July 16, 2020


This week, our St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School (SFA) Return to School Task Force Committees convened for their first official meetings.  These groups included all stakeholders - parents, faculty, staff, clergy, and administration. The Committees are tasked with gathering additional viewpoints of parents, teachers, and staff to continue building plans for the opening of school in August. 

Daily I receive emails from parents sharing feedback on the work we are doing together. Perspectives range from “we are not doing enough” to “we are doing too much.” As your Principal, I am fully committed to preserving the health and wellbeing of our students, staff, and faculty. As an educator, I genuinely desire to educate our students and ensure they are smarter in June than they were in August! What is evident as we wrap up Committee meetings this week is that there is much work still to be done.  

Some of the facility improvements we have been working on for the health and safety of your children on campus include:  
  • Installing flooring in the school office that can be easily sanitized
  • Installing flooring in lower grade classrooms that can be easily sanitized
  • Capping drinking fountains campuswide
  • Installing bottle fillers for reusable bottles campuswide
  • Installing outdoor sinks with multiple hand washing stations
  • Antibacterial dispensers in every classroom at the entry and exit points
  • Installing screens on all classroom windows so they can be opened during the school day

The Committees discussed survey results from the school survey, teacher feedback survey, and the Diocesan survey distributed in May 2020. As we all know, so much has changed since that time. While we learn more about COVID-19, we also recognize there is more to learn. We are taking the notes from the meetings this week and using the feedback we received, to begin putting a formal plan in place. We recognize that because the climate has changed so much since June, your choices and opinions may have changed. We need to provide an opportunity for our families to make an informed decision once we have this plan completed. We look forward to sharing a new survey with you in the next few weeks.   

I am a parent and I too share in your frustrations with the ever changing climate, desire to protect my family, and dealing with the overwhelming demands. This is not a short-term journey but will continue for the foreseeable future. Together we build endurance. United we are strong, prepared, and ready for what comes next. However, this too shall pass and since we are a people of hope, I invite you to join me in praying for our Committee members, our faculty, staff, and administration, our clergy, and most importantly our students who need our love, support, and presence in these challenging times.

Look for more updates next Thursday, July 23.

Be safe and be hopeful,

Jeannette Lambert
Principal