Nashotah House Represented at Vice President’s Briefing

Nashotah House Represented at Vice President’s Briefing with Higher Education Leaders and State and Local Officials on Campus COVID-19 Considerations

Vice President Mike Pence led a discussion on September 4, 2020, with college presidents, leaders in higher education, state and local leaders, the Secretary of Education, and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force to brief them on the principles contained in the recently released “Recommendations for College Students.” These principles are intended to keep schools open while mitigating community spread.

Approximately 1,900 educators and leaders in higher education attended this invitation-only online discussion. Mr. Pence highlighted a number of states and institutions that have taken innovative and collaborative approaches for returning students to their campuses. For example, Colorado State University is using surveillance testing to monitor the potential spread of COVID-19, and the University of Notre Dame quickly and efficiently dealt with an outbreak on campus recently. The Vice President also emphasized the importance of keeping our schools open and students on or near campus and praised the efforts of all essential workers who have made school reopening possible.

Nashotah House was represented by the Rev. Jason S. Terhune, Senior Director of Operations and Student Services at Nashotah House. Fr. Terhune said, “Nashotah House adapted to the changes that came our way during the Covid-19 pandemic, and could have sent us into a crisis as we moved to fully remote learning during the spring to prevent the spread of the virus. But we have a team that kept working remotely to make our students' education possible. Truly, our Director of IT worked in record time to get ‘things up and running.’ His work over the past few years really paid off. Our chef switched to ‘take away’ meals for the students, staff , and faculty. We are working with a consultant who is assisting us to provide a premium classroom experience when our students must participate remotely.

“The Vice-President recognized this was not easy for any of us to do and for many students, ‘going online’ for class was harder than it sounds. Mr. Pence recognized that faculty across the U.S. are facing the reality of delivering a virtual academic experience while managing on-campus socially-distant teaching as well.” We are working on grants that will allow us to improve our spaces for greater safety and our digital environment for greater interaction.”

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provided remarks on the importance of keeping schools open, with the safety of students being the utmost priority. More than 90%of returning students said that the in person experience of education was the most important factor in the delivery and experience of their education. Most students noted that they were moving back to college even if the school was not available for in person classes. This is their life at school and they want an education to match the experience.

CDC Director Redfield reaffirmed the federal government’s recommendations for preventing the spread of the virus, including face coverings, social distancing, frequent handwashing, and avoiding crowded indoor gatherings.

Nashotah House is grateful for its larger counterparts in education and recognizes the tremendous asset that they are. Our entire student body is smaller than some of their classes. We recognize that we have to adapt what we learn to our own community. It has been challenging and yet so rewarding to see our students complete their work and so many new students beginning their education.

Dr. Scott Atlas and Ambassador Debbie Birx outlined the Administration’s recommendations for higher education students in order to keep schools open safely. Along with following CDC mitigation protocols, students were encouraged to stay on or near campus as much as possible, to minimize exposure to higher risk individuals.

Ambassador Birx led a discussion with Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, and Father John Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame, to highlight the best practices they have implemented. She also discussed trends and examples that she has seen across the nation from her recent visits to 26 states.