Classes Delayed as Andover Responds to COVID-19 Outbreak

Editors Note: This article contains information that is now out of date. Please read “Remote Learning Extended to End of Year, Commencement Put on Hold” for the lastest updates on the Andover administration’s responses to COVID-19.

Andover will extend spring break by a week and push all of its classes online for another week in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Regular classes are set to resume on April 7.

All asymptomatic/healthy faculty and staff will return to campus as scheduled by Monday, March 23. Faculty will then undergo training to hold online classes the following week. Remote classes will be in effect from March 30 to April 3.

Asymptomatic/healthy students will return to campus on Monday, April 6. Classes will resume as normal the following day. Students who have traveled to an area with a 1, 2, or 3 advisory level as designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been asked to avoid areas of risk for at least 14 days before returning to campus.

In an email to parents and students, Interim Head of School Jim Ventre ’79 explained that all of Andover’s business travel will be suspended until May 1. In addition, events involving outside guests and off-campus trips, including Non Sibi Day and ACT testing, will be canceled.

The school has not yet decided on the status of spring athletics but will continue to discuss the matter with peer schools. There are no plans to make up lost class time.

Ventre’s announcement coincides with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s state of emergency declaration, as the number of confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in the state has risen to 92, according to WGBH.