From Emily Hedin:
Dear Breakthrough Families,
I’m writing to share an important update about the second quarter. After careful consideration, Breakthrough will remain fully virtual for the second quarter, which ends on Friday, January 15.
How we came to this decision:
During the month of October, Breakthrough faculty and administrators met multiple times to discuss reopening. During these discussions, we determined the following:
- The circumstances of numerous staff members do not allow them to safely return to work onsite.
- Slightly more than 50% of families prefer to continue distance learning. Given this, more planning is required to ensure our in-person learning model offers equitable access to Montessori instruction for all students, whether they are learning onsite or from home.
- Some health experts anticipate the next 8-12 weeks could see a rise in COVID-19 transmission, increasing the possibility that in-person models would return to virtual. During months already punctuated by holidays, we fear that further disruption to routines caused by abrupt transition from in-person to virtual could jeopardize student academic and social-emotional wellbeing.
We do not make this decision lightly; the impact of Breakthrough’s closure on students and families weighs heavily on us. This announcement comes one week ahead of schedule to allow families time to adjust and prepare. Please know we have carefully reviewed all of the feedback families provided on distance learning via the family survey. We are working to incorporate feedback to ensure our distance learning program meets the needs of all students. If you have any questions about Breakthrough’s plans for Q2, please join us for a Q&A at 4pm on Tuesday, October 27 (Zoom link here) or Wednesday, October 28 (Zoom link here).
Establishing a Reopening Task Force
The Breakthrough leadership remains committed to moving forward in a collaborative and transparent manner. Families and staff have an important voice in considering when, and under what circumstances, Breakthrough will open for in-person learning. To facilitate collaboration and transparency, Breakthrough will establish a reopening task force.
The task force will review metrics that Breakthrough leadership uses when determining when to reopen the school. It will also review reopening plans, help to coordinate feedback opportunities, and analyze feedback. The task force will include members of the family community, the faculty, and the Board of Trustees. In addition to a member of the School Home Association Executive Committee, we are seeking two parents to join the task force.
We hope to establish a task force that reflects the diversity of our school community. If you are interested in joining the task force, please submit this form by Friday, October 30. If you have questions about the task force, please contact Ms. Emily or join us for Q&A on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Meetings of the task force have tentatively been scheduled at the following times:
- Thursday, Nov. 12 from 3-4:30pm
- Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 4-5:30pm
- Monday, December 7 from 3-4:30pm
- Friday, January 8 from 4-5:30pm
I would like to thank our family community for sharing their questions, concerns, ideas, and feedback. Once again, we are deeply grateful for all that you do to support your students and the school.
Sincerely,
Emily Hedin