January 11, 2021
Dear BBHS Families,
Throughout the first week of January, we continued with our strategy to review trends in public health data to determine our plan for the second semester. Thank you for your patience and support as we worked through a deliberative process of conferring with leadership, faculty, staff, Board of Directors, the Archdiocese and public health.
Today I write to confirm our transition to in-person learning for the second semester. Following several days of reorientation in late January, we will begin transitioning to in-person learning on Monday, February 1. A calendar of key dates and further details of the Hybrid learning plan are provided on our Hybrid Plan document linked on our Reopening webpage.
This decision was made following the recommendations of public health as described in the updated school reopening framework issued by Governor Inslee that we communicated on December 18. Our decision to phase in in-person learning was informed by tracking a variety of public health metrics, including zip code level analysis of BBHS students, faculty and staff. Ultimately, the academic and mental health needs of our students were critical factors in the decision to make this transition.
In keeping with public health guidelines, we will begin in-person learning with our Hybrid 25% plan. Under this plan, we will invite back a cohort of 25% of our students to learn on campus at one time. The cohorts will be formed by alphabetical groupings based on last name. Students who may need or prefer to continue attending classes remotely can choose this option. Please fill out this form if you plan for your student to remain in remote learning for the second semester.
To promote the safest and most effective in person learning experience, we have made two important adjustments to the weekly and daily schedule. High schools that have been operating in the hybrid, in-person model have utilized these types of scheduling adjustments to mitigate risk and balance all the demands of hybrid learning.
Wednesday Remote Flex Days*
Beginning the week of February 1, we will introduce Wednesday Remote Flex Days. These days are designed to allow additional office hours check in time with students and provide a consistency to the weekly schedule for each cohort of students. A flex day also allows for additional time for cleaning and disinfecting between cohorts of students.
*Wednesday Remote Flex Days will typically occur on three and five day weeks.
Gold Days - early dismissal at 12:30 p.m.
Community period will now be consistently scheduled on Wednesday Remote Flex Days, allowing for all Gold Day classes to occur before lunch. This adjustment will reduce the number of times students gather without masks to eat lunch.
Lunch
Lunch will be offered on Green Days. Students will eat in assigned classrooms and if they choose, they can order an individually packaged lunch from our cafeteria that will be delivered to the room. Students and families must select and pay for lunches in advance. The process for doing so will be shared in our Weekly Update.
Commitment to Health and Safety
As stated in the reopening framework, any transition to in-person learning must be founded upon essential health and safety measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19. While our plans for in-person learning account for every measure required by the Department of Health (DOH) and Labor and Industry (L & I), it is our collective commitment to following them that will limit any transmission of COVID-19 in our community.
It is critical that everyone in our community strictly adhere to the essential health and safety measures that we have outlined in our plans. We will expect students and families to fully pledge their compliance with these protocols to maintain the opportunity to learn in person on campus. These measures are outlined in our plan and they will be reviewed with students and families prior to the start of in-person learning.
Parent/Guardian Webinar
To set expectations and to review our in-person learning plan for the second semester, we will hold a webinar on Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m., please register here. We highly encourage all parents and guardians to attend this opportunity to hear more about the protocols and our program, while providing time for questions and answers.
Questions
In the meantime, please take time to review the hybrid plan and as you have questions for us, please send them in through this form. We will work to answer the questions directly and/or theme them to address at our webinar. Additionally, please closely review our Wednesday Weekly Updates for information about athletics, activities and other areas of school life. We keep links to all recent Updates on our website.
As we have stated since March, we will continue to monitor public health data and keep you informed of any adjustments we need to make with these plans. We all have learned through this pandemic how quickly conditions may change. Please continue to pray for the health and safety of our community and especially for those who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19.
We are grateful for your partnership and trust as we step into a new mode of learning for the second semester. The health and safety of our entire community and the growth and development of each of our students depends on our collective care for one another.
Blessings,
Tony DeSapio
President
