service. 

There will be no sharing of other instruments. Students will either bring their own instrument or be assigned one for the full year.