Frequently Asked Questions

• To request an exemption, contact Student Health Services Director, Kristen Smith (ksmith@mccallie.org).

• To request an exemption, contact Student Health Services Director, Kristen Smith (ksmith@mccallie.org).

• Our plans for the 2021-22 school year are to have on-campus classes only. This may change, depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic over the summer and changes in the recommendations/guidelines issued by health and education consultants.

• There is a section in Magnus to upload his vaccination card.

Magnus is our Student Health Record System/Support. 

• Access to Magnus will be open to new students during the early part of the summer. New families will be notified regarding log-in instructions for Magnus along with other information that will be emailed to them during the summer.

As you know, McCallie is requiring that our employees and students get the COVID-19 immunization before the beginning of next school year. There are exceptions for those who have medical, religious, moral, or ethical concerns. 

To reiterate, we made the decision after considering that the vast majority of health experts recommend the vaccine as the best protection against COVID-19 and its complications, and we made the decision because it is best for our boys in our particular residential setting. It is best for our boys because having a fully vaccinated or near fully vaccinated campus is the best and safest way for us to return to the full McCallie experience.

When we say the full McCallie experience, our goal is that this includes a mask-free or at least mask-optional school year. Our ability to do this is contingent on a variety of factors, including the number of our school community who are vaccinated, but also on guidance from medical experts and the prevalence of COVID-19 in our area around the time school starts back in the fall.

Right now, we are trending in a very positive direction when considering these factors. We are especially pleased with the large number of our community who have responded positively to our decision. The prevalence of COVID-19 in our area is declining for now. Because of this, we can now say with more confidence that, provided there is no unforeseen spike or uncontrolled variant, we are hope to return next fall to a mask-optional school year.

At this time, therefore, the decision to wear a mask is a personal choice. McCallie, however, strongly recommends that individuals who are not vaccinated for an authorized exception wear  a mask while indoors and in close quarters where social distancing is not possible. It is also important to understand that unvaccinated and unmasked individuals will be subject to contact tracing and possibly to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID-19. Unlike this past school year, we will not, in most instances, have the capacity to quarantine boys on campus, and there will also be no virtual school option for those who must quarantine.

Please know that only the Student Health Center will have records - either of your son’s vaccination or your decision to request an exemption. This information will not be shared. Further, only trained professionals in the Student Health Center are authorized to perform contact tracing, and only when necessary and  in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Health.

Again, we are optimistic about our ability to return to a better normal next year at McCallie. We have been so encouraged by how many of you have decided to be immunized against COVID-19. If you have not already, please upload your COVID-19 vaccination form through Magnus with the Student Health Center as soon as possible.

• People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose (Moderna and Pfizer). This puts the vaccine deadline at August 3, 2021.

• Any vaccination approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be acceptable.

• If your son is not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in your home country prior to the start of the school year, he will be able to get one once he arrives on campus in the fall. You should contact Student Health Services Director Kristen Smith (ksmith@mccallie.org) over the summer to make arrangements.

• We will work with dorm students on an individual basis to determine how best to protect all students’ health.

• We anticipate that all classroom teachers will be vaccinated. That said, any unvaccinated teacher would have to wear a mask under current CDC guidelines. 

• We will follow TSSAA and local municipal rules regarding sporting events and other public events on- and off-campus. We expect TSSAA to adopt standards for the 2021-22 school year sometime in mid-summer.

• General visitors will be asked to wear masks if they are not vaccinated. They will be on the honor system and will not be required to show a vaccination card.

• Parents and others who are fully vaccinated will not be asked to wear masks. Those not fully vaccinated will be asked to wear masks indoors. They will be on the honor system and will not be required to show a vaccination card.

• We strongly encourage everyone to be vaccinated. Persons living on campus will be required to comply with our current campus safety protocols. Our protocols in the fall will take into account current CDC guidelines as well as the level of COVID-19 in our area.

• This has not been determined at this time.  

• We anticipate that all school operations, like food services, will be able to return to pre-COVID practices. We will continue to have hand-sanitizing stations readily available and be extra vigilant about disinfecting and cleaning surfaces.

• With a fully, or near fully vaccinated school community, we anticipate being able to gather again as a school for Chapel. All students will be expected to comply with our current campus safety protocols.

• Because of privacy rules and regulations, we will not be sharing this information.

• With his vaccination card, your son can receive the second dose anywhere that offers the same vaccine as his first dose.

• Everything we are doing is in an effort to get back to normal, so that means ties for next year. Full outline of the dress code will be in the Blue Book.

• Our hope is to return to a mask-optional campus environment in the fall. Our ability to do this depends, however, on a variety of factors, including, most importantly, having the majority of our school students, faculty, and staff vaccinated, but also on the guidance of the CDC and the prevalence of COVID-19 in our area. Because things change so quickly and often regarding COVID, it is hard for us to predict what the pandemic environment in the fall will be. Our campus safety protocols will be determined based on CDC guidelines and the level of COVID-19 in our area at that time. All students will be expected to comply with our current campus safety protocols.