By Jill Harlow – Loveland, Colorado … Campion Academy’s campus has remained open, and the administration has a plan to return to in-person classes on November 1 after a COVID outbreak put more than 50 students and staff in quarantine.

Many of those quarantined were considered close contacts but have not contracted the virus. Students and staff who have tested positive are reporting that they are recovering well, and none have required hospital care.

All classes met online for the past week, and students were given the option to return home or remain on campus. Students who were not placed in quarantine could still dine in the cafeteria, use the campus facilities for recreation, and attend the Week of Prayer meetings in person. Students who are quarantined are being cared for by the deans and the school nurse and are given time each day to go outside for exercise, fresh air, and sunshine.

All students and staff on campus were tested for COVID on October 17 and will be tested again on October 29 in order to return to in-person classes safely.

Campion students have had various reactions to being on quarantined and online learning.

“During this quarantine, I’ve been good for the most part, but it has been an experience that I wouldn’t willingly do again. One of the challenges that I’ve faced was finding the motivation to do something productive and not be bored all the time. I’d rather be sleeping all day if I had the chance, just so time would go by faster,” a student quarantining in the dorm expressed.

Another student quarantining at home stated, “I’m happy that I was able to go home for the time being, but still, having to wake up early has been a challenge for me. Talking to my friends on the phone, riding my bike, and candy corn have helped me get through the week.”

Yet another student was happy to get away from people for a while. “It felt like COVID hit us like a bomb, and I was a little scared when several people started testing positive. In a way, I was glad that I could kind of take a break from people, and making the choice to go home was easy because I didn’t want to be stuck in my [dorm] room for a week.”

Jenny Gann, Campion nurse, explained that lessons learned from the past year and a half have contributed to managing this outbreak more effectively. “First of all, we’ve built a good relationship with the county health department, and they have been supportive of our protocols and are helping us with our goal of keeping our kids in school as much as possible.”

“I’ve helped as a consultant with four other boarding academies that have had to handle outbreaks and have learned a lot from them,” Gann continued. “Honestly, we’ve had a lower percentage of positive cases than in outbreaks at other boarding academies, and I believe that is because we are wearing masks and have been cautious in immediately isolating and testing students with symptoms.”

Gann concluded, “We’ve been blessed that we are only having one week of virtual learning, and we’ve had excellent student and parent support through it all.”

–Jill Harlow, Campion communication director; photo supplied