Masks, Distancing, and In-Person Learning: Head of PCD on Being Back at School for Two Weeks

Masks, Distancing, and In-Person Learning: Head of PCD on Being Back at School for Two Weeks

Kevin Folan, head of Providence Country Day School, appeared on GoLocal LIVE where he talked about the preparatory school being back on campus with students and teachers -- and what they have learned so far. 

"After the months of planning and agonizing and scrutinizing every small detail, it felt incredible last week to welcome our students and our families back to campus in person," said Folan on LIVE, of welcoming back PCD's sixth through twelfth grades. 

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"I think there were a handful of students that maybe wouldn’t have minded if we didn’t start until the 14th like their public school friends — but the overwhelming feedback I’ve gotten from students is they’re just so thankful to be back on site — and not learning remotely," he said.

Folan spoke to what he believes a key advantage PCD has for families, and that is space. 

"I’m really fortunate that we don’t have some of the challenges that some of my public school peers have," said Folan. "We have a ton of outdoor space, we have 30 acres, and we have a relatively small student population, so we’re trying to utilize every single acre, every foot of both indoor and outdoor space."

Masks — and Distancing

"I will say so far, wearing the masks has been…I don’t want to say easy, but that has certainly been the easiest to enforce and we’ve gotten the most cooperation," he said. 

"Watching your distancing has been a challenge," he said. "I will say even from an adult perspective, I mean, if you’re standing near me and I need to talk to you, if we’re both masked up, I think naturally I’m going to lean in a little bit and maybe not keep that six feet. So I think just reminders and reinforcing these best practices [will help] make sure we can stay in-person and on-site for as long as possible."

"Even though we are open five days a week, full in-person instruction, we’ve got about five percent of the student body who are attending classes remotely," said Folan "So we have what we call a blended model — and that has been a learning process for our teachers and our students."

This segment is part of an ongoing content partnership between The Providence Country Day School and GoLocal.