Arundel, Maine—The Landing School in Arundel, Maine, will open for its first day of school on September 8, 2020. Currently the school staff, faculty, and a handful of graduates are prepping the classrooms, shops, and common areas for students returning this fall to train in Yacht Design, Composite Boat Building, Wooden Boat Building, and Marine Systems.
Unlike many post-secondary schools around the country, The Landing School is planning to offer its curriculum on site, with partitions at work stations, staggered start times for all students, and by taking advantage of the already widely spaced shops and classrooms. The administration is confident in this decision due to the facility’s location in a relatively rural setting with a low-density population, and the fact that without dorms students live apart, in rentals throughout the community. As an extra precaution, the staff has also identified those students who are moving to the area from higher risk areas and will track and document quarantine and/or testing prior to opening day.
“We fully expect to open our doors for onsite classes and hands-on shop time in September,” Richard Downs-Honey, The Landing School’s President, says. “We are ordering extensive PPE, and are currently building and creating space that mitigates the risk for all students, faculty, and staff. It also helps we are located in Maine, which is considered a low-risk state.”
According to the Harvard Global Health Institute, the states with the lowest rates of infection are Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, in that order. The Northeast overall ranks among the safer areas in the United States. “With this data in mind, we feel confident we can open for school while maintaining standard COVID protocols to continue to keep those numbers low,” Downs-Honey continues. “We learned the benefits of online learning during the peak of this pandemic, and are ready with that as a Plan B in the unlikely event the numbers start to rise, but that is not how we plan to enter this school year.”
The Landing School is still accepting applications for its 2020/21 year, with Opening Day scheduled for September 8, 2020. For more information, visit: https://www.landingschool.edu/how-to-apply or call 207-985-7976.
The Landing School—Established in southern Maine in 1978, The Landing School has one mission: to train the future of the marine industry. Accredited by The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), The Landing School reinforces and preserves traditional design and construction methods while advancing the art of boat building, design, and maintenance through the integration of modern techniques and contemporary materials. The school is currently accepting applications for the 2020/21 academic year.
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