-- June 3, 2022 --
The goal of Exeter Summer is to have an in-person residential program while still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to accomplish this goal, we will require all members of the community (faculty, staff, and students) to be vaccinated and boosted with any WHO approved vaccine unless they have approved religious or medical exemptions. The list of the WHO approved vaccines can be found here: https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/agency/who/
The following protocols will be used to ensure the safety of the campus community, the Town of Exeter, and the surrounding communities. As conditions change, our COVID-19 policy will be updated with the most current COVID-19 protocols.
Before the Session Begins:
We encourage students to prepare for the summer session by following all appropriate COVID Recommendations to reduce the likelihood of infection so that they come to campus healthy (reference example - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/index.html). In addition, testing several days before departing for campus will ensure your ability to participate in our program and ensure that we have a safe and healthy student body. If you test positive in the days leading up to opening day (July 4), you will need to isolate at home for at least 5 days, and you will need to be cleared by the Academy’s Lamont Health and Wellness Center (LHWC) staff before coming to campus.
Students will conduct a required pre-travel COVID-19 test either a PCR test within 72 hours of July 4 or a rapid antigen within 24 hours of July 4. If this test is negative, you are able to come to registration on July 4. A separate communication will be forthcoming with information on how you will submit these results.
Once On Campus - Students:
Masks will be required indoors in classrooms, dorm common spaces, assembly hall, student center, etc., exceptions are when students are in their own rooms or when actively eating and/or drinking. Masks are optional in outdoor spaces where physical distancing is possible. The approved mask types are N95, KN95, or surgical; no cloth masks will be allowed.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19 once on campus, they will report immediately to the LHWC (if not already there) and will then need to isolate off campus. The LHWC staff will inform the student’s Emergency Contact of the positive result and that person will need to come to campus within 48 hours (preferably 24 hours) to take the student off campus to isolate. As with the pre-travel condition, students will need to isolate off campus for at least 5 days, and will need to be cleared by the LHCW staff prior to returning to campus. If a student needs to isolate off campus, they will remain a part of the program and teachers will try their best to keep the student a part of the class (i.e., Zooming into class, asynchronous work, etc.)
During the first dorm meeting on Monday, July 4, students and dorm faculty will undergo a rapid antigen COVID-19 test and this will be repeated at a dorm meeting on Thursday, July 7. We plan no additional surveillance testing after these two tests. However, students must report to the LHWC immediately at the first sign of COVID-like symptoms. The indoor mask requirement will be re-evaluated after the results of these two tests.
Once On Campus – Families:
On Registration Day, students will arrive by car or bus to the field house at their scheduled registration time (information on registration arrival times will be emailed to students and families during the third week of June). We expect all students and families to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Employees involved in welcoming or interacting with students and families will also wear masks when indoors. After check-in, students can proceed to their dormitories. Parents are invited to enter the dormitories to assist with move-in for short periods of time (30-60 minutes) in order to minimize congestion in the dorms on registration day.
Phillips Exeter Academy continues to monitor and be guided by the most reliable public health information sources including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and locally, the New Hampshire Department for Health and Human Services (NH DHHS). For the most current data on campus, go to the Phillips Exeter Academy COVID-19 Dashboard.
