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Part
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Overview: COVID-19 Policies at Private Schools in Washington, D.C.
Private schools in the District of Columbia have adopted a range of strategies for handling reopening (or not) during COVID-19. Some schools are opting to remain closed (such as Center City schools) while others (such as MILTON) have switched to limited in-person classes. Limited data was available for certain schools (such as Catholic-specific ones) but some information was available on social media sites. Some schools from the original proposed list could not be included in the spreadsheet (see Research Strategy for additional details). All available data was entered into this spreadsheet. Data from the original report (regarding Edmund Burke School) was included with these findings for reference.
Selected Findings
- St. Peter School has no mention of its COVID-19 strategy on its website or its Facebook page (following a search and a review of its active strategy/policies). Students are shown wearing masks. It has a student:teacher ratio of 12.99:1.
- St. Thomas More Catholic Academy similarly has no mention of COVID-19 strategy on its website (including its news section). Its website does include self-quarantining guidelines on the front page. Its Facebook page states it will be reopening with smaller cohorts (posted October 5).
- Capitol Hill Day School does not have information on its website related to COVID-19 (beyond noting that certain assessments are not required for families due to the virus and that the calendar may be subject to change). Its student:teacher ratio is 7.88:1. The dates of when some students have returned to the campus are on its Facebook page (some students in elementary and upper grades returned on October 9; grade 1 returned October 6; the youngest students returned on September 14 for a single outdoor experience day).
- Holy Trinity School's COVID-19 information is password-protected and not available to the public. Its Facebook page shows 1st graders back in school on October 8.
Research Strategy
The schools were identified using PrivateSchoolReview.com's list of private schools in the D.C. region. Three of the 22 included schools serve only K-8 students rather than specifically Pre-K through 8 students (a point that would have been included in the initial proposal if it had been noted in time). Four of the originally identified 22 schools (Calvary Christian Academy, St. Ann's Academy, the Owl School, and Holy Redeemer Catholic School) appear to be closed permanently while others (Bridges Academy, St. Thomas the Moor School, Holy Comforter/St. Cyprian School, and Holy Temple Christian Academy) had minimal information online (and were thus removed from the spreadsheet); one school (Roots) was determined to be outside the parameters. Two additional schools (St. Patrick Episcopal Day School and Sacred Heart School) were identified using this list at FindGoodSchool.com and added to the spreadsheet (for a total of 16 profiles). Additional pre-K through 8 schools could not be identified following a thorough search of listings.
Not all schools had available COVID-19 strategies (either on their website or their Facebook page); in other cases, the authority or guidelines referenced were not noted. In these cases, the spreadsheet was marked "n/a".