Dear Parents,
I hope your family is enjoying the first weeks of summer. This email is to serve as an update on our plans for reopening school at Baymonte for the coming year.
The state departments of education and public health issued their guidelines for reopening schools earlier this month. Since then we have been waiting for additional guidance from the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency which has the authority to mandate stricter provisions. While our specific plan is still in development, we believe we know enough at this point to commit to daily on-campus instruction for every grade level.
We have assembled a committee to oversee the detailed accommodations which will be necessary to comply with state and local requirements. The committee includes faculty, staff, parents and medical professionals. We will be sharing our plan when complete but I can share some basic considerations today:
- Our class sizes will be limited, based upon the number of students we can seat with a six-foot separation for social distancing.
- All persons on campus, including students, will be required to wear masks.
- Parents will need to provide daily certification of the absence of COVID symptoms for their children.
- Additional temperature screenings will be required before entering the campus.
- Students will not be able to mix with other grades, but will be able to meet specialist teachers for music, PE, and art.
- Schedules will be modified so that recess and lunch periods can be held for individual grades providing for social distancing.
- We will be prepared to return to distance learning should the state or county issue another “shelter in place” order.
- Arrival and departure times will be similar to previous years, but may need to be staggered.
- At this point our ability to offer extended care, where different groups mix, is doubtful.
I’m looking forward to communicating our full plan in the near future as we work through many details and receive additional regulatory guidance. We look forward to seeing our students in person again.
In Christ,
Steve Patterson