March 16, 2021
Dear Key families,
A little over a year ago we embarked on a previously unimaginable journey. Today, I am writing to gather information about your plans for Spring Break and to make the announcement that after break we will begin implementation of five-day-a-week on-site instruction for all students who wish to return to campus.
Spring Break Planning While Governor Hogan lifted the mandatory testing requirements for out-of-state travel, it is still the State's recommendation that individuals returning to congregate settings continue to follow the testing protocols. To best protect our community, Key School will continue to require documentation of a negative PCR test for all students who have travelled beyond Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., before they are able to return to on-campus instruction.
If you are traveling, please adhere to our Travel Restrictions and note that the PCR test must be done 3-5 days after your return to Maryland to be valid. The Gateway Option will be available to all students who are awaiting test results. As we have asked after previous breaks, please send a copy of your student's test results to Katie Anderson in the Health Office.
All families are asked to complete this survey about their Spring Break travel plans by Friday, March 19. Your survey responses will help us plan for school operations during the week after break and provide insight to possible impact on daily attendance, on-campus classroom experiences, athletics, and implementing five-day instruction for grades 5-12. Our hope is to return to our normal schedule on April 13 without reverting to a post-break distance-learning week; however, this decision will be predicated on the survey results and may vary by Division based on what is in the best interest of our students.
Five-day-a-week On-campus Instruction for Grades 5-12
By April 13, the overwhelming majority of our faculty will have completed their vaccination series; this milestone makes our full return to campus possible. I thank our faculty, staff and School Nurse Katie Anderson for their dogged determination in seeking out and securing their shots so we can all more safely be back together in Hillsmere.
While this transition primarily affects Middle and Upper School families, details will be shared with the full community the week before break. Discussions are ongoing and quickly evolving, with input from the Health Department. The majority of Key's established health and safety protocols, which have served us so well and include mandatory mask wearing, healthy hygiene practices, cleaning/disinfecting protocols, and onsite health screenings, will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. However, upon return from break students in grades 5-12 will begin to mix in classes and interact throughout the academic day without six feet of social distancing.
It is likely that we will implement a staggered schedule for the Middle and Upper School five-day-a-week return at the outset, to ensure the safest possible transition back to a fuller capacity campus.
Now Is Not the Time to Ease Our Guard
Our community has done an amazing job throughout this pandemic and I cannot thank each of you enough for that. The instances of COVID-19 impacting our on-campus community have been few, and this is because of your very intentional actions.
As I shared during our most recent Parents' Association meeting, the return to campus will have more students interacting. The behaviors that families and students engage in outside of School will have a direct impact on the viability of a larger group of students to remain at School should a positive case of COVID-19 be brought to campus. Please continue to do your part to keep our students, faculty, staff, and families safe by making responsible choices each day to mitigate the spread of this disease, both during and after Spring Break.
From the outset, when COVID-19 was present on Key's campus, it was the result of an off-campus exposure. As the weather improves, and the restrictions become less stringent, each of us has the responsibility to make decisions that curtail the spread of COVID-19, and model them for our students. Selflessness will enable us to be here and be safe. Selfishness could result in significant disruptions. It is because of our collective effort that we are at a place to move to this new phase. Now is not the time to forget that our individual choices and behaviors have a direct impact on us all.
In closing, while our plans for return are moving forward, we must also be ever mindful of the presence of COVID-19 in the wider community. While we hope vaccination of the regional community continues to increase in volume and helps contain the virus, should we see significant increases, we may need to adjust our programming plans on relatively short notice.
I look forward to sharing more information on our return to five-day-a-week instruction for Middle and Upper Schoolers with you soon.
Be well.
Matthew
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