Dear Summit Schools families,
I am happy to report that substantial progress was made this week in our attempt to prepare the campus for a return to school. Both power and internet were restored, a high majority of our damaged trees were removed, and work was done to repair our HVAC, roof and classrooms. With this said there is still plenty of work to be done before students can return safely.
This Thursday I will present Summit’s Board of Trustees with a plan and timeline for a return to school and the revised 2020-21 school calendar. If approved, students will report to school for morning only sessions (8:30-11:30 a.m.) starting Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4. The first full day of school (8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) would commence on Tuesday, September 8.
Teachers will begin their return to campus on Monday, August 24. We will restart the process of running through our school day and practicing our health and safety protocols. Families will be invited by classroom teachers to schedule individual conferences during the week of August 31. During these conferences students will be formally assessed individually and will be introduced to our classrooms and our new health and safety procedures. My belief is that a lot of anxieties will be removed by having our students (and parents) see firsthand what our expectations will be when students return to school that Thursday, instead of waiting until they walk in the doors for the very first time on September 3.
Again, the first two days of school (Thursday, Sept. 3 and Friday, Sept. 4) will provide students with a small dose of a schooling experience. With nearly a six-month absence from school we should expect that this transition will likely be hard for not only students, but parents and faculty as well. This smaller exposure will make the full-day experience the following week much easier.
You can expect a follow-up email from your classroom teacher(s) early next week so that face-to-face conferences and assessments can be scheduled between August 31 and September 2. Please look forward to more communication from me next Friday.
Sincerely,
Paul Pressler
Head of Schools/Principal