By Ellie Grace Grinnan

When you ask people what they remember from 2020, many will respond with the same answer: COVID-19. This virus impacted the lives of basically everyone around the world. The virus emerged late in 2019, and the first case in the United States was discovered in January 2020. Soon after, in March, the virus was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). During the pandemic, roughly 194 countries closed schools, impairing over 1.5 billion students’ education. The death toll from the virus, as of March 2026, stands at 7.1 million worldwide.

The year 2020 was a confusing and isolating time, as people did not know what to think, how the virus was spread, or what the future would look like. According to Pew Research, in 2025 roughly 75% of Americans stated that COVID-19 had a negative impact on their life. The fears and what was unknown about the virus, along with the news, social media, and data from hospitals, evoked panic in society. In 2020, 384,536 Americans passed away from COVID-19, and hospitals were struggling to keep up with the numbers of admittees, especially older adults. In New York City, a chain of hospitals increased their supply of hospital beds by 50% in two weeks to care for a spike of COVID-19 cases. New field hospitals also popped up across the country to provide more space for patients. In total, the federal government provided around 4.1 trillion dollars in aid in response to the virus. For medical workers, it was a stressful and demanding time, as research and care were rapidly being distributed.

The Match team from spring 2020 meeting on Zoom. Photo credit: Vlastik Svab.

As news of COVID-19 spread, the world shut down, and Collegiate School began virtual school on Monday, March 23, 2020, continuing online learning throughout the rest of the school year. Collegiate Middle Schoolers and Upper Schoolers were required to use Zoom to participate in every class, with their cameras on. Teachers were generally more lenient on grades and the amount of material being covered, but full engagement was still expected. During this time, I was in 5th Grade and spent roughly 4 to 5 hours a day on Zoom.

On the other hand, my sister Kaitlyn, who was in 3rd Grade at Collegiate at the time, was not required to Zoom all day, resulting in my mom, Beth Grinnan, being extremely involved in helping her complete assignments. While this caused some stress and chaos at times, my mom recently reflected on how ultimately “I did love having you [all] around.” COVID-19 also provided us with plenty of family time. My father, Richard Grinnan, started working from home, and my mom continued to work on her podcast at home. Due to COVID-19 shutting down schools, my mom was also blessed with the opportunity to help homeschool a few of our family friends’ children, working on their reading and writing skills.

While each family was trying to figure out how to adapt to this new way of life, so was Collegiate. In a recent interview, Head of Upper School Patrick Loach said that, for the Upper School in 2020 and 2021, “what was important academically was still to try to maintain high standards.” During quarantine, school assignments became easier, and exams were cancelled, but maintaining a level of excellence for Collegiate was non-negotiable. When Upper School students were not engaging in class, Dean of Students Mark Palyo says that he “tried to have them look at the positive side of it” and “encourage them.” Palyo recognized that virtual classes were difficult, but he wanted to push students to try their best and find the positives in the situation. Because some other schools, particularly middle schools, did not monitor the work their students were doing, the spring of 2020 basically felt like getting an academic vacation for a quarter. Landon Burke (‘26) who attended Hungary Creek Middle School during that year, recalled how his “asynchronous [school work] was like nothing” in 6th grade.

Along with Zoom being difficult for students at times, it was also tough for teachers, as they had to invent new and interesting ways to push and encourage students to learn. Hannah Curley, Upper School Spanish teacher, in a recent interview recalled how “we were as creative as we could have possibly been to make it as good as we possibly could.” Especially in world language classes, where speaking and conversations happen frequently, teachers had to brainstorm ways to simulate a normal classroom experience through Zoom breakout rooms, games, and encouragement.

Different schools used different methods to provide education to students. Collegiate, along with St. Catherine’s, Trinity Episcopal School, and others, moved to online classes for the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Other schools, like Henrico Public Schools’ Hungary Creek Middle School, gave their students asynchronous work for the remainder of that school year. Each school also took different precautions when coming back to school in the fall of 2020. Trinity split their students into two cohorts, and one group would attend school in-person for two days while the other group stayed home. Trinity was trying to lower the chances of COVID-19 exposure and allow for social distancing by managing the number of students coming in person each day. Henrico Public Schools continued online school until January and February of 2021. Then these schools offered in-person learning every day except for Wednesday, to allow for a deep clean of all their buildings.

For the start of the 2020-2021 school year, Collegiate prioritized getting all students back on campus, which involved many policy and regulation changes. When students entered the buildings in the morning, scanners would take their temperatures to ensure they were fever-free. Parents also had to submit a form stating that they took their child’s temperature and they did not have any symptoms of COVID-19 before dropping them off. If a student had COVID-19 or was exposed to it, they had to quarantine at home and Zoom into their classes for roughly two weeks.

Collegiate students six feet apart at the 2020 Convocation. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Another change during this time is how outdoor spaces were transformed into learning environments. Palyo stated how “any open space became a classroom,” and other classrooms were split. Since everyone had to maintain a distance of six feet apart, spaces in the libraries, cafe, cafeterias, and outside transformed into classrooms. If desks were unable to be six feet apart in a classroom, the class would split, and half the class would go to a room across the hall and Zoom in. This allowed for students to have access to the teacher and fellow classmates while maintaining six feet.

Vlastik Svab, English teacher and Match advisor in the Upper School, taught a class in the Saunders Family Library during the 2020-2021 school year and had a class split between the two glass-walled study rooms, AC103A and AC103B. He recalled how during his split class, “we ended up meeting outside on the patio most days, since somehow Zooming from one room to another never worked.” The 2020-2021 school year took a significant amount of flexibility and growth. Students and teachers adapted and worked together to make the best of their circumstances. Loach views this time of online school and early return as “a great professional challenge” and an experience he can look back on with pride, but, he added, “I would never want to repeat it.”

While every person had their own perspective and experience during COVID-19 and quarantine, many of us shared similar memories. Nature is something many people grew to experience and enjoy more through this time. For my family, during the spring of 2020 we frequently walked and ran around the neighborhood. Collegiate also made efforts to prioritize time outside. Kaitlyn reflected, “we did a lot of outdoor activities, which I enjoyed.” She deeply appreciated in 3rd and 4th Grade how her Lower School teachers, Katie Taylor and Sarah Dunn, incorporated nature into the lessons, encouraging the children to get off of screens and into the sun. In her 3rd Grade class, she planted an avocado tree at home that is still growing today. Palyo also stated how one of the positives that came out of COVID-19 was that “school ended up using spaces better and created more outdoor spaces.” Once Collegiate came back to campus, the only place where masks were allowed to be removed was outside, leading to many classes meeting outdoors when the weather cooperated. In the Upper School, classes would meet on the Christian Family Plaza, the patio outside the Academic Commons, and the front lawn of Pitt Hall. Curley reflected how after returning on campus, “we went outside all the time for class, which made it easier to have those conversations.” Since seeing people’s mouths is an essential part of learning a language, going outside allowed students to better grasp the material in world language classes.

Halo Girls from 2020. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Another common experience people went through during COVID-19 was feeling a lack of community. Going from seeing school peers or work colleagues every day, to not meeting with them except for on a screen, was a tough transition. Loach stated how his main goal while Collegiate did online school was “to still have some sense of community.” It was a challenge to figure out how to get people excited to show up to virtual classes and meetings in a time that was full of unknowns, but Loach continued to emphasize the importance of community.

Loach’s intentionality led to every Senior at Collegiate continuing to give their Senior Speeches, via video assemblies, and “a lot of silly contests.” Students would film ridiculous videos, like trickshots in the style of Dude Perfect, and submit them to SCA. The goal was to create an environment students could laugh and feel seen in, even if apart. Loach also wanted the Collegiate staff to feel valued and connected, leading to trivia nights that sought to “maintain some sense of camaraderie among the faculty.” A key to getting through quarantine was creating a sense of togetherness.

The way many students stayed in touch during COVID-19 was through FaceTime, calls, and video games. As Burke recalled, “all I did was play video games,” and he also claimed it was the best part. Many of my days were full of FaceTime calls and playing Roblox with friends. The downside of communicating online was how many hours I spent on screens. As a 12-year-old, I went from my screen usage being micromanaged by my parents to many hours every day spent in front of a device. My father Richard Grinnan, who works at a large insurance company, reflected on how people were “more disconnected when all working remotely.” Even though Zoom and FaceTime were available, it was not the same as meeting in person. As a result, COVID-19 made us have a greater appreciation for our peers and colleagues. Kaitlyn reflected on how COVID-19 made her realize that, “I get energy from being around people.”

Collegiate’s 2020 Convocation. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Masks also significantly altered how people communicated. An extensive amount of human interaction happens through reading facial expressions, but masks prevent that. Since half of a person’s face was covered, people were forced to discover new ways to read emotions. Palyo stated, “I learned how to very much read people’s eyes and see what their emotion was.” Palyo went on to talk about how he continues to use this skill today and how it helps him better connect and understand people. Masks during COVID-19 were controversial, as some states and people viewed them as helpful, while others did not. Certain states imposed mask mandates, while others ended theirs earlier or never had one. In Virginia, the mask mandate was lifted on May 14, 2021.

Sports were majorly impacted by COVID-19 as well. In March 2020, spring sports at Collegiate were canceled for the remainder of the season, as school was virtual, and there was not much information on how the virus was spread. In the fall of 2020, sports could practice but were extremely limited in contact and proximity. Palyo, then varsity head football coach, recalled how practices looked very different during this time, as players had to be socially distanced. It was not until the end of the season that flag football games were finally allowed within the team. According to Palyo,the boys still made the best of the weird season. They tried different positions and had phenomenal attitudes. Palyo stated: “It certainly was not easy, but I was actually really proud of that group of boys on the team.” People were excited to be back in the community and playing sports, even if on a limited basis.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic began six years ago, there are still lasting impacts. Classes continue to meet outside, especially in warm weather, people have a new-found appreciation for spending time with their friends and colleagues, and Collegiate now uses Zoom for snow days. But most importantly, as summed up by Loach, COVID-19 showed us: “the power of a community to accomplish something.”