Dear CSS Families,
 
Heading into the holiday season with a school is typically a time of anticipation and celebration. Again, typically...carols would fill the hallways as students rush to class after choir practice, trays of baked goods and warm drinks would be shared in the teacher lounges, and a leveling up type of confidence would emerge as students drew closer to final project deadlines and exams. Instead, we are missing these traditions --- much more than we would like to admit. COVID-19 has interrupted more than our song, in many cases, it has challenged our spirit and overwhelmed our physical, mental, financial, and spiritual resources. Oh sure, we will find new ways to preserve traditions and pick ourselves up but I would be remiss if I didn’t say it plainly. Maintaining during the pandemic is hard.

Complicated decisions are hard. Running a school during a global pandemic is hard. The complexities of my most recent decision to repair the school roofs was hard. I realize the communication I delivered about the decision was hard on you. For that, I would like to share more with you about that decision. The most important thing for us is the students and their health and safety. Though the decision to replace roofs at this time is a facilities issue it was evaluated heavily through a safety lens in order to protect students.

  • There are seven roofs on campus that need to be replaced some of which will be replaced simultaneously. The construction crews will have dangerous heavy equipment moving across campus throughout the day. It will be loud and disruptive to learning. 
  • In a typical year, we would have brought in trailers to serve as temporary classrooms. Unfortunately, there are not trailers that can meet the COVID mitigation standards we have in place.
  • We looked at moving children to other buildings on campus, and again we could not do that and meet our mitigation standards. The classrooms in the Upper School are much smaller than those in Children’s Schools and not conducive for our smallest learners. At the advice of our COVID-19 physician task force, we could not accommodate the number of students needed per classroom.
  • For those of you who have lived in the area or navigated catastrophic claims with insurance companies and contractors you undoubtedly know this can be a tenuous process in which often compromises are made. Previously our claim only repaired and patched roofs and proved quickly to not withstand our region’s 2020 hailstorm. Our latest negotiation will replace the roofs and be accompanied with a 20-year warranty.  
  • Many families have asked if we could repair one roof at a time and create a staggered schedule for doing so. We did investigate this approach. The construction crew could not be mobilized this way without losing a great deal of efficiency. First, the crew does the soft metal work on all the roofs, then scrapes and preps the surfaces, finally installing.  
  • Finally, we have weekly, sometimes daily conversations with leadership at the El Paso County Health Department. Based on the data at the time of our roof decision, it was already very likely that most, if not all, El Paso County schools would be moving to an e-Learning environment based on community spread and the rising numbers. We analyzed the projections and felt confident we could potentially pivot to e-Learning during this timeframe. We decided a proactive approach that allowed teachers and families to be prepared was the best approach. As forecasted, our community moved to Level 3 today, which includes increased community restrictions and recommends e-Learning. If we had not made the call last week, our teachers would be preparing for e-Learning over the weekend, and we would have closed on Monday, November 16 to accommodate the pivot. 

I hope this message clarifies and helps our community see that there are many variables that go into all of our decisions. Sometimes the uncertainty of those variables can make decisions all the more difficult. The complexities of this decision were vast and as a leader, I knew that the decision could be unpopular as difficult decisions often are. My intent and purpose in my previous communication were to inform and prepare our community. The information about the roof replacements was shared to ensure that you are well prepared for the pivot to e-Learning and aware of the many variables at CSS.  

In July, when we outlined our return to school plan with in-person classes, our pledge to our families was that we would put the health and safety of our students first. We made the decisions about the roofing with that promise in mind. Our teachers and staff have worked very hard to keep our kids safe. For both the short and long-term health and safety of our students, this time frame was the best possible option to replace our roofs and keep our campus safe. Above all, I am conscious that these transitions are hard on families whether you are a first-year family or a family who has dedicated decades to our community. As we continue to get to know each other in my role as your new Head of School, I sincerely wish to find a rhythm and predictability that fosters trust and hopefulness. 

As we move to e-Learning we want each and every one of our students and extended CSS families to have a happy and safe holiday season. You will receive future communications about opportunities to have a winter carline celebration and other mission-critical items to ensure our community can stay together during these challenging and unpredictable times. 

All the best,