Dear FVS Community, 
 
I hope that the previous holiday weekend provided a break from routine for those of us in the U.S. and an opportunity to rest and relax with family. My family and I were able to get to the mountains and, among other activities, visit the School’s Mountain Campus, which I am excited to utilize as a safe refuge for off-campus excursions with students and faculty this school year. 
 
I’d like to start this update by welcoming our new Athletic Director, Steve Tulleners, who has made the move from Pennsylvania to Colorado Springs and has hit the ground running. He will live on campus with his family as the House Director in Penrose West. Over the past month, Steve has been in close contact with CHSAA and the other athletic leagues of which we are a part as we work to plan what afternoon activities, including athletics, will look like this fall. An update on this is included below, but in the meantime, please join me in welcoming Steve to the FVS community. 
 
In this message:
  • International Update
  • Athletics Update
  • Ongoing Work in DEIG
  • Community Commitment
 
International Update
We have received new guidance from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which requires us to issue revised I-20 documentation by August 4. All international students who attend through the F1 Visa program should be on the lookout for an important email from the Office of Admission in the coming days with further information. 

This morning, FVS hosted a virtual meeting for families in China to address the specific challenges they face due to travel restrictions and to share details about the distance learning option that will be available to international students who cannot attend in person. This meeting was conducted primarily in Mandarin and specifically designed for Chinese families, but please know that we are happy to connect in a similar fashion with any of our international families who are facing challenges due to travel restrictions. Please contact Director of Advancement/Acting Director of Enrollment Management, Jesse Fortney at jfortney@fvs.edu if you would like to do so. 

Athletics Update
Earlier this week, Colorado College informed us that in response to COVID-19 they are not allowing the use of their facilities, including Honnen Ice Arena, by outside organizations for the coming year. As a result, we are left without a home for our hockey program and will not be able to offer it this year. A detailed letter was sent to all families with students who participate in our hockey program and we are working with them to pursue other options. 
 
This news will surely prompt questions about our other fall athletic programs. As mentioned above, our new Athletic Director, Steve Tulleners, has been working to gain clarity about fall sports and afternoon activities from CHSAA and the other leagues of which we are a part. CHSAA has promised an update mid-July, but has not provided any specific details as of yet about the fall season. We will share any news we receive in a timely manner, but we are also working on contingency plans for our fall sports teams, should the need arise, as well as programming designed to promote the health and well-being of all students. Please feel free to reach out to Steve Tulleners at stulleners@fvs.edu with any questions. 
 
Ongoing Work in DEIG
Much of my time this week has been spent teaching virtually at the NAIS Institute for New Heads of School. Among the workshops, we spent the entirety of Wednesday engaged in work centered on leading for strategic anti-racism - a powerful and deeply impactful experience for each of us. Here on campus, Assistant Head of School Rafael Muciño has convened our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Globalization Task Force and this group has begun meeting regularly. They have been exploring and planning meaningful ways for engagement, learning, and action for our entire community, including our faculty in-service in August and opportunities that exist throughout our curriculum. 
 
Another important aspect of this group’s work is building awareness of past and present instances of racism and other forms of discrimination, and the many ways it can manifest. It is our collective responsibility to eradicate all forms of racism and discrimination in this community and the first step is creating awareness. As such, I’d like to provide a reminder about our confidential survey to help identify instances of racism and other forms of discrimination that exist at Fountain Valley School both in the past and presently. This information will help inform and guide the work we will do moving forward. 
 
Community Commitment
In the coming weeks, as we begin to roll out our plan for this fall, we will be emphasizing the critical commitment that we must all make to each other to behave in ways that mitigate the risk of bringing COVID-19 onto campus and that reduce the opportunity for it to spread should it become present in our community. This will center on being disciplined in establishing and maintaining daily practices of physical distancing, wearing masks when in public, and washing hands regularly. This must extend to all members of our community—including siblings and parents of those who travel to and from campus—and being honest with ourselves and with those around us of potential exposure.

As we are just a few weeks away from the first student arrivals, this work must begin now. It is critical that we build this mindset and integrate these practices into our lives if they do not already exist. The strength of our community lies in the close-knit relationships that exist between us all and the support this interconnectedness provides each day; however, in this case, we must also be mindful of the exposure and responsibility it presents. Our campus provided a safe refuge for our community this past spring and can do so again this school year if we can remain collectively focused on living the critical commitment we are making to each other by being a part of this wonderful community. I thank you in advance for the hard work and vigilance this will require now and in the coming year. 
 
As always, take care, be well, and stay safe. 

William Webb
Head of School 
Fountain Valley School of Colorado
6155 Fountain Valley School Road 
Colorado Springs, CO 80911