Update on closure extension

From: Julie Smith, Head of School
Subject: Campus closure officially extended through end of school year

Dear Stanbridge Parents and Guardians,

Earlier today, the San Mateo County Office of Education, in collaboration with five other neighboring county school districts and superintendents, announced that all Bay Area school campuses would remain closed for the remainder of the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read the full Closure Notice.

While we have noted that this situation was likely, receiving the official word today is still something of an emotional wallop. We have a parent/guardian check-in scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., and I hope you can join us via Zoom to talk through any questions and concerns you might have (look for an invitation with the Zoom link and password in an email from me later this evening). 

Internally, we have been planning with teachers and support staff members at the divisional and administrative levels to continue delivering academic content and social-emotional support to students through the end of the year via distance-learning. Our faculty, administrative team, and trustees have also been discussing the longer-term implications of this closure as it relates to year-end activities (prom, graduation, Summer School), as well as issues such as reenrollment and financial aid. While there are still many unknowns, we are trying to be as proactive as possible in making this last quarter of the school year go as smoothly as it can for our students and your families.  

For those unable to join us online tomorrow morning, we will include a summary of key discussion points in our weekly update (to be posted on Thursday evening this week since Friday is the start of Spring Break). Your input and feedback will be especially critical over these next few weeks given the news released today, so please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or ideas. To evoke a well-known Bay Area muse, what a long, strange trip—nonetheless, we are on this journey and will get through it together as a community, and so I look forward to seeing many of you online tomorrow morning. 

Be well, stay healthy, and as always, Stay Strong, Bulldogs.