Our first day of school for the 2020-2021 academic year is scheduled to be Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. For more information about our return to school, see our Back to School Guide here.

PK4 Dismisses at Noon until Monday, Aug. 17
PK5 & K Dismiss at 12:30 PM until Monday, Aug. 17

The HIES Senior Admin team, in conjunction with the school's professional healthcare consultants and with input and guidance from federal, state and local healthcare departments, will decide when to move from one phase to another. We will closely monitor rate of infections, level of spread, hospitalizations and other crucial data points within the school and the greater community to inform our decisions. 

• August 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12 (9 a.m. - 2 p.m.)
• Sale will be held outside at Alumni Hall
• Trying on clothes not allowed
• Masks and social distancing required for everyone

• Will begin August 19, 7:30-10 a.m.
• Maximum of three customers in the store at a time
• Line will form outside Alumni Hall
• Volunteer will monitor numbers in store and will take temperatures as the next customer enters the store 
• Masks required and social distancing expected
• Trying on clothes will not be allowed

We have installed a state-of-the-art thermal imaging system at the main entry points of the Primary School, Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. This system will automatically gauge the temperature of every student and adult entering the building. Any student or faculty member with a temperature exceeding 100 will not be able to attend for the day, or until he or she is fever-free, without medication, for 48 hours.

Face coverings will be required of anyone arriving on the HIES campus. To offer the most optimal protection, face coverings should cover a person’s nose and mouth and fit securely around the ears or behind the head. Face coverings should be at least two-ply. Look for face coverings that are adjustable around the nose and ears. Gaiter face coverings are no longer allowed.

Masks should NOT have gaskets or feature any text, unless it is HIES-branded (available in the Campus Shop).  Patterns, art and graphics such as team logos, characters (i.e. Disney, gaming, etc.) are allowed but are subject to review/approval by division principals.  

Everyone arriving on campus must wear a face covering upon arrival. HIES has a limited supply of face coverings for those who do not have them. Masks should NOT have gaskets or feature any text, unless it is HIES-branded (available in the Campus Shop). Patterns, art and graphics such as team logos, characters (i.e. Disney, gaming, etc.) are allowed but are subject to review/approval by division principals. Gaiter face coverings are no longer allowed.

Students will be able to remove their face coverings during lunch, snack, recess, PE if they are physical-distancing and any other time they are outside when physical-distancing is possible.

Hand sanitizer spray will be available in every classroom to promote an appropriately clean and disinfected environment for all students and faculty. Additional sanitizing stations are available at various locations throughout campus.

Students will be given multiple opportunities to wash their hands. 

All faculty will be well versed in the best practices of hand hygiene, including both hand washing and sanitizing practices. Faculty will work closely with all students to promote healthy hand hygiene.

HIES uses medical-grade, EPA-registered disinfectants that are approved for use against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and has enhanced cleaning, disinfection and ventilation practices in preparation for return to school. 

HIES’s HVAC system has also been updated to include a new filtration package that allows for the maximum amount of incoming fresh air supply and ventilation across campus.

A team of porters will clean and sanitize often-touched surface areas throughout the day.

The Stephens Courtyard will be tented and available for classes and for students to distance, commune and eat lunch. Additional tents will be installed throughout campus, including the Lower School and Middle School.

HIES would like to limit visitors to campus as much as possible. In most circumstances, visitors should arrive by appointment only. Call the school's main line at (404) 303-2150 to schedule a visit with the division you wish to visit. 

Students experiencing one or more COVID-19 symptoms must stay home for a minimum of 48 hours. Prior to returning to school, he/she must be fever/nausea/vomiting/diarrhea-free without medication for 48 hours, all other symptoms must resolve, and one must either obtain a COVID-19 viral test with a negative result OR be evaluated by a physician and provide a signed school clearance note.  

Symptoms of COVID-19 include: runny nose, congestion that is a significant change, sore throat, headache, temperature of 100.0 or greater, body aches, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath, dry cough, loss of taste or smell, fatigue and weakness.    

HIES will not accept antibody test results as clearance for school.  

Please email illness details, updates, and doctor's notes or COVID-19 test results to your division nurse.  (See contact information here.)  

If anyone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, please keep all HIES students home and contact your division nurse ASAP. 

No. Please follow the HIES illness policy. 

If a student or employee receives a positive test or a physician diagnosis of COVID-19, the person will quarantine for at least 10 days from when the symptoms first appeared, and until they are fever-free and nausea/vomiting/diarrhea-free for at least 48 hours without medication and improvement of other symptoms.

A person who tests positive but who is asymptomatic will quarantine for 10 days from the date of the positive test unless symptoms appear during that time.

Direct exposure is sustained contact with a person within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more.

If your child experiences direct exposure (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of someone who tests positive for COVID-19) your child will be asked to quarantine for 14 days. 

No. Your child does not need a second test prior to returning to school. As long as he/she is symptom-free, once the 10 day isolation period is over, he/she is clear to return to school.

The student or faculty member will be sent to a school nurse. (Parents will be contacted immediately.) The person will be moved to the nearest isolation room on campus until he or she can be picked up.

Families of students who are deemed to have experienced direct exposure (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) and those who are deemed to have experienced low-risk exposure (those who had some contact but not close contact) will be notified.

For example: If a student in the third grade tests positive for COVID-19, a message will be sent to all third-grade families that a student in their grade tested positive. In addition, all families in that student's homeroom will be made aware that a student in their child's class has tested positive. A possible third message will be sent to parents of any other students who are deemed to have experienced direct exposure (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes). This will be similar to our notification approach in the Primary School. 

In the Middle School, a general notification of a positive test will be provided to all Middle School parents, identifying only the grade of the student. Parents of students in the same advisory/athletic team/fine arts group of the COVID-positive student will be made aware of the positive test in more specific terms. 

If/When an Upper School student tests positive, all Upper School families will be made aware of the positive test, identifying the student by grade. Parents of students on the same advisory/athletic team/fine arts group and those students who are determined to have been in sustained, high-risk contact with the COVID-positive student will be made aware of the positive test in more specific terms. 

No.

Impacted families will be notified in the event of a positive test or diagnosis by a physician.

No.

Students will not need to quarantine unless they were deemed to have had direct exposure (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes).

Each division will have a contact-tracing team, made up of nurse, counselor and administrator, who will conduct contact tracing to determine what students and/or employees may have had direct exposure (within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more) with the COVID positive student/staff.

If a student tests positive, any HIES sibling or HIES faculty/staff member in the household must quarantine 14 days. 

Students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID, or are experiencing COVID symptoms, should immediately report to their division nurse. 

The same holds true if a member of your household receives a positive COVID test or is experiencing COVID symptoms.

Individuals experiencing symptom(s) will be sent home or instructed to stay home by the nurse for a minimum of 48 hours. Prior to returning to school, symptoms must have resolved and one must either obtain a COVID-19 test with a negative result OR be evaluated by a physician and provide a signed school clearance note.

The contact tracing team follows CDC, GA Department of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health guidelines and the advice of our medical advisors. 

Yes. A COVID-19 viral test is required before your quarantined child returns to on-campus learning. Testing should be completed no earlier than 5 days after initial exposure. Please note that even if your child’s test results are negative, he/she must remain in quarantine for the entire 14 days. HIES will accept rapid antigen and molecular PCR tests; HIES will not accept antibody tests or tests conducted within the initial 5-day exposure window.

We recognize that many students potentially face social and emotional and learning challenges during this time. HIES's team of counselors, learning support specialists and chaplains in each division will proactively support our students. 

HIES Chaplains
The Rev. Ricardo Bailey, Head Chaplain, Upper/Primary Chaplain
The Rev. David Wagner, Middle School Chaplain
The Rev. Melanie Rowell, Lower School Chaplain

HIES Counselors
Amy Adams, Primary School, amy.adams@hies.org
Fraser Kent, Lower School, fraser.kent@hies.org
Nicole Hopkins, Middle School, nicole.hopkins@hies.org
Katie Cruce, Upper School, katie.cruce@hies.org

Yes. GHSA has approved the official beginning of all fall sports. Click here for more information from GHSA.

Please click here to read the comprehensive plan to conduct the fine and performing arts at HIES this fall. 

See more information about plans for Fine Arts here.

Yes. We are finalizing our plans for the best way to offer these important classes and activities.

Yes. We will spread students out in order to adhere to social distancing. Masks will be required. More information will be shared as we get closer to school. 

A newsletter from the Campus Shop will soon be sent detailing new protocols.

Primary School
Kindergarten will be eating lunch in the Primary School. All students will eat in their individual classrooms.

Lower School
Lunch will begin at the usual time (11 a.m.). However, it will be served at Parish Hall (adjacent to the Lower School building) and students will eat in their classrooms.

Middle School
Lunch will be served at Parish Hall, and students will eat in their advisories. 

Upper School
The Stephens Courtyard, and areas around the STEM Building, will be tented and available for classes and for students to distance, commune and eat lunch. US students will be served lunch in the STEM Dining Hall. An additional US lunch period has been added, allowing students and staff to social distance. As in prior years, Seniors will have the option to eat off-campus.

Yes.

Please contact Steven Turner, associate head of school, at steven.turner@hies.org. 

Yes.

Please contact Steven Turner, associate head of school, at steven.turner@hies.org. 

For all students in Grades 4 and above, we will have a completely real-time virtual learning experience available for as long as your family sees fit. We are procuring some additional technology to allow for students who are learning from home to basically sit in the same classroom as their on-campus peers, but virtually. They will be able to see and hear all of what is happening in the classroom, and they’ll be able to ask questions, participate in class discussions and the like. This will be the case for all core academic classes as well as co-curricular classes. We are confident that this expansion upon what we were able to do this past spring will afford our at-home student an experience very similar to what they would be getting on campus. The point of contact for families will always be each student’s specific teachers.

For students in Grades 3 and below, online learning will be an enhanced version of the program we had this past spring. A recommended daily schedule that resembles the structure of a regular on-campus day will be provided for each grade level that includes several real-time Zoom sessions (some of which will be one-on-one), some asynchronous pre-recorded lessons, and independent work. Co-curriculars will be included on a more limited basis. It is worth noting that this option, while enhanced from this past spring, will still require a great deal of parental involvement as research and our own experience suggest that our younger students cannot be expected to maintain focus on real-time digital instruction for more than 20-40 minutes at a time.

At this time, we are exploring a dedicated staff member to serve as a liaison for parents of students in grades PK3-3 who are learning remotely.