Message from Debbie
April 30, 2020
Dear Friends,
We have now entered our seventh week of at-home learning, and I thank you for your valiant efforts. Our community response to the COVID-19 pandemic has tested our resolve, requiring flexibility, adaptability, and most of all patience. I think we can all feel proud of our efforts to try and pivot quickly to an online model to help support our children’s learning during this period of crisis. I know this has not been easy and has taken its toll on us and our families. I have spoken with many of you who are trying so hard to balance work, children’s learning, and your own emotions. The stay-at-home order has brought families both joy and challenges, but when it is all over, I hope you will have positive and even humorous memories to look back upon, and we can let the stress fade into the past.
Looking Forward
Our July summer program is still on hold due to the uncertainty of the spread of the virus in Boulder. We will continue to monitor the local transmission and will make a decision if this program will move forward in early June.
What can we expect come fall?
The administrative team and Board of Trustees are in the throes of planning for the reopening of our campus in August. There are many considerations as we construct a plan that works within the guidelines of both the Boulder County Health Department and the State of Colorado, and also maintains the integrity of our Montessori program. We are thinking creatively about options that will fulfill all of these requirements.
This includes evaluating our spaces (with possible reconfigurations to maintain smaller group sizes), putting in place health screening protocols and high levels of disinfecting, and finding ways to maintain reasonable social distancing given the age groups of our children. We are also looking for ways to build flexibility into next year’s school calendar in the event face-to-face learning is disrupted due to a seasonal spike in the virus. Our goal is to provide continuity of learning, social interactions within a safe parameter, and to enable our children to re-establish a normalized routine that will give predictability to their day.
Why Montessori?
An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live.
Maria Montessori,
Peace and Education, (1949)
I know that we will continue to face many challenges as a community, society and on the global front, but one of the greatest gifts of a Montessori education is that it prepares children for adapting to a changing environment and working effectively within given constraints. We know from graduates of Montessori programs (now in high school, college and in their careers) that “preparation for life” is actualized when they are faced with challenges to problems or circumstances that peers who have not had a Montessori education are ill-equipped to handle. One of our alumni parents
recently reached out to the Upper Elementary teachers to express her gratitude for her children’s success (as students) and their ability to adapt so well during this crisis. This mom credits her children’s success to the preparation they received at Jarrow, which is a wonderful testament.
I thank you all for helping us maintain our close bonds with the children despite the virtual barriers. Please reach out if I can do anything to help or if you just need to chat.
Here is a link
to my ‘office’ hours or please email me directly at
debbiesl@jarrow.org
.
In peace,
Debbie
