FAQs

This is our current version of the school calendar for the 2020-21 school year—we anticipate that it will grow to include more events. Please keep in mind that this year will require a great deal of adaptability, and please do not make plans to travel to and from campus for vacations and breaks that cannot be changed as our calendar may need modification based on prevalent conditions.

First day of classes is September 10, 2020. Boarding students will return to campus in a phased approach prior to that date. The 2020-21 calendar will continue to grow, but some dates have already been set—here’s the current version.

All enrolled students are invited to return to campus for classes. However, we recognize that some students and faculty may be unable to return due to health concerns or travel restrictions. These individuals may participate in learning and campus life remotely.

Take a look at some of the spaces we are preparing to safely welcome your students back to campus this fall here.

Yes, all boarding students need to quarantine before returning to Solebury. Boarding students who can arrive on campus without making any stops may quarantine for two weeks at home. The “at home” quarantine option is not available to any student coming from an area with travel restrictions as designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Boarding students who need to take any form of public transportation to arrive at school, who are returning to live on campus from a travel restricted area, and students who need to make stops during their travel must quarantine for two weeks at Solebury. All returns should be coordinated with Sasha Skulsky, Dean of Residence Life.

Solebury School will follow the guidelines recommended by The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which updates their travel guidance and health measures based on current data and COVID-19 infection rates. Currently, Pennsylvania states the need for a 14-day quarantine for travelers upon return from any state(s) on the hotspot list. We expect day students, faculty, and staff to disclose their travel to a restricted area to the School, heed the Commonwealth’s guidance, and quarantine off campus/in their homes for the recommended time period before returning to campus.

At this time, Solebury School does not require proof of a negative COVID-19 test for individuals to return to campus for the start of the school year, in keeping with recommendations from the CDC released on June 30, 2020. COVID-19 testing of asymptomatic people (in this case, to be used as a screening tool) can provide a false sense of security. A negative test result means that a person is negative only in the moment that they were tested; they could subsequently be exposed to and contract COVID-19 at any time. We are also aware that most insurance plans require that patients have COVID-19 symptoms or have had direct contact with a known case of COVID-19 for testing to be covered. This guidance may change, and we will update our plan accordingly.

The 2020-21 school year will be a rich and robust educational experience, inclusive of strong academics and active community engagement. Being a small school located on 140 acres makes our return to campus much more feasible than for many other educational institutions; having multiple buildings with open air walkways gives us space and more safeguards than many schools to allow for in person learning. Our fervent hope is that we are in-person for most, if not all, of the year. However, we recognize that factors such as travel restrictions or health concerns may keep some members of our community off campus. We will be ready to support them as well. We are preparing for in-person school, remote school and any scenario that combines the two.

Based on current conditions, restrictions, and recommendations, Solebury School is preparing for a hybrid model of learning for the fall, one that makes both in-person and online learning available simultaneously. All students will be invited to return to campus for classes—we will limit how many can be in a classroom to allow them to be six-feet apart. If the number of students is greater than the capacity of the room, the overflow students may participate remotely from a separate space on campus for that particular class. Students may also choose to participate in ALL of their learning remotely if that makes more sense for them and their family.

The 2020-21 school year will be a rich and robust educational experience, inclusive of strong academics and active community engagement for all of our students.  Our program is thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of both in-person and remote members, including after school and community-building activities. Every activity and experience may not be available to every student; however a rich community experience will be offered to every student. Solebury School students who study from home will be charged the Day student tuition. This includes Boarders who choose to live off campus and participate remotely. Boarding students who study remotely will be charged the Day student rate until they return to campus as a Boarder, at which point a pro-rated Boarding tuition will be applied. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Eckstein, Director of Admission. 

Safety is at the forefront of every decision we make at Solebury School when it comes to our students and our community. Solebury School will follow requirements issued by federal, state, and/or local government health institutions regarding the safety of offering in-person education. We are working with local physicians and medical experts to review and influence our protocols for safety. Our academic daily schedule for this year was designed to work in both hybrid (in-person and remote learning) and all-remote environments, allowing for seamless transitions if needed.

Solebury School has not made any decision to go fully remote at this time during the 2020-21 school year.

Our teachers taught remotely in the spring of 2020 so they are practiced in this area. We used Canvas, an online tool, to interact with students whether using a forum to hold discussions, to post assignments on a virtual calendar, or to collect student work. Teachers also used Zoom extensively this spring to conduct synchronous off-campus classes. This fall, we will combine those remote learning tools with in-person teaching (in most cases). Professional development is on-going this summer with our teachers training on the in-person/remote platform and also with content-specific training within each department.

To support remote learning when it is necessary, students will be best prepared for the upcoming school year if they equip themselves with a full laptop computer rather than a Chromebook or iPad. In addition, we recommend a set of headphones with a boom microphone for use when they are not present in the classroom. Click here for more detail on devices and recommendations.

For the safety of our community, we will do our best to limit visitors to campus, and to limit the spaces that visitors use when they are invited on campus. We will not host an in-person Admissions Open House this fall, for example, and anticipate that both the fall Parents Day and Board of Trustees meeting will be held remotely.  Parents of our boarding students will be provided with information on visiting with their student on campus, and we will host some College Admission representatives (if they travel this year and meet our health protocols) and prospective families interested in Admission to Solebury School (if they meet our health protocols) on campus in a very restricted fashion. In addition, we anticipate that contactless food delivery and package delivery will still be available.

Solebury School’s campus reflects our founders' belief that the outdoors is an important part of learning. For the 2020-21 school year, we anticipate using our 140-acre campus to its fullest extent, from our walking trails to the Sycamore Patio adjacent to the Dining Hall and other spaces. We are identifying and designing outdoor learning spaces throughout campus, as well as creating areas for socializing.

Yes, you should expect to wear a face covering almost always when you’re on campus. Research has repeatedly shown that mask use significantly limits the transmission of Covid-19 by capturing virus as it is shed by the sick person. In addition, certain masks also protect the wearer from inhaling airborne virus. With those facts in mind, whenever you are inside a public space on campus or unable to physically distance, you must wear a mask. There are times in the day when the number of people all in one location make it impossible for an individual to guarantee physical distancing. Consequently during the academic day (8 AM - 5:30 PM) in the main core of campus, you must wear a mask (including outdoors). We recognize that mask use is a new behavior for most of us, so we are creating “Mask Break” areas around the core of campus for a person to temporarily remove themselves if they need a break. Please remember that repeated non-compliance with wearing a face covering will result in the loss of the privilege of being on campus. If you are unable to wear a mask due to a diagnosed disability, please contact the school administration to determine alternative means of participation. 

There are two potential benefits to a face covering. One, it captures or reduces the wearer’s virus emissions by filtering the air as it leaves the wearer’s nose and mouth. Two, depending on construction and correctness of use, it can minimize inhalation of virus droplets. A face covering, as defined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a “covering of the nose and mouth that is secured to the head with ties, straps or loops over the ears or is wrapped around the lower face. A face covering can be made of a variety of synthetic or natural fabrics…While procedural and surgical masks intended for health care providers and first responders, such as N95 respirators, would meet these requirements, these specialized masks should be reserved for appropriate occupations and health care settings.” A face shield that does not have an enclosure at the bottom is not appropriate as the only face covering because it accomplishes neither goal adequately due to the free flow of air below the plastic shield. Face shields that do have an enclosure are acceptable alone and any type of face shield can be worn in addition to a mask. More information on Solebury School’s guidance on Face Coverings can be found here.

Yes. We anticipate using the Dining Hall for meals and have reconfigured its layout and scheduling to accommodate those students on campus in keeping with our physical distance and other health protocols.

With regard to health and wellness items, we ask that boarders return to campus with a supply of hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, a minimum of seven (7) reusable face masks, and a digital thermometer that they know how to use. Solebury School’s recommendations around face coverings/masks can be found here.

We ask that Day students bring a clean reusable water bottle for their beverages during the day, labeled with their name. Students should bring at least two clean face coverings/masks to campus each day—we recommend that they also have at least seven face coverings/masks available to them at home, among other considerations. Students are welcome to bring their own hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes, although those items will also be provided throughout campus.

Solebury School will roll out REACH, a student management system for boarding schools and residential campuses. One great function of REACH is the ability to conduct quick surveys. Via the survey function all students, faculty, and staff will complete a symptom and temperature check. The information is stored securely within REACH’s industry leading security standard database with encrypted data and information will only be made available to appropriate members of our staff.

We recognize the possible impact on our students from both the anxiety and isolation surrounding the pandemic and are prepared to support each student to our fullest capability. The emotional well being of our students is as important to our community as their physical well being; with this in mind, we have increased our mental health services for the coming year. Julie Laing NCC transitions from School Counselor to Director of Counseling as we welcome the return of Bill Christy MSCP to Solebury School in a new role, Associate Director of Counseling.

Our goal is to safely operate the fall sports season with training and/or modified practices corresponding with the opening of school; there will not be a traditional preseason for the fall this year. We are in constant communication with peer schools about whether competitive athletics will take place this fall, and if so, in what form. This decision will ultimately be informed by the most recent state and federal health guidelines. Solebury is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our student-athletes and maintaining flexibility to adapt as circumstances change. We know athletics are important to many students and we thank you for your patience. A decision on winter and spring sports will be determined at a later date.

Our daily schedule for the 2020-21 school year was released in May 2020. It is anticipated that Solebury School will offer after school activities in the fall; more information on those offerings will be available soon.

Click here for our Athletics Health and Safety Plan.

We anticipate that Solebury’s renowned arts program will continue to flourish during the 2020-21 school year. We will offer 39 arts courses during the fall trimester, including Filmmaking, Music Theory, Audition Techniques, AP Studio Art, and Ballet/Hip Hop. We are planning for three theater productions (see below for more information). Chorus and our music performing ensembles are currently developing plans around how and if those offerings can happen in a safe manner; additional information will be shared soon.

Solebury School anticipates presenting three performances this school year. Our fall and winter productions will likely be presented virtually, with the intention that the spring show may have an audience and be presented in an outdoor space. Our shows for the 2020-21 season will be Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play (Fall - virtual), Try to Remember: A Retrospective of Years of SoleStage Musicals (Winter - virtual), and Ride the Cyclone (Spring - to be determined, hopefully outdoors).

To fully support our boarding students, Solebury School will keep residence halls open and available to our boarding students throughout the school year, barring any prohibition from doing so. Minimizing travel helps to minimize risk of infection, and we strongly encourage our boarding students to remain on campus throughout the fall trimester. Any boarding student who needs to leave campus during the fall term must request permission through the Dean of Residence Life. The request will be assessed for both necessity and risk. This policy will be reassessed on a regular basis, taking into account the prevalence of COVID-19 at Solebury School, in our surrounding communities, and the student’s destination. If boarding students return home/travel, we will work with families on an individual basis regarding their student’s return to campus. Families are welcome to visit their student at Solebury School and should coordinate with Sasha Skulsky, Dean of Residence Life.

We will coordinate with county and state health officials to isolate infected Solebury community members according to CDC guidelines, trace contacts, and isolate and quarantine as necessary. All buildings and rooms will be cleaned and disinfected. If possible, a diagnosed student will be sent home to isolate and quarantine. If this is not possible, we will have designated on-campus isolation areas identified, separate from students with routine health care needs. If care beyond the basic management of symptoms is required, we will notify parents/guardians and transfer the student to our local Emergency Department. We will notify our community of a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 on campus and will respect and maintain the privacy of those individuals, as we would with any health concern. 

View health protocols here.

We are working with local school districts around their transportation plans for eligible students for the upcoming school year and finalizing our own transportation procedures. Local school districts that transport to Solebury School have not yet established policies and appear to be waiting on more information from local and state authorities—we will remain in contact with these districts and share information when we have it. Students who use Solebury School transportation to get to and from school, athletics, and/or other activities will be required to submit daily wellness checks prior to embarkation, wear face coverings at all times when getting on, riding, and getting off the vans, and use the hand sanitizer provided on each van. We anticipate that the minivans will transport a maximum of four (4) students—two per row with no one in the middle seats. The larger vans will transport a maximum of six (6) students with the same wellness check, face covering, and hand sanitizer requirements. All Solebury School drivers will also wear masks and submit wellness checks. In addition, each vehicle will be fully disinfected before and after each use. If you have any questions about student transportation or have information about your local school district’s plan to share, please contact Peter Redmond.

Yes, the faculty will complete attendance for classes, assembly, and activities and Greg Lewis, Assistant Dean, will follow up with students and parents with any concerns or issues.

At this time, no large gatherings will be planned or permitted on campus this fall. School-day assemblies will be virtual gatherings and the fall and winter theater productions will be streamed rather than performed to a live audience. Our fall Admissions Open House will be conducted virtually as well as Parents Day. A determination as to the possibility of larger gatherings during the winter and spring trimesters will be made at a later time.

Colleges recognize the difficult situation that our seniors are in and are responding with a student-centered approach. More than 1460 of the 2330 accredited four-year colleges (and many other two-year and non-accredited colleges) are now test optional. You can find the list of all test optional colleges in the US at www.fairtest.org. Plus, over 300 colleges signed this statement in June, affirming that other factors are far more important than testing, especially during the time of COVID-19.

Colleges understand that the pandemic has changed what’s reasonable in the college admission process. The National Association for College Admission Counseling put together a statement that (so far) nearly 500 colleges have signed stating that test optional truly means test optional, and students will not be at a disadvantage if they do not test.

We encourage students to apply to colleges that they are interested in, and if there is an element of their application that they cannot complete (including testing), our college counseling office will work with the students and the colleges to help them get the fullest consideration for admission.

While there are opportunities to test off campus for the ACT and SAT, we recognize that some sites have closed and physical distancing limits the number of students who can test at those test sites that are open. Solebury School is working with ACT to offer the ACT on campus, only for our seniors, this October.

At this time, given the protocols that are in place for these tests, we do not anticipate that students will need to quarantine after taking them.

Not necessarily. Each college will handle this differently, and each college will see a different level of deferrals.  While in some cases, that will indeed mean that colleges will need to be more selective next year, the colleges that have communicated with Solebury have indicated that this should not lessen the chances for admission for the class of 2021. College enrollment is a four-year process, not a year-by-year process, so colleges will be considering their overall enrollment and not just the prior years. So if a smaller class was admitted this year, that could conceivably mean that many colleges are looking to enroll a larger class next year.

Much of the timeline and application process will remain the same, although some colleges are pushing back their Early Application deadlines. Students should still explore colleges in junior year and into their senior year.  Some of the colleges are open and accepting admission visitors while others are closed and/or not accepting visitors. Colleges are doing what they can to provide robust opportunities online through virtual tours, online information sessions, student-produced videos, etc. While this website is compiling colleges’ plans for this fall, it is best to visit individual colleges’ websites for the most up-to-date information.

Following guidelines from the CDC and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Solebury is limiting visitors to campus. Currently, all college visits will be online this fall. The college counseling office has contacted dozens of colleges to set up online “visits,” and several colleges have already responded. Juniors and seniors can sign up through their Scoir account.  The college counseling office will also update juniors and seniors about online college fairs and other opportunities to interact with college admission officers this fall.

In keeping with the CDC's recommendations, Solebury School will offer flu vaccine clinics for students, faculty and staff this fall. Keeping our community well is a priority every year and we are pleased to again work with Rite Aid to offer this service.