March 8, 2020
Dear Lab Community,
We are closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and taking steps to increase preventive measures, establish new chains of communication among us, and create distance learning opportunities that can be delivered if we should decide to close school for a period of time. Working with information from our school nurses, consulting pediatrician, DC Health Department, the independent school community, and our own administrative teams, we are designing a dynamic page on our Coronavirus response for our website that will include all communications and updates. We will let you know when this page is live on the school website.
In the meantime, our students and employees are reminded to stay home if they are ill. For anyone who is coughing with a fever we
require
that person stay home until the symptoms have subsided. This means the individual has been fever free for 24 hours without the fever reducing medication. We also remind you to report absences to the administrative assistants in divisions and departments. We will be monitoring absence rates carefully. Our school nurses Ruthanne Neary (Reservoir Campus) and Adriana van Breda (Foxhall Campus) will be following up on absences. We will keep reminding everyone to wash their hands well.
To update you briefly on the distance learning plans to be used if it becomes necessary to close school, we are in the throes of addressing the need to make technology and materials accessible to all students, design developmentally appropriate lessons for each division (Elementary, Intermediate, Junior High and High School) and set reasonable expectations for time on task and productivity. The distance learning plan will not necessarily mirror your child’s typical daily schedule. We will be sharing the details of these plans on the web page and through communications from your division. We wish to partner with you in any way that we can to design programming that will be meaningful in terms of learning and ensure that students feel connected during a school closing. Please give thought as to how you might set your child up for success in your home.
As always please do not hesitate to ask questions or offer your comments. This is a time that we want to work together to keep our community safe, reduce the anxiety for children and adults alike, and provide innovative ways to keep your children’s education moving forward.
Sincerely,
