Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Georgia Darlington extends spring break one week in light of COVID-19 information
Darlington School: Private Boarding School in Rome, GA
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Darlington extends spring break one week in light of COVID-19 information

March 12, 2020 | 400 views

After carefully weighing the latest information available about the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Darlington School administrators have decided to extend spring break for students to March 23 to allow appropriate time to plan for the remainder of the school year. All school activities, including athletics and other extracurricular events, will be suspended next week. 

“While there are confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in Floyd County, we are not aware of any cases in our school community at this time,” said Head of School Brent Bell. “However, as a day and boarding school with students ranging in age from 4-18 on one campus, we are a unique community that must weigh many factors in our decision-making process. While we would certainly prefer to be in school and fully operational, we feel that this action is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our students. We need to be certain that our students will return to a setting optimal for learning.”

Faculty and staff will report back to work on Tuesday, March 17. 

“Next week, our faculty and staff will be hard at work putting plans in place that will allow us to have the best possible program moving forward,” said Bell. “As this is a fluid situation, there are many unanswered questions. But rest assured that all decisions are being made with the health and wellness of our students as our top priority, while also ensuring we educate each student to the best of our ability.”

Below is information that may answer some immediate questions:

  • Teachers will be preparing to deliver class content and information in an online format for any student not able to be in the classroom. 
  • Boarding students who are at home or under the care of a guardian or relative should remain at home and not make travel plans until you receive further notice from the school.
  • Boarding students who cannot return to their parents/guardians while school is closed should contact aod@darlingtonschool.org to help arrange accommodations.
  • We will ask students/families to complete a screening process in order to return to school. Details about this process will be shared as we move closer to return. In the meantime, everyone would be wise to observe their own health and that of their children. 
  • Families should be on the lookout for communication personalized to their child or children. These communications will likely come from division directors, teachers, the athletic department, coaches and directors.

“During this challenging time, I remain grateful for everyone in the Darlington Community and for Darlington’s crisis response team, in particular,” said Bell. “This group has been actively engaged for weeks in planning for, and responding to, different scenarios. The rapid flow of change, information, and developments makes this difficult. We remain in consistent communication with our local health department and, of course, monitor CDC and WHO guidelines.”