Will Portsmouth Abbey require students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated?

Yes, unless they have a School-approved religious or medical exemption. 

All community members are required to be fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized COVID vaccine. This represents the best opportunity to provide a safe and healthy in-person school year and protects our larger campus community. 

Please note that the following vaccines are accepted by the RIDOH:

• Moderna (2 doses) FDA emergency use authorized
• Pfizer (2 doses) FDA emergency use authorized
• J&J/Janssen (1 dose) FDA emergency use authorized
• AstraZeneca/Oxford  (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized
• Sinopharm  (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized
• Sinovac (2 doses) WHO emergency use authorized

BOOSTER SHOTS

The best protection against infection from COVID-19, including the new dominant strain, Omicron, is full vaccination plus a booster dose. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) now recommend COVID booster vaccination for all people age 16 and over who completed the initial series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least 6 months ago. Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccination should receive a booster dose 2 months after initial vaccination. For our students ages 16 and 17, Pfizer is the only approved booster vaccine. Students ages 18 and above who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson may receive a booster from any manufacturer.

Parents and students should feel free to contact Mrs. Celia Brown, RN, Director of Medical Services, cbrown@portsmouthabbey.org, 401-643-1233 at any time with questions or concerns that are not answered below. Parents of students who are medically vulnerable, have been diagnosed with chronic conditions, or auto-immune disorders should contact Mrs. Brown to discuss the specifics of their child’s individual needs. Every effort will be made to provide appropriate accommodations for the increased health and safety requirements for these students.

I remain unvaccinated, what does that mean?

Unvaccinated students are likely to be required to participate in asymptomatic COVID testing on a regular basis. The schedule for testing will be dependent on Rhode Island’s community transmission numbers and other data and guidance provided by RIDOH.

Unvaccinated students will likely have additional testing requirements in order to participate in competitive sports. It is possible that unvaccinated students will not be allowed to compete. This decision will be affected by league and opponent school protocols.

What are the masking requirements?

• Masking in all indoor spaces, with the exception of in your own room with your roommate
• All Visitors MUST wear a mask indoors at all times regardless of vaccination status.

Will students and adults continue to be tested?

Testing will be required for all symptomatic individuals; asymptomatic testing will occur based on recommendations from CDC/RIDOH. Diagnostic testing for symptomatic students is a two-part process.  A point-of-care rapid antigen test is conducted in the Infirmary using the BinaxNOW test or BD Veritor system. Results are ready in 15 minutes. Any symptomatic student who tests negative via the antigen test will receive a confirmatory PCR test which will be sent out to East Side Clinical Lab for processing. Students who are symptomatic must isolate pending the PCR test results.

Day students must stay home whenever they experience symptoms of COVID-19 and may not return to school until they have presented documentation of a negative COVID Rapid Antigen test or COVID PCR test.  

Will contact tracing continue?

Yes, contact tracing will continue as required by the RIDOH and the CDC.  

What other practices will be in place?

We will continue to uphold key practices involved in the shared obligation to maintain our community’s safety to include: promotion of regular hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning procedures, testing for symptomatic students, swift contact tracing, and implementation of isolation and quarantine when needed.

If I am diagnosed with COVID-19 during the term, or I have had close contact with a COVID-19 positive person can I remain on campus? 

All students are required to have a local emergency host on file in the event of a need for isolation due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, or an exposure requiring quarantine.  Under new CDC guidelines, those who are fully vaccinated and who have received a booster shot will not have to quarantine if considered a close contact of a positive case.  Students should be picked up by a family member, guardian, or emergency host within 24 hours in the event of a need to isolate or quarantine.  In the event that it is impossible for a student to be picked up within 24 hours, the Infirmary has a limited number of beds to temporarily house students requiring isolation. Students may be temporarily moved to local hotels (with a School chaperone) while waiting for parents or guardians to arrive. 

If I am diagnosed with COVID-19 when may I return to school? 

• Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status, should isolate for at least 5 days. Then they may:
  • Return to school on day 6, if they don’t have symptoms or their symptoms are improving, and they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication). They should wear a well-fitting mask for an additional 5 days at school, at home, and with others; or
  • Isolate until their symptoms are improving and they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication). They should wear a well-fitting mask for the remainder of the 10-day period from symptom onset or specimen collection date if they are asymptomatic.

If I am a close contact what is the protocol? 

• Staff and students age 18 and older who are identified as close contacts are exempt from quarantine and should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days if they don’t have symptoms and have
  • Received a vaccine booster dose;
  • Completed the two-dose primary series of Pfizer within the last 5 months;
  • Completed the two-dose primary series of Moderna within the last 6 months; or
  • Completed the one-dose primary series of J&J vaccine in the last 2 months.
  • If they develop symptoms, they should isolate and get tested.
  •  
• Students age 5-17 who are identified as close contacts are exempt from quarantine and should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days, if they have don’t have symptoms and have
  • Completed the two-dose primary series of Pfizer or Moderna more than 14 days prior the exposure date.
• If they develop symptoms, they should isolate and get tested.

 

• Students and staff without symptoms, who are identified as close contacts, and aren’t exempt from quarantine are encouraged to follow the Monitor to Stay quarantine protocol, which allows students and staff to attend school in person and participate in school-related extracurricular activities during their quarantine period. In this case, they should
  • Conduct symptom screening and attest that they don’t have symptoms for 5 days;
  • Follow quarantine guidance when outside school, as well as updated CDC guidance about masking

Students and staff identified as close contacts are exempt from quarantine if they don’t have symptoms and one of the following exemptions applies:

• The person previously had COVID-19 no more than 90 days prior to the last date of close contact exposure; or
• The person meets all of the Pre K-12 close contact exception criteria:
• The close contact and infected person are both pre K-12 students
• The exposure occurred inside a pre K-12 classroom or structured outdoor pre K-12 setting where mask use can be observed
• Both students wore face masks at all times
• Students were at least 3 feet apart from each other at all times

Complete information from RIDOH can be found here

If I was previously diagnosed with COVID, what are my testing and quarantine requirements?

Students who have been diagnosed with COVID during the summer or school breaks must present a copy of the positive lab result to the Infirmary.  Students will not be re-tested for COVID for 90 days following a positive test.  Students who have tested positive for COVID within the past 90 days are not required to quarantine for travel purposes or if they are in close contact with a COVID positive person.  After the 90 day period, students will no longer be exempt from quarantine protocols.  Any student diagnosed with COVID during a school break must complete 10 days of isolation, be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, and be feeling significantly improved prior to returning to campus. 

Will students be allowed to visit between houses?

• House visitations between housemates only; students may not visit other houses

Are students allowed off-campus?

• Boarders may leave campus on Saturdays and Sundays with appropriate permissions. We continue to ask students to avoid large gatherings, continue to mask, wash hands frequently, and limit contacts
  • Boarders may not ride in day student cars
  • Boarders may not go to day student homes
  • Overnights with your own parents only
• Boarders may leave campus during the week for athletic competitions and class field trips only

Read our current COVID-19 protocols for the Winter 2021-22 Athletics Season here.

As things continue to change, matters such as campus life, campus visitors, campus visits will continue to be communicated.  We looking forward to a full and safe Abbey experience for our entire Community.  If you have any questions, please contact:

Medical Questions

Director of Medical Services Celia Brown, RN                              

cbrown@portsmouthabbey.org

Student Life

Assistant Headmaster for Student Life Paula Walter           

pwalter@portsmouthabbey.org

Operations

Assistant Headmaster for Operations John Perreira             

jperreira@portsmouthabbey.org

Human Resources/Financial

CFO Ellen Eggeman                     

eeggeman@portsmouthabbey.org

Academics

Assistant Headmaster for Academics Nick Micheletti

 nmicheletti@portsmouthabbey.org

General Questions

Director of Parent Relations Meghan Fonts

 mfonts@portsmouthabbey.org

• RI Department of Health
• Centers for Disease Control
• US State Department Travel Advisories
• World Health Organization