KMS Reopening Update
Dear Killington Mountain School Community,
I hope that you all were able to rest and recharge over the July 4th holiday.
Foundational to our mission at KMS is the health and well-being of our community. I commend our impressive Task Force members and outside advisors for the support, guidance and scenario planning work we have all accomplished in the last few months. We have intentionally created COVID-19 safety policies and procedures that will enable us to adapt to the uncertainty of this virus while getting back to our shared passions.
The commitment our community has made to adhering to our COVID-19 safety guidelines is evidenced by the significant progress we have made towards our ultimate goal of safely returning to learning and training together. Phase 2 of our reopening plan has been incredibly uplifting. Our athletes have demonstrated great resilience, perseverance and character, navigating their small group training opportunities with ease. In June, our downhill mountain biking team led our programs back to training. This week, the KMS freestyle program returned to the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid, NY to get some time on the water ramps. We are also greatly looking forward to the start of our bag jump and BOOST strength and conditioning camps on July 13th. Rounding out the summer this year will be an on-campus training project for enrolled athletes, August 9th-21st. This critical preparation period will be program specific and designed to flow into fall snow training plans.
Full Term Academics: August 17th remote, August 24th in-person
Building on our summer momentum, KMS will begin our Full Term academic program with remote classes on August 17th and in-person classes on August 24th. This early start of in-person classes will allow our teaching faculty to ready Full Term students for potential extended fall snow training periods.
Focus on COVID-19 Safety: A Layered Approach
KMS is taking a multi-layered approach to COVID-19 safety including several recommended screening and mitigation strategies informed by guidance from our medical advisors and federal and state agencies. Our response plans are ever-evolving and will be updated often. Phase 3 of our COVID-19 Manual will be published on our website soon.
Move-In and Residential Life
Residential life is at the core of the KMS experience and our team is planning to provide an engaging environment while following our COVID-19 safety policies and procedures. We plan to embrace our sense of place even more in this upcoming year, utilizing the outdoor playground that surrounds us for activities. Our vast access to nature is certainly a KMS advantage and will keep our students supplied with endless opportunity upon reopening and into the fall. Move-in dates at KMS will be highly coordinated to ensure a safe transition back into the dorm.
Quarantine and Testing
Testing strategies are fluid at the moment and KMS has been working closely with our medical advisors to determine our course. Testing will not be considered a replacement for quarantine and all members of the KMS community will be asked to follow Vermont State quarantine and travel policies.
Daily and Weekly Screening
KMS has already implemented a robust weekly and daily screening process in alignment with Vermont State guidelines. We are excited to simplify this procedure for the start of the year with the introduction of Boardingware, a digital boarding school management system.
Facility Use
Use of building space will be heavily scheduled and capacity will be reduced to ensure that occupants can practice social distancing. The fall daily schedule has been revised to allow for smaller group sizes and principles of cohorting. More information about the daily schedule and building use will be communicated to families as we get closer to August 24th.
Our scenario planning approach to our COVID-19 response has prepared us to flex to support continuous learning for our students for the duration of this year. While COVID-19 continues to impact all of us, our nimble size and agile minds have yielded policies and procedures that aim to mitigate risk in the KMS community.
In health,
Claire Kershko
Head of School
