Given the rapidly evolving situation with the COVID-19 virus, Randolph-Macon Academy will be suspending on-campus classes at the end of the day on Friday, March 13 and asking students to depart campus beginning that afternoon.

We understand this is not ideal. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our immediate area, but we are guided by several goals: protecting the health of our students, faculty, and staff, and to help slow the spread of the virus.

During tomorrow’s class periods, we will be preparing students to move to a virtual learning environment. Beginning Wednesday, March 18, we start our classes online through April 9th, when the spring break begins.

The timeline below coordinates staff and student actions for their transition home.

Friday, March 13

• Faculty virtual learning environment training/planning 8:00-9:00am;
• Classes will follow with all seven classes meeting for 30 minute periods with faculty instruction on virtual learning.
• Students may begin leaving following the last class at 2:00pm.

Saturday, March 14

• Proceed with SAT administration; families can decide whether to cancel or reschedule their testing.

Saturday, March 15

• Students continue to depart campus.

Monday, March 16 – Tuesday, March 17

• Monday and Tuesday will be teacher work days for faculty to prepare for remote learning and for students to transition back home.

Wednesday, March 18

• Transition fully to online learning following regular class schedule on the current rotation.

Sunday, March 22

• Open House 2-4 pm as currently scheduled, but may move to a virtual platform as necessary. This is the best option for our community as well as individual students at this time.

Those who were interested in their student remaining on campus for spring break will need to plan on their student staying off-campus in the arrangements made for this duration.

No school-sponsored events will be held on or off campus. If possible, we will make up internal events.

At this time, the following major events on our schedule have been cancelled:

• Parade Unit’s Florida Trip
• Drill Team’s Trip to AFJROTC National Drill Meet in Ohio
• New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
• Leadership Symposium and Tech Pilots Day at Middle School (both March 28th)

As we continue to monitor the situation off campus, virtual learning may last longer as needed for the safety of our students and employees. While students are able to leave things in their rooms, you should be prepared for the long haul and bring things home that would enable virtual learning, particularly your Macbook and charger.

A structured, healthy routine including physical activity would be advised.  This will be helpful when campus operations resume.

We will keep you aware as the situation evolves and new information is received. We aspire to return to full-time, in-residence operations as soon as it is safe and practical to do so. Please continue to check this page for updates.

For questions regarding the Virginia cases or general coronavirus questions, please contact: Virginia Department of Health hotline: 1-877-ASK-VDH3.  For the latest public health updates go to: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/surveillance-and-investigation/novel-coronavirus/.