Dear Walden Families,
I hope this email finds you well and enjoying the start of summer.
Each school year's conclusion comes with inevitable life and career transitions, and this year is not any different. Please join us in paying tribute and saying farewell to our math specialist, Nan McCormack, Pre-K lead teacher Kristin Quiros, and Pre-K associate teacher Tracie Lopez.
We thank all of them for their inspiration and steadfast commitment to Walden students over a combined 35 years. We also invite you to send good wishes and strength for the journey ahead. Please submit your note, artwork, or video through the following links:
Tribute for Tracie
We will collect submissions until July 10 and compile these into a tribute for each of them.
Last Friday, the faculty completed their virtual in-service week, where we met as a whole team and in small groups to reflect on the innovation, creativity, and generosity that was experienced throughout the year and especially over the last two months. We also discussed the child-centered pedagogical tenets ands goals we are committed to upholding at Walden as we began shifting gears to return to campus in the 2020-2021 school year.
We plan to reopen campus in the fall on Thursday, September 10 for Kindergarten to 6th grade and Monday, September 14 for Pre-Kindergarten. We will continue to consult the CDC recommendations and local and state guidelines, and calibrate our school operations according to public health conditions. Our plan is grounded in the safety and well-being of all in our community; student, faculty, and family support; and building a flexible and continuous learning structure that allows us to maintain as much on-campus instruction as possible. Students who choose to remain at home due to health concerns will also have access to remote learning. As assessments of our campus space with architectural consultants have shown that we are able to accommodate all currently enrolled students in compliance with physical distancing guidelines, we do not plan on offering a hybrid program at this time.
Click here to view one sheet with a high-level overview of our return-to-campus plans, following the current guidance by public health officials. In the upcoming weeks, we will be providing additional communication to share the evolving details for the two learning models, on-campus and Walden@Home, and help create a clearer picture of how this will take shape for students and families.
While we recognize the need to be nimble in our approach, we also know that schools reopening is a priority for local and statewide agencies. Because of our student composition, size, campus layout, ratio, and staffing, Walden is primed to pivot once a formal announcement is made. It also helps that we start after Labor Day.
Considering these factors, we will also define the critical role that our families will play in upholding health and safety protocols through published community guidelines. Investing in enhanced COVID-19 health and safety measures and decreasing density in the classroom by building discrete learning cohorts sets us up to move forward together towards reopening our campus in September.
While it is difficult to predict how health conditions will change in the future, Walden's commitment to delivering a safe, mission-aligned, child-centered program remains constant. We understand that a transition back to school will come with questions and concerns. As plans take shape through the summer, and guidelines are updated, we are committed to sharing our process and planning with you.
If you haven't done so already, please fill out our return-to-school survey by Wednesday, July 8. This information is vital to complete our next phase of planning. We cannot wait to see your children again and look forward to a successful year ahead.
With care and gratitude,
Terra
Head of School Walden School
"Be true to your work, your word, your friend." ~Henry David Thoreau
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