Dear Westside Waldorf School Community,
We are reaching out to you with compassion and hope for you and your families. It has been six weeks since we began to prepare for, and put structures in place to mitigate the impact of the extraordinary challenges posed by COVID-19. Neither we nor our children have experienced a world changing event like this before. Still, in conversation after conversation, (remote) meeting after meeting, and story after story, we have been deeply moved by the resiliency, determination, and almost fathomless reserves of grace with which our teachers and parents—each of you—is showing up, forging ahead, and getting through this historic moment as one community.
While Westside Waldorf, like all other schools practicing distance learning, sees the re-opening of school as one of the most important goals to achieve for the development of the students and the support of our parents, for the foreseeable future, we will need to continue operating in ways that run counter to our normal course of action and to our community's innate desire to connect with each other in person.
Looking forward to the re-opening of the campuses, once it is clear that it is safe for all, we have assembled a multidisciplinary team from across the school to identify and plan for a range of short and long-term operational scenarios. This team will keep the Leadership Council and the Board informed and work closely with them to put plans in place for the upcoming school year.
At this time:
- Remote/online programs are extended through the end of our school year.
- All in-person school events, both on and off campus, are canceled until further notice, including tours, admissions events, athletics events.
- Online and virtual teaching support is being made available for all faculty.
- Access to all campus buildings is restricted
- We are working with Mr. Helfrich and the staff to prepare for the Eighth Grade graduation, to be held virtually.
- School meetings and work activities, even those deemed essential, must be conducted remotely whenever possible, and no in-person meetings or activities may be held with greater than 10 people until further notice.
- Nonessential school travel is suspended.
- Telework is the first choice and priority for as many employees as possible, in accordance with LA county stay-at-home orders.
Looking ahead to summer, watch for an email from Ms. Brenna to regarding the school’s camp programming.
It is our commitment as a school to keep you informed regularly, we will continue to share updates with you as the plans become clearer for the 2020-2021 school year. We are appreciative of your patience, flexibility, and understanding, and we extend special gratitude to our colleagues for their tireless efforts during this time.
Warmly,
The Leadership Council
Ellie Jenkins
Anjum Mir
Mike Quishenberry
Jessica Breakey
Paul Helfrich
Laura Scheurer
Liis Edwards
