2020-2021 Reopening Plan

CFS has released a revised calendar for on-campus operations. Please note that CFS may have to return to distance learning at any time should government officials return PA to an increased level of social distancing restrictions.

Yes. International students will have to arrive in the U.S. and observe a 14-day quarantine period. Seniors and new students will arrive prior to the originally planned start of school. They will remain separated from one another and follow specifically designed orientation programming. Returning sophomores and juniors will arrive Labor Day weekend. All students will follow an initial orientation program by cottage and then by grade level.

The following represents the core aspects of our health and wellness program. Please note that students and adults alike will be at an increased level of exposure to COVID-19 and other illnesses. Our efforts are to observe an increased standard of care, but this does not guarantee a risk-free campus environment at any time.

• Hygiene – hand-washing, regular laundry and keeping one’s room wiped down is the responsibility of each student.
• Mask wearing - Everyone on campus will be required to wear a mask except when in the cottage, eating or actively engaged in athletics as directed by coaches. Mask wearing is not optional. 
• Cleaning/hygiene – students and adults will be engaged in daily cleaning of rooms, cottages, classrooms, dining center, meeting areas and athletic facilities according to a rotating schedule that will involve everyone on a daily basis. Face masks are not a replacement for good hygiene. Frequent hand washing, cough/sneeze etiquette and proper disposal of used tissues will be expected. 
• Wellness checks – everyone on campus will be checked daily by school nurses for any signs or symptoms of illness.

Federal and state officials continue to update their respective communities about the health and safety situation in them. CFS will follow CDC and PA mandates and they are subject to change as conditions and updated protocols warrant.

The plan to reopen is CFS’s best effort to present a calendar for the entire year. Some modification of off-campus activities is possible should conditions improve. CFS is prepared to return to online learning should conditions worsen and social distancing requirements become more restrictive.

Please pack clothes and items your student will need thru Nov 20. You are encouraged to pack lightly and when students are dismissed for the Thanksgiving holiday, they will need to take all of their belongings home.

Families will be responsible to pick up their students before the Thanksgiving break. We will arrange for transportation to the airport for those students that live a long distance away and fly, however, please be prepared to pick up your student in case of any travel restrictions.

All families are encouraged to drive their student to CFS as airport and train pickups will be limited to those who are not able to do so and have requested and received permission a minimum of seven days in advance from Director of Student Life, Chet Blair.

All families and students should contact the Director of Student Life should any complications about your planned return arise.

All coursework to complete the first semester will be online beginning November 29 until students return to campus in late January/early February (winter break runs from December 18 - January 30). CFS students are encouraged, though not required, to engage in learning activities that may augment what they are doing in classes or be a special point of interest during January. 

CFS faculty and advisors will be offering suggestions for this as well as independent reading choices. Students with grades below a certain threshold may be required to complete a program of extra help as indicated by their teacher and the Academic Office.

Health and safety remain our paramount concerns. Understanding what may or may not be COVID-19, especially as the flu season starts in December, makes sufficient diagnostics and responses more difficult during this time period.

Please see the sidebar for the 2020-2021 school calendar.

Tables, desks and chairs in each classroom are being arranged for best practices of 6-foot distancing. Masks are being required. Students will follow a rotation of in-class and online learning in some situations where enrollment in a class section is greater than the designated room capacity.

In order to maintain good health and distancing guidelines, CFS does not contemplate being able to hold events on campus this fall, perhaps for the entire year. This includes Parents’ Weekend and we are planning a virtual method for parents to connect with advisors and the school by early October.

To best protect the community, the school’s expectation is that the campus will remain restricted to those who live and work here. Students should not plan on taking a weekend and parents should not plan on visiting. Parents are allowed to schedule a visit through the Director of Student Life in the case of an emergency.

Any student feeling unwell and for any reason should report immediately to the Infirmary. Students diagnosed to have an illness will be required to return home immediately and families must be prepared to pick up their child within 8 hours. Students living outside a 200 mile radius of the CFS campus may be required to enter isolation or quarantine.

Masks are required. Students are required to arrive on their assigned day. All students and families are first required to check in at the Health Center for a wellness check and other matters pertaining to registration.

We anticipate that all college visits will be done virtually. Seniors are encouraged to visit a college campus over the summer as conditions permit.

Students will be tested for COVID-19 should they present conditions and symptoms warranting such a test.

Not this year. Students are being required to return to campus by grade level which necessitates the start of athletic training after all students have returned.

CFS has limited beds for individual isolation and quarantine conditions. Individual students will be required to return home or to a designated guardian in the event of illness and/or campus closure. An entire cottage may be isolated or quarantined should health conditions warrant.

Only varsity athletes will be permitted to play a restricted schedule of interscholastic competition. Other teams in our athletic program will play an intramural schedule of competition. This condition could improve should health guidelines continue to allow for such expansion of athletic activity.

We do not have a decision on winter athletics at this time. CFS anticipates a varsity schedule of competition for spring sports.

International students will be required to quarantine with their host family for 14 days upon arrival to the U.S.

Please check your visa documents well in advance to ensure they are in order for entry to the United States. 

International students are required to have a designated U.S. host or guardian with whom they can stay in the event of illness and/or campus closure.  

Day students should plan to be on campus with their grade level. 

Along with faculty and staff residing off campus, day students will be required to have a daily wellness check. Parents must be prepared to have their student return home immediately in the event of concerns raised by this important check-in process.

Day students will not be permitted to stay on campus overnight for the entire school year.