Important Planning Update for the 2020-21 School Year, May 15, 2020

The Reopening of School Vision and Planning Team is working on tactical and operational scenarios for the 2020-21 academic year.
Dear Collegiate Community,
 
I think about the messages a Head of School usually sends to families this time of year. Sentiments of missing children on campus in May have never before entered my mind. The month of May in all schools is usually jam-packed with students and parents attending numerous special occasions and emits a palpable sense that school will soon release for summer. Like clockwork, the opening-of-School gatherings set the scene for joyful interactions. I imagine if your children were on campus with me now, after not seeing them for three months, I would readily comment on their physical growth and say with heartfelt emotion how much I miss seeing them and you.   

We do miss each other and yes, we have grown! Although not anticipated, we must commend our students, faculty and staff and our parents for jobs well done. A shared commitment to keep our Collegiate flame strong and deliver an education for the hearts and minds of Cougars has grounded us and allowed us to stretch ourselves. Using these newly developed muscles to be physically distant, continue interactive instruction and keep School running has been both difficult and uncomfortable. At the same time, it is the focus of Collegiate’s greater community that has truly prepared us to enrich and endure. From our youngest learners to our graduating seniors, the steadfast mindset of “can do/will do” fueled us to remain strong.  

Although still focused on the daily lives of our students and professionals, much of my time, and the time of the senior administrative team, is spent pivoting to the future as we plan for the fall and the 2020-21 school year. As stated in all communications, we are planning and hopeful to return to campus in person as soon as it is both safe and healthy to do so. However, COVID-19 is not something any of us can control and as such, we must be prepared to deliver a Collegiate education, no matter the reach of this pandemic. To this end, I have charged several leaders to focus on our immediate future and formed a Reopening of School Vision and Planning Team. Our findings will be shared with Collegiate's Board of Trustees. As you may remember, we held numerous strategic planning listening sessions earlier this year. We learned from our more than 400 voices that Collegiate is valued as an inclusive community, providing excellent opportunities for intellectual, moral, emotional and physical development, and where supportive relationships and joy are abundant. In response to COVID-19, with input from these listening sessions and recent surveys to our parents, faculty, staff and students, we are planning for our upcoming school year. Once again, we hope to be on campus and in person with health and safety as our primary focus.
 
The Reopening of School Vision and Planning Team is working on tactical and operational scenarios for the 2020-21 academic year. Our goal remains continuous improvement as we keep our students, your children, at the center of our craft. As such, our faculty and staff will participate in significant professional development this summer to consider their curriculum, pedagogy and community-building efforts for three possible scenarios. School employees and volunteers, along with medical and safety specialists, as well as our national network of schools and advisors, are helping us to plan and consider our options. We must ensure that our highest priority remains the safety of our employees and children and that our planning is inspired by Collegiate’s mission. The scenarios we are preparing are fluid and as follows:
 
  1. On campus and in person, where we mitigate the potential threats of COVID-19. We are mapping out possible changes to our calendar with a focus on the events and routines we consider to be essential. We use our campus to ensure an optimal atmosphere for all of our students and employees, and keep their health and safety as our most important priority. We explore the necessary training, purchasing of materials and operational measures we must take and evaluate the risks and benefits, as well as the costs of all we can predict within this model. This model is dependent on permission to be in School from government officials.

  2. A hybrid model, where some remote learning occurs for portions of our student body, delivered by our own professionals. If fewer people must be on campus, adhering to reduced occupancy to maintain health and safety for all, or if family medical situations call for at-home learning, we will maximize our campus to ensure access to the greatest number of students who might benefit from it. We seek to maximize the currency of time, delivery models and place to provide an optimal experience in unusual circumstances. Our faculty and staff are honing their skills and developing more agency, agility and fluidity in their shared craft using remote learning tools and platforms. Their professional development is focused on providing the best learning community possible for our constituents, no matter the obstacles of distance that may arise for some members of our student body. The health and safety of our community members remains our priority. This model is dependent on permission from government officials.

  3. Full remote learning, with the personalized touches and instructional models for which Collegiate is known. Although this is not the choice we want to make, we must be prepared to enthusiastically deliver student-centered learning for every Cougar learning from home if circumstances, or periods of time, require this approach. We promise to harness the talent of our faculty and staff to honor our mission and serve the people who make Collegiate a special place, and one to which we will ultimately return. Safety and health may require us to be remote for preventative or reactive reasons. We cannot predict what our local health landscape will be in late summer; however, we must be as ready as possible. This model may be determined by government officials.
We all clearly want to return to on-campus learning, with assurances of health and safety, as soon as possible and know many are growing impatient with this unnatural need to be apart. While we do not have all the answers, we do have systems for planning, flexibility and readiness in place. We hope to be on campus, but must be ready for external forces as we were this past March. We are focused on a positive year ahead with each and every Cougar at the front and center of our decision-making. No matter the external factors, Collegiate School plans to be ready.

As we learn of regional updates or findings that impact our on-campus delivery of instruction and programs, we will communicate. We intend to do so before the end of June, again in late July and in mid-August with any relevant updates regarding the 2020-21 school year. Please continue to check our FAQs on Collegiate’s website and the CDC's website.

In closing, we thank you for your passion, partnership and support. Our Collegiate torch will endure thanks to you and the many flame carriers and caretakers amongst us. Your emotional, intellectual and financial support is allowing us to remain strong. Remember, parat, ditat, durat  — we prepare, we enrich, we endure. May these images of our Kindergartners from the Class of 2032, thanking their senior buddies, our Class of 2020, inspire you.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Let’s remember that these youngest Cougars are our future and for them, we must make their healthy and safe return to campus a collective priority as we courageously plan for the years ahead. They deserve our best and we will not disappoint. Although we miss the human touch, we are still committed to relationships and know that the people of Collegiate truly make the place we miss so very much. We will do everything we possibly can to open safely and on time. I look forward to any questions you may have for me or our team. May you be safe and stay well. 
 
 
Warmly,
 
Penny B. Evins
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