Dear RHP, Renaissance, and REACH Families,
As you know, our decisions since last spring have always been made with the health of our campus community at the forefront. I wanted to touch base on the continued progress we are making towards having our entire student body return to campus. As we have seen, all schools in LA County are awaiting approval from the LA County Department of Public Health to increase capacity for in-person learning.
In addition to LA County, our decisions are informed by a variety of sources, including our Task Force, the CDC, California Association of Independent Schools, and the Governor’s office. The campus adaptations, PPE’s supplied, and new protocols and procedures have been ready for our students and faculty and staff to return to in-person learning as soon as we are permitted. In the past two weeks, the LA County Department of Public Health visited our campus twice to thoroughly inspect all these measures to ensure compliance with county guidelines. They looked at our screening measures, our student and adult arrival and departure process, our classroom setups, our HVAC upgrades, our cleaning protocols, and more, in addition to looking at our small cohort interactions among students and teachers in classrooms. We passed the inspection with an enthusiastic approval from the health officials, with zero recommendations for improvement.
Again, we are actively working to bring all our students back to campus. Since March, we have served as a model for what is possible with distance learning, but we acknowledge without reservation the need to get our community back to campus when the risks involved can be mitigated and managed. In the meantime, we are adhering to the restrictions given to us by the State and County, and we will continue with a phased approach which allows as many students as possible to return to campus.
As a reminder, the conditions that we must meet, as established by the LA County Department of Public Health, include:
- Schools may offer "in-person support for at-risk and high-need students."
- Schools may prioritize students "at higher risk of further learning loss or (who are) not participating in distance learning."
- The number of students on campus at any time may not exceed 10% of the school's total student body.
- The number of students in any cohort must not exceed 12.
Although waivers have been made available in Los Angeles County, they are restricted to grades K-2 and will not currently help us increase the on-campus student population at this time.
As always, we will be communicating often in the weeks ahead as we work through this continued uncertainty, and if there are questions or concerns along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your continued patience and partnership,
David
Pictured Above: The next speakers in the R&R Speaker Series, hosted by Renaissance and REACH, are Lev Gottlieb, PhD, and Taylor Kuhn, PhD, presenting the topic "Technology & The Brain," on October 21 at 4:00 PM. This talk highlights brain health and wellness in an era of technology, including potential uses of technology and effects on the brain. Novel tools are introduced that allow for scientifically-informed assessment of cognitive style to help people thrive in every area.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, October 20 and you will receive a Zoom invitation via e-mail.
