March 17, 2020
Dear WES Families,
The COVID-19 situation is evolving rapidly, but our students, parents, and faculty have risen to the challenge with creativity, resilience, grace, and optimism. I am confident the strength of our community will continue to sustain us as we prepare for the possibility of a “new normal” in the coming weeks.
We have decided to keep the WES campus closed for two weeks after spring break and transition to distance learning at that time. Our Distance Learning Program will begin on Tuesday, March 31, and continue through Friday, April 10. We hope to reopen school and resume school-related activities on Monday, April 13.
Please know that this was originally scheduled as a holiday on the school calendar. Please understand that this plan is predicated on the information we have at this time, and we will reassess the situation over the next two weeks. Many independent schools in our area and throughout the country have made similar decisions.
At this time, we have no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 within the WES community. Our actions are meant to protect the health of the WES family, to promote public health at large, and to do our part to
flatten the curve of the disease
. While we will continue to monitor the situation and to remain flexible, we wanted to provide our parents, students, and faculty with enough notice to allow time to prepare accordingly for the coming weeks.
DISTANCE LEARNING UPDATES
Our faculty were on site for staggered time frames yesterday and are working remotely the rest of this week. They are continuing to participate in training and are also collaborating with colleagues on lesson planning for the WES Distance Learning Program (DLP) that will begin on March 31. Teachers and advisors will be checking in with students this week to maintain positive connections and to test the video recording technology that will be used during distance learning.
All families will receive the WES Distance Learning Program (DLP) on Friday via email. The DLP will contain expectations, instructions, and schedules to help guide your family through our program.
SCHOOL ACCESS
Most WES employees are now working remotely, although we do have limited staff on campus this week to forward calls and to receive mail. Please come to campus only if it is an absolute necessity, and please email or call prior to your visit.
STUDENT AND FAMILY SUPPORT
Our team is available to support your children and your family. Our counselors Debbie Weinberger,
dweinberger@w-e-s.org
, and Allison Klothe,
aklothe@w-e-s.org
, as well as Chaplain Kristen Pitts,
kpitts@w-e-s.org
, would love to hear from you if there is any way they can provide encouragement during this time.
Here are a few resources for managing
stress and anxiety during these challenging times:
Here are
a few activities
you can do with your student this week with the unexpected downtime.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility. Once again, I am incredibly grateful for our community.
