The Headwaters Board of Trustees has been working diligently behind the scenes to ensure a bright future for our wonderful school and community. We are grateful to all of you who have given feedback, shared stories, attended parent meetings, and more, all while co-creating Headwaters at Home with Headwaters guides and administrators. We know you are doing this while also managing your own households and, in most cases, working from home. We truly appreciate your ongoing support and partnership. Like many other small businesses in Austin and across the country, we are doing our best to adapt to the challenges we face, and we know that we can't do this without you.
As a result of the proactive work by the Business Office, we have been approved for the
Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP) loan administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the CARES Act, and we were funded this week. The Board voted to accept the PPP loan to cover payroll and benefits costs through June 30. We are grateful to have been approved and are committed to shepherding these funds wisely in order to maintain financial stability while the economy recovers. Receipt of the PPP will allow us to keep all Headwaters faculty and staff fully employed through the end of their current employment agreements, despite the significant financial losses the school is experiencing due to COVID-19.
In addition to approving our acceptance of the PPP loan, last week the Board also voted to extend the discounts and refunds that we offered to families in April through the end of the school year. These include a Springs Campus tuition discount and refunds for after-school and before-school care, as well as the shuttle.
We have also increased our financial aid budget for this school year and next to help Headwaters families who are suffering financially from this pandemic. We encourage anyone who is struggling financially to
apply for aid
, and we are extending vouchers to cover the financial aid application fee ($43, which is charged by the FAST system). Please reach out to Alex Penry in the Business Office (
a.penry@headwaters.org
) if you would like more information about this process.
Per the Governor's Executive Order last Friday, our campuses will remain closed for the remainder of the school year. However, please know that we can't wait to see children playing on the playground, studying in the garden, doing works on the floor at school, creating fairy gardens, buying lunch from the food truck (and working in it), and so much more. Until we can all be together in person again, we will work to cultivate and develop ways to grow and engage as a community. We know that wherever each of us may be, together we are Headwaters.
