News COVID-19 Detail

A message about reopening in 2020-21 from Ann V. Klotz

6/29/2020

IN THIS MESSAGE: information about returning to campus for the 20-21 school year // parent survey to come // communications timeline // use of Butler Campus and Lyman Campus

June 29, 2020

Dear Laurel Families,

I hope you are enjoying these first weeks of summer and that your family has found a routine during this challenging time. As you establish new family norms in response to the pandemic, we are adapting as well. While we await the Governor's new guidelines for the reopening of schools, we are developing plans for classes that are in-person, online, and a mix of the two. These scenarios assume different space needs and access to technology. As we learned through School@Home, the power of a Laurel education cannot be diminished by unusual circumstances. The faculty are investing time this summer enhancing skills in delivery of engaging lessons for whatever state guidelines and coronavirus developments dictate.

Leadership meets regularly to investigate space needs, to adjust community practices to meet student needs under the new guidelines, and to adapt to restrictions that protect the health of the entire community. The coming year will not be like one we have ever experienced. We are grateful for your partnership and recognize there are challenges with every scenario. Every decision we have made and will make prioritizes the safety and well-being of our students, our faculty and staff, and your families.

Since mid-March, we have consulted with University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic, and are using guidelines from the Ohio Department of Education, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) as we formulate our plans.

A powerful connected community has always characterized the Laurel experience. This year, we will need to "reimagine" a number of much-loved traditions. With characteristic resilience, we will adapt to new circumstances and continue to deliver an outstanding education to your girls and very small boys.

Many of you chose Laurel not only for our commitment to academic excellence but also for our small size, for our remarkable Butler Campus, and for the guidance Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls offers parents and teachers to ensure the emotional health of girls. These differentiators are now more important than ever. As we face physical distancing guidelines in order to keep our community safe and healthy at Lyman Circle, we are fortunate to have 150-acres at Butler where we can also offer demanding academic programs replete with personal attention on a beautiful campus.

We will send you a survey later this week so you can share your thoughts about your child’s return to campus and your transportation needs. Whatever the format, online or in-person or a hybrid of the two, our standards and expectations for your children are high as we prepare them for a future even more complicated than we had imagined prior to COVID-19. A required summer professional development course for our Middle and Upper School faculty offered by One Schoolhouse builds on the positive instructional experience of the spring and has given them an edge in planning for face-to-face, School@Home and a hybrid of the two approaches. With our consulting psychologists Lisa Damour, Tori Cordiano and Kelly Bhatnagar and our school psychologist Ilissa Pearlman, we are preparing to meet the needs of the girls and establish what will become our new daily routine that allows for strong connections with adults and purposeful learning.

Over the next three weeks we will share with you much more detail about what you might expect this fall. Please know that because State guidelines, as well as the coronavirus’s presence in the NEO community, are ever changing, we will be nimble, so plans are subject to change and will continue to evolve over the next several weeks and months. Our current action plan is as follows:

Use of the Butler Campus

For more than ten years, Primary and Middle School faculty have led immersive, interdisciplinary experiences at the Butler Campus that offer rigorous academics, enable student agency, and prioritize deep learning. In addition to our Outdoor Pre-Primary program being based at Butler, this year, Grades 3, 4 and 5 will be based at the Butler Campus. Heather Havre will oversee the Grades 3-5 Butler program with a Laurel team of experienced place-based and outdoor educators.

The curricula at these grade levels lend themselves well to the Butler setting, and we welcome the ability to offer the freedom of learning outdoors coupled with the strength of a rigorous academic program that will be a tremendous opportunity for girls in Grades 3, 4 and 5. Our faculty are enthusiastically designing learning experiences that will combine traditional and interdisciplinary learning. We will, of course, retain excellent academics and the enrichment and support that have always been hallmarks of a Laurel education.

We are building four new yurts, similar to the one currently at Butler. The spacious yurts will have electricity and heat with bathrooms nearby. We also are making improvements to the Fairmount House, located just east of the main entrance, which will serve as a home base for one grade level. Girls will be safe and warm in inclement weather. Families may choose to drop off and pick up at Butler, and we are exploring how to provide transportation, adhering to all safety guidelines, to and from Lyman Circle. After School programming would happen at Butler for these three grades.

Fifth Graders will, of course, be Middle Schoolers. They will be able to participate virtually in Middle School activities such as student government and assemblies which are likely to be virtual for all Middle School grade-levels.

Families with daughters in these three grades will receive a separate communication with more details soon.

At the Lyman Campus

The Pre-Primary will continue to be led by Jane Walker. Bella Patel will oversee Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2 and Leslie Segal will oversee Grades 6, 7 and 8. Kim Berndt, our new Director of Upper School, will oversee Grades 9-12, in collaboration with Leighann DeLorenzo, Dean of the Upper School.

We want to keep the girls, the faculty and staff, and all Laurel families as safe as possible. Our hope is, assuming permission is granted by state and local authorities, that the Pre-Primary, Primary and Middle School will be in session every day—at Lyman or at Butler. Because of the size of the Upper School and the space constraints we anticipate, we are investigating ways to continue to deliver our exceptional curriculum through a combination of online and in-person learning. Our college guidance program will continue for Grades 11 and 12. We will offer the best guidance possible about standardized testing and how to navigate the changing college admissions landscape.

On Both Campuses

While there are still new cases of COVID-19 in our region, we will follow best practices as established by the scientific community and outlined by the Ohio Department of Education. We are establishing safety protocols, including mask wearing, and will provide significant detail in our communication over the next three weeks.

We know this letter may raise additional questions for you. Please feel free to email questions to Reopening@LaurelSchool.org. Please take the survey you will receive later this week. Your feedback is important to our work in planning a thoughtful and safe reopening.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership in this uncertain time. Know that we are intent on delivering a superb education for your children despite the obstacles! We will, of course, be in touch, should any of this information change because of new information from the Governor or from health officials.

Warmly,

Ann V. Klotz
Head of School

Back