To promote the health and wellness of every student, teacher, and staff member, we have made many changes to our campus, our classrooms, our policies, and our daily routine. These changes stem directly from the recommendations of our reopening task forces on health and wellness; operations, facilities, and technology; and academic programming.
Over the summer, these devoted member of these task forces examined every element of our campus and the daily life for students, faculty, and staff as part of a thorough exploration of options for a responsible reopening. The task forces have ensured we follow the best practices established by the CDC and the policies set by the D.C. Department of Health while determining whether we should open in person, virtually, or a hybrid approach. What has emerged from weeks of research and deliberation by the task forces is the following principle: While no institution can entirely eliminate risk, the implementation of consistent health protocols and evidence-based mitigation measures can significantly reduce risk and enable us to begin to bring teachers and students back to campus this fall.