Dear Great Hearts Irving Families,
I write to you today with a heart filled with gratitude—thankful for students and parents who have shown so much grace and perseverance despite the hardships caused by this pandemic, and grateful for our school leadership and teachers who have manifested so much grit and creativity in creating a robust classical learning plan so quickly for families to deploy at home. On all accounts, the goodness of our organization has shone through, illuminating an otherwise dark time.
And it is with a heavy heart that I write, on behalf of the Great Hearts Texas board and executive team, that we will close all Great Hearts Texas campuses for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. We had hoped to perhaps reopen our campuses in May for the last three weeks of the academic calendar, and this would have been a joy to renew our classrooms and hallways with joy, laughter, and learning, and, of course, long-anticipated end-of-year celebrations.
However, the safety of our students, teachers, and staff must continue to be our top priority. In this decision, we also seek to give families clarity so you can plan ahead, as well as to give our teachers and students certainty in their ongoing partnership on remote learning.
While there is a limited possibility that local and statewide “stay at home” restrictions could be lifted by May 4, we do not believe we can fully operate our campuses with appropriate social distancing measures in place. Or, we could find ourselves in a scenario where some families choose to keep their students at home despite a campus opening. In this case, our schools and teachers would be delivering on-campus instruction and remote learning at the same time, which we currently do not have the capacity to do well.
Remote learning will continue as planned and will follow the 2019-20 school calendar. Academic year calendars can be found
on your campus website
.
Upcoming year-end ceremonies are on hold until restrictions are lifted. Ceremonies and events that have been canceled or postponed will be revisited and rescheduled - if possible - once the Governor, County Judge, and Mayor announce to the public that it’s again safe to gather in groups.
Summer programs are still scheduled to take place, but, in the event that the "stay at home" orders are extended or new restrictions arise that conflict with our summer program plans, parents will be notified.
Again, thank you for your grace under these challenging circumstances. Every day brings our teachers and students closer to meeting together on campus again in their shared pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. We are eager for this bright day to come.
Onward and upward,
