Rectory School administrators and staff continue to work remotely and on campus to meet the needs of our families. For information, please review the FAQs below and if you have additional questions, please contact the appropriate COVID-19 response team members:

Families and students - Glenn Ames, Maria Carpenter, Erin Hayden, Rebecca Pagitt-Mungai

Student & Faculty Technology Support Issues - Donna Dubinsky

Newly Admitted and Inquiring Families - Lesley Gibbs

Staff and Administrators - Tonya Rayment, Dan Newman (Infirmary)

Faculty - Lisa Hart, Rebecca Pagitt-Mungai

Coaches and student-athletes - Mike Healy

Secondary School Placement - Evan Campbell

Alumni - Freddy Nagle

Residential Life - Justin Bendall

Communications - Dawn Chmura

To accommodate our families’ needs and interests, Rectory is offering both onsite and online options.  (The Elementary School will only offer an onsite option.) Both programs feature the engaging, brain-based teaching and learning that defines our curriculum.

While the middle school onsite program offers a slightly modified schedule to accommodate smaller classes required by decreasing classroom density, the courses remain the same combination of engaging content and critical skills. Students take three classes in their primary cohort group, with teachers cycling in and students remaining in their room. Students will then take their math, world language, and related arts courses with secondary cohort groups of students.

Rectory’s online classes, which are an option for any student in the middle school—day or boarding—will run from 6:00-10:30 a.m. Rectory time (EDT). Students take five synchronous classes per day with a course load of seven classes overall. These courses include Math, English, History, Science, World Languages, Related Arts, and IIP/Study Hall. Students studying online will receive a 10% reduction in tuition prorated based on the length of study online and minus any aid.

Rectory is currently not offering an online option for our Elementary Students. We believe these younger students are best served in person and do not yet possess the required skills to be as successful in online learning compared to our older students. In addition, the rate of COVID-19 transmission among children under ten is lower than in other age groups.

To best preserve the safety of our community, we have made a few modifications to our school calendar. These include opening of school adjustments that re-introduce boarding students across a period of days and a quarantine period on campus prior to the start of school for those who need this.  Additionally, to reduce the amount of travel across the year, Rectory will shorten the Thanksgiving vacation keeping the dormitories open the entire period and extend the winter break. The Thanksgiving holiday will now begin after classes conclude on Wednesday, November 26, with classes resuming on Monday, November 30. The winter break previously scheduled to begin on Friday, December 18, will now begin on Friday, December 11. The restart date of January 4 has not changed.

Rectory has daily sports for our middle school students this fall, but we are not holding any interscholastic competitions. We offer a full and varied slate of afternoon options that include traditional fall sports along with new choices such as tennis and mountain biking. Sports this fall are skill based versus competition based as we engage in these activities following the guidance provided by the sports’ governing bodies.

Rectory is constantly modifying its safety protocol based on the most up-to-date information provided by organizations such as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the state of Connecticut. This means all individuals will be expected to wear masks and maintain social distancing across campus. One exception at this point will be where we have created cohort groups of boarding students that act as a family unit. These students will be allowed to take off masks and socialize as one would within a family while on dorm and in the dining hall. Additional exceptions will be implemented as we receive updated guidance from the state of Connecticut and the CDC.

Rectory has installed hand sanitizing stations across campus, established a vigilant cleaning and disinfecting schedule, improved ventilation in living and learning spaces, purchased acrylic dividers for classroom and dining hall use, implemented COVID-19 testing protocol, revised the academic schedule to lessen student transitions, and reduced the density of the classrooms and social spaces to assure social distancing. Our housekeeping team has already begun training to assure that our cleaning procedures adhere to all recommended protocols for classrooms, bathrooms, dining halls, dormitories, and athletic venues. Rectory will also take full advantage of our outdoor spaces, which are less conducive to virus transmission, for instruction, social time, and meals.

To accommodate for appropriate social distancing, capacity in our dining hall at any one time will be reduced by 50%. In response, boarding students will eat breakfast and dinner in the dining hall in shifts. Lunches for all students will be grab and go with seating options in the dining hall, outside, and in instructional spaces. Elementary school lunch will be provided and dining procedures will be adjusted to accommodate the needs of this younger population.