November 13, 2020
a message from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
November 13, 2020
Last spring, when learning shifted to virtual, I made a promise to this community: We will all come together, as Panthers, and be our best—our most innovative, our most engaging, our most creative, our most kind, and our most hopeful, all the while prioritizing the community’s health and safety.
That’s exactly what we’ve done. And we’ve seen great success because of it. We have had no on-campus transmission. Our health and safety protocols are working. Internally, things are strong and stable, in large part because we have come together, as Panthers. Unfortunately, the external COVID-19 metrics that we monitor closely have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Projections indicate that there is no relief in sight.
In partnership with the administrative team and members of the Community Advisory Group, I have made the difficult decision to proactively transition our community to dial stop three: PreK on campus, K-4 on campus in cohorts, 5-12 in virtual school.
- Upper School will continue its regular hybrid schedule November 16-19. There will be no classes on Friday, November 20 so that faculty may prepare. Upper School will start fully virtual on November 23. Click here for an updated calendar >
- Middle School will continue its regular hybrid schedule November 16-19. There will be no classes on Friday, November 20 so that faculty may prepare. Middle School will start fully virtual on November 23. Click here for an updated calendar >
- Lower School will continue its regular fully on-campus schedule November 16-24. They will have school on November 20 as the shift to dial stop three requires less faculty preparation. Between now and November 30, Lower School will gradually transition to dial stop three.
We will do our part by committing to this short-term adjustment so that we may navigate this high-risk period and return to campus as soon as possible. By making this change now, it is more likely that we will be able to return to dial stop two on January 20, the start of quarter three in Middle and Upper School. Our model is working, so there is no reason to believe that we cannot return to it when this spike subsides. I want to be very clear that this shift is not related to any on-campus transmissions.
I know you have questions. We’ve tried to address those below. If you have additional questions, please contact your division director or email communications@moundsparkacademy.org and your email will be routed to the most appropriate person. In addition, I encourage you to attend your division’s Town Hall meeting next week (see links below) where we will address frequently asked questions that arise between now and then.
Together, I have absolutely no doubt that this school community will emerge from these challenging times stronger than we were before.
If you have any symptoms, test positive, or have been exposed to COVID-19, please email covid@moundsparkacademy.org immediately.
