Dear Members of the GSFS Community,
We hope that this is the last month of virtual school, while also planning ahead for all future possibilities. I want to share some thoughts and to update you on our outlook for the next few months, as well as for the 2020-2021 school year.
But first some thank yous.
In our lives since winter break, the word that comes to my mind is INCREDIBLE.
Thank you to parents and caregivers for rising to the incredible challenge of managing your lives during the Governor's stay-at-home-order. We know how hard it is to work at home, to send your child to GSFS at home, and to manage home life. In particular, we give a shout-out to single parents and caregivers who have managed family, school, and work in the same place at the same time. Incredible.
Thank you to our faculty and staff. You are an incredible group of educators and professionals who have seen the challenge for what it is, have thrown yourselves at it, and have pivoted our entire school, from physical to virtual with almost no warning. Incredible.
Thank you to all members of our community for staying connected and responsive. Your feedback from multiple surveys has been unbelievably valuable and has guided research and development over the past six weeks. And as a result, we have constantly upgraded our programming and financial accommodations over the past six weeks.
Despite the accomplishments of our families, our faculty, and our staff, we feel the losses. Some of our community members have lost loved ones to Covid. We cannot shake hands, hug, and simply be together directly and physically --- deprived of our most human need for connection.
At the level of day-to-day needs, part of any school's function is childcare, and we know that virtual childcare is a weak substitute for the real thing. In another realm, many of us are facing financial loss or at least uncertainty. We cannot sweep these large challenges under the rug.
What are we doing, and what about the future?
In the short term, it is clear that virtual GSFS will continue through the end of the school year. We are making plans for an in-person Graduation when permitted. Financially, we are making this year's tuition collection more flexible. We are postponing the Learning Commons and classroom renovations of the first and second floor of the Armat building. Given the current disruption to the construction industry and our safety concerns, we will delay the renovation to the summer of 2021. We will offer our Horizons Summer Program virtually.
We are also planning for GSFS's re-opening in the fall. Ryan Kimmet and Mary Mehala are leading a committee that is planning in key areas: health and safety, instruction, school events, school trips, and other aspects of our program. Our overarching commitment is to be reliable --- to our students, to our families, and to our caregivers. We see two key goals:
The first goal is to operate the GSFS program on campus, legally and safely, to the greatest extent possible. I think it most likely that school will reopen on campus, all day, and for all students, but with strong mitigation procedures. In any campus return, we will be checking temperatures, physically distancing, disinfecting, and following stay-at-home rules for community members with symptoms of CV-19. As tests, drugs, and vaccines become available, these procedures will gradually abate. We will return to school life as we know and love it --- with enhanced hygiene. At worst, we will open as a virtual school with further improvements to the program as we know it today. Also possible, our program will be split into two segments, where students are on campus part of the time and are at home part of the time. All of these decisions will be based on the guidance of Governor Wolf and public health officials.
The second goal is financial. From your survey feedback, we know that some community members have suffered job cuts, furloughs, closure of businesses, and other immediate financial losses. For families who demonstrate CV-19-related need, our Business Office will offer delayed or spread out payments. In addition, the GSFS Finance Committee is working to enhance financial aid for next year, even if enrollment declines. With this in mind, I encourage those of you who are able to support our Day of Giving on May 21st - the Helping Hawks Fund. This Fund will allow us to respond quickly to needs of our community, be it enhanced financial aid packages, additional technology needs, or health services.
None of us has a crystal ball, but the future will become clearer and clearer. We have an educational commitment to the whole child and an institutional commitment to access. These commitments are challenged right now, but we are committed to delivering them as we pass through this period of restriction and uncertainty.
Thank you for persevering, for offering support, and for reaching out to us and sharing your needs. As a community of students, families, faculty, and staff, we will continue to work together through this crisis to provide the wonderful GSFS experience you expect. Please feel free to connect with me and share your ideas, thoughts, and concerns.
Thanks again,
