Dear Ivymount Families,
Welcome back! We're looking forward to the start of a new year and hope you and your students had a fantastic August break. We have been busy and we're excited about our distance learning programs. I am so impressed and honored to support the Ivymount Teachers and Therapists. As you know, they are an impressive team of educators!
As a community, we share the same conflicting concerns in this uncertain time. We know that Ivymount students need in-person education, therapy, and social opportunities. We all want to see students back in the school building with their teachers, therapists, and friends. We also know it's important to return when the public health numbers are reduced since the risk of COVID-19 infection and spread within Ivymount will remain even with thorough screening, monitoring and well-implemented control measures.
Last Thursday, Governor Hogan and the MD State Department of Health provided further guidance for re-entry into schools, including metrics criteria for the use of public health data. The State Department of Education strongly encouraged local school systems to utilize these metrics to make decisions about return to school buildings. We have been eager to receive this guidance following Governor Hogan’s expressed concerns with Montgomery County (MC) Health Department’s recent directives for private schools to remain closed. As educators, we rely on federal, State, and local health officials to provide consistent guidance that will ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for our students.
While we appreciate the State’s guidance, schools still depend on the local health department’s support to open and safely operate our programs. Ivymount’s return to campus criteria will consider Montgomery County and the counties that our students and staff reside in across MD, DC, and Northern VA. As planned, we will provide you information by September 8 about our first tentative return date of October 4.
We need your help so that we can make informed decisions about staffing, cohorts, and how soon we can return everyone to a hybrid model. If you do not plan to participate in the on-campus portion of a hybrid model and will participate 100% remote for the first semester, please email us at [email protected] by September 4. The option to participate in remote or hybrid programs will remain open and families may make changes throughout the year. We respect each family’s decisions and will ensure that remote programs receive the same Ivymount attention on site.
We ask that you also continue to practice mask wearing and social spacing of 6 feet with your child. These skills will be critical for a safe return to campus.
Please see below for photos of what's been happening at Ivymount recently plus upcoming events, including the first PTA Family/Caregiver Virtual Hangout. Welcome back! We're looking forward to an interesting and creative fall semester.
Sincerely,
Susan Holt
