I write to express sincere best wishes for your health and safety and that of your families from all of us here in Lakeville. I believe it is also important to share with you the steps we are taking to support the health and well-being of our community.
Faculty members immersed themselves in preparing a distance learning program that began this week for students, who are currently learning online from home.
Through this process we are
discovering a great deal about online learning and web-based resources, some of which will likely find their way into our in-person teaching once that resumes. We are working with student leaders to imagine and develop ways to
build community virtually during this period.
We have also created a dedicated
COVID-19 web page
that details our response to date and provides resources for the community.
The Board of Trustees met this past weekend to discuss the situation and the School's response and approach going forward, and we are confident about the long-term strength and stability of the School. Hotchkiss is fortunate to have such talented and devoted volunteer leadership. I am deeply grateful for the Board's engagement and support.
We are equally fortunate to have an extended community of alumni of all ages and from all parts of the globe. As we here on campus are working to support local healthcare providers and emergency responders, we know many of you are volunteering to serve others in your communities.
Please send us your stories.
They will no doubt inspire, create connection, and demonstrate the many ways in which Hotchkiss continues to make a difference in the world.
None of us has lived through a global pandemic before, and few of us have had the experience of social isolation that is necessary for us to "flatten the curve." New experiences, even unwelcome new experiences, teach us. Among other things, I hope this experience will teach us that we create and can therefore sustain the positives that are emerging: the good will, the friendliness of strangers, the renewed contact with old friends and neighbors, and the heightened awareness of our interdependence. As one who strives to approach life with an attitude of gratitude, I am ever more grateful in this time for the strength and goodness of the Hotchkiss family, near and far.
Please stay well, and keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Craig W. Bradley
Head of School
