UPDATE: Friday, March 13, will be the last day for students to attend in-person classes. A statement from Laboratory Schools Director Charlie Abelmann sent to the Midway and the community said: “To better meet the needs of families, faculty, and staff, the last day of classes for STUDENTS ONLY will be tomorrow, Friday, March 13.”

The Laboratory Schools will suspend in-person classes as of Monday, March 30, due to concerns of exposure to the COVID-19 virus, according to an email sent to members of the Lab community March 12.

Faculty and staff will use March 16-18 to prepare for the transition to online instruction before teachers post instructional plans to their classes on Schoology beginning March 30. Buildings will be closed March 18-19 for cleaning.

An email earlier on March 12 to the university community indicated that in-person instruction at the University of Chicago will not resume for the rest of the academic year, but Lab may return to in-person classes, programming and activities after spring break for a portion of the remaining year.

Director Charlie Abelmann said if administrators believe that it is safe for school to be operating, the duration of Lab’s closure will be shorter than the university’s.

“We’re different than the university in that all of our students are more local than the university,” Dr. Abelmann said.

However, due to the changing nature of the situation, there’s still a lot that the school can’t plan for.

“I think what’s challenging is we all have to live with a level of ambiguity,” Dr. Abelmann said. “And we have to be planning for what it’s like if we’re out for a short period of time or what it’s like if we’re out for a month or a longer period of time” 

The University of Chicago has set up an up-to-date informational website on COVID-19 which includes University-wide communications. At this time, no students, faculty, staff, or others in the Hyde Park campus community have tested positive for COVID-19.

This story is developing and will be updated as information becomes available.