Riverside Military Academy’s cadets are being asked to move out of the all-boys college preparatory school and go home. 

Retired U.S. Army Col. Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski, Riverside’s president, released a letter on Friday, March 13, asking cadets to depart the campus and go to their respective homes from 3-9 p.m. Friday or between 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 14. 

Preczewski explained in the letter that there are no confirmed COVID-19 cases on campus. He said the academy’s choice to send students home takes into account the safety of cadets and staff, and the state’s recommendations.

Riverside is aware that not all of its students, including international and domestic, will be able to go home. 

The academy is providing a petition process for parents to request keeping their sons at Riverside. The deadline to submit the form is 5 p.m. Monday, March 16. If this doesn’t happen, Preczewski said those cadets are expected to leave by noon Sunday, March 22.

Christian Mims, Riverside’s director of marketing and public affairs, said around 18% of the academy’s cadets are international.

“We are a family,” Preczewski said in a press release. “We will take care of our own.”

Online education is scheduled to begin Monday, March 23, and continue for the remaining spring semester. 

“This was not an easy decision,” Preczewski stated. “Academy leadership and the RMA Board of Trustees reviewed all options to best meet the needs of 400-plus cadets from around the country and the world while fulfilling our mission to educate young men.”