A Look Into the Process of Adjusting Riverdale’s Campus to COVID-19

While trailers were also considered, members of the Hill Campus Working Group ultimately decided on tents as the safest option for outdoor learning.

Lucia Zambetti/The Riverdale Review

However crazy-looking campus might be, it is because of its colorful, striped, circus-like tents that seven grades and numerous faculty members are fortunate enough to learn and teach in person.

In May of last year, a team of administrators formed the Hill Campus Working Group, which would make the decisions about what the 2020-2021 school year would look like along with Head of School Mr. Dominic Randolph, parents, and students. The Hill Campus Working Group included administrators and department heads such as Mr. Kevin Bailey, Academic Dean of Middle and Upper Schools, Ms. Blair Parker, Assistant Head of Upper School, Mr. Lapidus, Dean of Faculty, Mr. Tom Taylor, Head of Upper School, and Mr. Mike Gal- ligan, Director of Facilities.

The group functioned with two guiding scientific principles in mind. Firstly, as Dr. Nicholson-Flynn put it, “outside is safer, period” due to increased air circulation in outdoor settings. The second principle was that masks are essential for decreasing virus transmission. While describing the process of adjusting Riverdale’s campus to COVID-19, Mr. Taylor gave a huge shout-out to Dr. Nicholson-Flynn. Without her scientific expertise, he believes, they would not have been able to decipher which information to trust out of all the early speculations about the virus and effective countermeasures.

It was with these two guiding principles, in combination with the New York City and State guidelines, that the idea of the tents was born. While other forms of “mobile” classrooms were considered, trailers being the promising alternative, the tents were not only more cost efficient but also easier to gain permits for.

Both Dr. Nicholson-Flynn and Mr. Taylor attributed all of the credit for figuring out how to maximize Riverdale’s space safely, as well as putting up the tents, to Mr. Galligan and his team. Dr. Jonathan King, Director of Technology, made these functioning classrooms conducive to both in-person and hybrid learning, expanding Riverdale’s bandwidth for wireless internet and bringing Wi-Fi and electricity to all of the tents.

In addition to the tents, the single-direction walkways, although frustrating, are extremely necessary, as Dr. Nicholson-Flynn emphasized, to avoid “bottleneck” entries and exits. The days of everyone trying to cram through the tiny entrance to the 9/10 building are over.

Not only did our faculty and administrators create a safe learning environment outside, but they also did so inside for when it inevitably gets colder. New heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) filters and air purifiers were added to improve air quality and circulation. Desks are spaced six feet apart, thus placing a limit on the amount of people per room.

Dr. Nicholson-Flynn and Mr. Taylor both emphasized how the division of labor and clear communication were the two keys to success regarding the implementation of any changes. Every faculty member, administrator, and maintenance staff member played a vital role in implementing these changes and bringing us back to campus.

Seniors Tess Whitman and Molly Langer, as well as junior Savannah Neibart, expressed an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Riverdale’s efforts to bring students back to campus. Langer said, “we are so lucky to have this campus. I think Riverdale has been doing one of the best jobs out of everything I have seen.” Whitman and Neibart both agreed with her sentiment. When asked if they had any final messages for the Riverdale community regarding these physical changes to campus, Mr. Taylor mentioned, “This has never been done before. All we can do is make the best decisions we can with the information we have. However, we all still need to be flexible because things can and probably will change.”

Despite possible changes, Dr. Nicholson-Flynn said that “we need to do better in all ways,” including wearing our masks and staying six feet apart on and outside campus. We must acknowledge our privilege in being able to come to Riverdale in person, because many students and teachers across New York City, the nation, and the world have not gotten this opportunity.