03.13.20: Evening update

From: Julie Smith, Head of School
Subject: Update on extension of school closure through April 3; details on next week

Dear Stanbridge Parents and Guardians,

Earlier today, San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow issued a School Operations Modification Order stating that, effective this Monday, March 16, all San Mateo schools are directed to dismiss students from regular attendance and implement at-home learning models. Per the Health Office, this order will remain in force through Friday, April 3, 2020, unless amended by the County or State health officer. Click here to read the order and press release.

Stanbridge has already implemented a campus closure starting Monday and will begin at-home learning for our students Tuesday morning—this official directive will now extend our distance learning model an additional week, through April 3. Class schedules, course content, and lesson plans will be updated accordingly for all grades in the days ahead. Internally, we prepared for the possibility of having to extend our campus closure, and our teachers are ready to continue delivering instruction into next month. Should we receive new, official information that shifts the timeline for students to return on campus, we will update everyone accordingly. Until further notice, our calendar has been adjusted to reflect this latest change: Stanbridge's campus will be closed through Friday, April 3.

Other news and updates as we head into the weekend:

• This Monday, March 16 is a day off for students. Our staff will hold an in-service day to refine their distance learning plans; students will not be receiving instruction until Tuesday.
  
  
• On Tuesday, March 17, we will hold our first day of remote learning for students. I want to stress that while students and teachers will be working from home during this closure, this is not a break. Distance learning days will still count as school days, and our teachers have prepared to deliver instruction during normal school day hours (with minor adjustments as needed; go to the Parent Portal to view the schedules for each division). As such, starting on Tuesday and then daily for each day of instruction, parents will receive an email from Linda each morning requiring you to verify your child's attendance. This will be done via a simple Google Form, and should take only a few seconds to complete. We ask that you please submit this form daily by 8:45 a.m. so that Linda can update each students' attendance record accurately. Additional instructions will be included in the email; look for the email in your inbox around 8:00 a.m. each morning, starting on Tuesday.
  
  
• Middle School teachers have updated their distance learning resources on the Parent Portal; parents/guardians of those students can log in to view. Elementary teachers are finalizing their class schedules and we will alert families when these resource links are added.
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• Our communications will continue over the weekend—look for a modified version of the Bulldog Bulletin on Sunday morning, and continue to check this Alerts page on our website daily—it will be our primary way of updating everyone in the community during this extended school closure.
  
  
• Speech & Language instruction and support will continue through the closure. Kari and Tricia, our Speech & Language Pathologists, see a number of Stanbridge students in one-on-one or small-group settings, and the extended period of distance learning presents a unique challenge for them to continue to provide the social-emotional and pragmatics support that our students are accustomed to. Both Kari and Tricia are building a list of online resources for students and parents in each division to access and utilize over the next few weeks, and both will have regularly-scheduled online "office hours" throughout our closure as well. Once these details are finalized, we will publish and share on the Parent Portal.
  

Finally, to follow up on that last point, please note that all of our support staff members will be available for you and your students during these days of distance learning. We recognize that many of your kids (and probably you, as well) have some anxiety about everything that is going on right now. I want to reassure you that—although they will not be in close physical proximity—our counselors, pathologists, and support staff members are just an email away, and will work with you and your student to address any concerns that extend beyond the virtual classroom in the weeks ahead. Staff emails are linked on our website's Teachers and Admin/Support Staff pages, and you can also find a listing of email addresses in the Parent/Student Handbook.

It is strange to leave campus today knowing that we won't be back together here as a group for a while. Still, we are Stanbridge Strong, and the support throughout our community will help all of us get through this new—certainly unexpected—phase of our school year. As we prepare to enter that phase, please take some time this weekend to do whatever you need to do to refresh, recharge, and relax. While there will be some initial challenges ahead and a number of unknowns to deal with, I am confident that we will all get through this together.

—Julie