Dear ASA families,
We hope you and your students were able to appreciate Fall Break- perhaps even enjoy some cooler morning temperatures here in the Valley!
Since last spring, we, along with the Vice Principals, have participated in webinars, attended trainings, and read the latest educational resources about the priorities schools must have during the pandemic. All of them emphasize the need to focus on relationships and make curricular adjustments in light of the pandemic. We must acknowledge that the world of education has been turned upside down for teachers, students, and families. As you certainly have noticed, ASA did not adopt a school wide digital curriculum as some districts did. ASA made the purposeful choice to maintain ASA curriculum by digitizing it and adapting it to prioritize the essential skills within each class that will translate into success this year, next year, and beyond. This has required new types of collaboration as teachers work together to ensure our students continue to progress in their learning. We see students engaging in the content using different technology platforms, experiencing more choice in how they show their learning, and building knowledge in new and creative ways. Teachers have noticed some wonderful results as students have taken advantage of opportunities to showcase their critical thinking and creativity.
We are already bringing small groups of students to campus during the 2nd quarter for specific activities in small groups for clubs, certain ensembles, and community building activities. Be sure to open your FEM emails to see some highlights. As we plan for the second semester, we are refining three models to respond to community health benchmarks. Regardless of the model we implement in January, we know there will be some students who remain online for learning 3rd quarter and beyond; we are planning for this as well. We also expect the need to pivot between in-person and online learning. Our plans allow both flexibility and consistency.
The Board of Directors will take into consideration a comprehensive report on community health, return to campus models, safety protocols, and reporting/tracking mechanisms prior to their next decision point at the November 23, 2020 meeting. Once the decision is made, we will share the plans with families and conduct an additional survey that will allow for feedback and identify specific concerns pertaining to your child. This will give us ample time to plan, answer questions, and provide detailed information, and hopefully conduct some on-campus orientations before the December break. You can expect to hear from ASA after the November 23 Board of Directors Meeting. In the meantime, please continue to review the Covid-19 updates on the website homepage.
While this isn’t school as we’ve known it at ASA, ASA teachers remain focused on what students NEED to be successful (now and in the future). We hope to be together again soon.
Sincerely,
Leah Fregulia, Head of School
Sara Maline Bohn, Principal