Dear Parents,
First and foremost, I do hope you and your loved ones are doing well, staying home safe and healthy. This April break has been like no other Spring break weâve known in the past, all of us being confined in our homes with no possibility to meet family and friends, to go out or to travel. Still, I hope you managed to get some rest and enjoyed relaxing activities with your family. Welcome back!
Looking back over the past 2 months, our school has swiftly transitioned to distance learning through all grade levels and I would like to take the opportunity to again thank our faculty and administrative teams for their constant dedication to our students, wonderful flexibility, and the huge amount of work they have invested to make distance learning a reality. It is a challenge to reinvent teaching methods and we continue to rise to this challenge! If a lesson is to be drawn from this experience, it is that things might never be the sameâŚ. So, we need to draw on those experiences and perhaps some of the new approaches we have developed to strengthen Rochambeauâs ability to serve our students and our whole community.
I was glad to see how many of you participated in the âdistance learning surveyâ and the many positive comments and impressions of the new programs we received. Still, we acknowledge that distance learning also puts a heavy burden on you, the parents. Combining your childrenâs home schooling and your own daily professional activities is a challenge , especially for our preschool and elementary families. So, I want to thank you for your help and for your patience. I also want to assure you that our faculty constantly works on improving the quality of their distance learning pedagogy to better address your needs.
In the context of the current virus crisis, the Board of Trustees has tasked me with creating a special and comprehensive plan that both supports our families, strengthens our academic offering and provides for a safe school environment when we can re-open. Today I want to share with you the phases of the plan that we are ready to roll out.
Financial Support for Families
Choosing Rochambeau for your children's education is a long-term commitment that we will fully support. We recognize that the current health crisis and economic condition is causing financial hardship for some of our families. We want to be there for you and support you so your children's education may continue without interruption.
I am pleased to announce the first part of the plan:
Strengthening our community by supplementing the Financial Aid Fund for 2020-2021, with a âHardship Financial Aidâ fund.
The Board of Trustees has approved an additional Financial Aid fund of $1 million. This supplemental funding will come
on top
of the $915,000 need-based Financial Aid fund already part of our 2020-2021 budget. Funding for this Hardship Financial Aid supplement will come from a combination of savings, investment earnings in the current school year, and budget modifications for next school year.
Applying for Hardship Financial Aid will be a simple and straightforward process:
- A streamlined request form and supporting documentation will be required;
- Aid awards will be communicated to families before the first tuition payment is due in June;
- Aid will be awarded for the full school year;
- Aid awards will be reviewed twice during the school year;
- Application forms will be available starting May 1 and all the details will be posted on our website;
- Applications will be accepted starting May 11th.
While we continue to work on additional elements of our support plan, we have made the âHardship Financial Aidâ fund a top priority and so we are moving rapidly to roll it out.
In addition to Financial Aid for next year, refunds will be issued for transportation services, clubs, and after school activities that were not available during our campus closures in the current school year.
Commitment to our Teachers and Staff
During these challenging times, Rochambeau remains committed to supporting our dedicated teachers and staff members. The Board has therefore approved that during our campus closures we should continue to pay salaries to our school employees and maintain full employment. This includes teachers, administrators, and maintenance personnel as well as the hourly personnel who work daily at the school. All are being paid 100% of their regularly scheduled hours, and we will continue to do so throughout any continued campus closure this school year as well as next year.
2020-2021 Planning Underway
We anticipate next school year might be impacted by the aftermath of the current crisis or even possibly a resurgence of the virus spread. Unfortunately, we canât expect to get back to âschool as usualâ. We are therefore working to develop comprehensive plans for next year so we can ensure the academic integrity of our programs, additional academic support for all students who might need it, as well as the safety of students and staff during the reopening of the schoolâs campuses.
To maintain a healthy school environment and observe applicable social distancing guidelines, some level of distance learning might be necessary in some form. With this in mind, it will be essential for the success of all students that we continue to improve our practices through professional development, new tools, etc. We also recognize the unique position of non-French speaking families or families of students with special learning needs who may need additional support for their children to continue making progress; we are working on new support mechanisms to better meet the needs of these families (starting in the current school year).
Next school year is still a few months away, and we already know that it will be unlike any other school year. I want to assure you that, no matter what lies ahead, Rochambeau will make every effort to stay on your side and support our community to make the school year successful and seamless for your children, your family and our teachers and staff.
Stay well and take good care of yourself and your family.
