Dear WES Families,
Several families have reached out to ask if the plans we communicated on Friday, July 31, would be impacted by the statement Gov. Hogan made yesterday. After meeting with the Board of Trustees last evening, I am writing to let you know that we are moving forward with our previously communicated plans to begin the school year learning at-home. We will continue to monitor the public health situation and evaluate how the changing climate impacts our ability to resume on-site learning.
We miss our students dearly, and we are keen to be together once again on campus. The planning and preparation that has taken place over the summer enables us to transition quickly to on-site learning when it is safe to do so. Although we do not believe that the current health situation allows for regular, on-campus instruction for the entire school, we are still examining the prospect of bringing students to campus in small groups for brief periods of time outdoors. These meetings will be used to support social-emotional learning and to engage in community-building activities.
From the beginning we have also made a commitment to prioritize our youngest learners for on-site learning due to their developmental needs. We are exploring the possibility of bringing Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten students on campus for in-person instruction during the mornings beginning September 8. We will share more information about this with the Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten parents at our upcoming forums.
Our community forums will take place this week as originally scheduled. (You can find the links to join at the bottom of this letter.) We will discuss the preparations we have made to enable us to resume learning on campus as well as provide more details about what virtual learning will look like this year. As I have mentioned earlier, at-home learning in the fall will include much more live, synchronous learning and a schedule that more closely resembles the on-site school day schedule.
Flexibility will be key for all of us as we continue to respond to emerging public health data, trends in community spread, and guidance from public health officials. Although the uncertainty can be challenging, please know that our community is here to support you. Please reach out to me, our counseling team, or our division directors if there is any way we can support you.
I look forward to talking with you this week and answering your questions. We remain committed to providing an exceptional educational experience for all of our Dragons.
Sincerely,
