Stanstead College COVID-19 Response: April 17

This past Thursday evening, for example, our alumni gathered via Zoom for a singalong led by some of our teachers and personnel. Though we are far apart, the Spartan spirit remains strong and true.

We recognize that these are challenging times for many of our families. The current pandemic and its corresponding global economic impact are unprecedented, and Stanstead College continues to seek ways to best serve our students while fulfilling our mission.

With this in mind, the Executive Committee of Stanstead College’s board of directors has come to the difficult decision that the campus should remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
Although the Quebec government has not yet announced the continued closure of Quebec schools, we believe this to be in the best interest of our community. Like other international boarding schools in Canada, our priority is the health and safety of our students and our families. We also recognize that the border closure, limited flights and mandatory quarantines will continue to impede any attempts for our out-of-province, American and international students to return to campus.

At the same time, we are committed to delivering effective preparation for studies in the fall at Stanstead or at university with our distance-learning education program through June. Discussions are also under way concerning packing up residence rooms and our very important end-of-year celebrations. Details on this will follow.

The school is also committed to refunding a portion of the residence fees for the third term to our boarding families. Details of this refund will be provided in the coming week and funds will be dispersed before the end of the school year, pursuant to any further government regulations to the contrary. Tuition fees, meanwhile, will be applied to delivering distance learning and other administrative services through the third term.

More details will be provided next week. In the meantime, our students are enjoying their courses and re-established connection with their teachers and peers. We feel strongly that, although unusual, our students will benefit from this time and will come out well prepared for the upcoming school year.

We thank everyone in our community for their understanding and patience as we continue to develop reasonable responses during these uncertain times. We hope you stay well.

Useful links
Public Health Canada COVID-19 information
WHO COVID-19 information
Quebec Ministry of Health COVID-19 information