Head of School's Message: November 2
Here is an update for parents in all grades about what is happening with respect to Chandler's application for a K-2 waiver and re-opening plans for grades 3-8.
K-2 is moving towards a return to in-person learning. The low rate of virus transmission among children in early elementary grades has led to the waiver process being activated to allow some students to return to school in Pasadena. For grades 3 to 8, we remain in distance learning mode for the foreseeable future. I attended a meeting with Pasadena Area School Heads and Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell on Tuesday. The City of Pasadena is acutely aware of the long-term impact of distance learning on students. The State of California's four-tiered blueprint is the rule book that the City and the schools have to follow. Schools remain closed while we are in Tier 1.
The California Department of Public Health and the Pasadena Department of Public Health has approved Chandler's waiver application for K-2 students to return for in-person learning. The waiver application materials and approval letter are posted on Chandler's website and posted on the Pasadena Department of Public Health's website. We are planning to bring kindergarten students back starting next Tuesday, November 10. First and second-grade students will be returning during the week of December 7. We are cautiously and thoughtfully transitioning from a distance learning program to a blended learning program with most students in the classroom and some at home remaining in distance learning.
Last week Emily Brown, Joan Bravo, and I met with the kindergarten parents to explain the re-opening process. Later this week, we will meet with first and second grade parents. The waiver was approved sooner than expected, but we will not be changing our K-2 re-opening timeline. We need to prepare faculty and staff, test our hygiene and screening protocols, and fine-tune our drop-off and pick-up procedures before the students return. Starting November 4, all faculty and staff who will be on campus while the students are here will be tested for COVID-19 using the nasopharyngeal PCR test. Faculty and staff will be tested once a month. With Thanksgiving approaching, we chose to open school in-person one week after the holiday ends in an effort to avoid virus transmission. Once Chandler re-opens we intend to do everything we can to remain open.
For grades 3-8, we want to offer some certainty in the current uncertainty by letting you know that we will remain in distance learning mode until 2021, hopefully, early 2021. To that end, Chandler faculty and staff need to prepare for an eventual return to in-person learning by working on campus during the week of January 4 to 8. The holiday break will be extended by one week to accommodate that objective. Afterschool Director Alycia Brown is assembling a menu of activities for all students, but there will be no regular asynchronous or synchronous classes that week. Classes will resume on Monday, January 11.
I know the extra week away from classes may be a burden on some of our families. Distance learning is exhausting for everyone, including our teachers. Delivering instruction through the screen is a new way of teaching, and faculty are working incredibly hard to provide high-quality lessons, foster connection, and assess student learning in a digital environment. This school year's unusual circumstances require innovative approaches and the creation of new lesson plans and materials. The extra week of holiday break will ensure that our teachers are able to rest and refuel during their two-week vacations. For faculty and staff, January 4-8 will serve as a professional development week. We will use the time to prepare for multiple scenarios that include the following:
- The next phase of distance learning.
- The potential return to in-person instruction.
- The blended learning will occur when some students are on campus and others remain at home.
