Dear parents,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for last night's town hall. Below you will find follow-up materials, including our second return-to-school survey and a recording of the meeting. We are also including clarifications on our communications protocol around confirmed COVID-19 cases and our in-person vs. remote learning expectations.

Town Hall Follow-Up Materials

Parent Plans for Returning to School: Survey 2: We are re-issuing the same survey shared in July 2020 to gauge evolving plans and sentiment about returning to school among our families, particularly now that we have issued more detailed plans for the fall semester. It is not binding in any way. We would appreciate your response by Tuesday, August 18. Note, too, that we will issue another survey closer to the school year (also see "In-Person vs. Remote Learning" below). You can take the survey here.
Town Hall Meeting Recording: For anyone who missed last night's event (or wants to rewatch)
Fall 2020 Webpage: In addition to updates made today, we will add new details and guidance discussed during the town hall by Friday of this week.
Save the Date: We will host another town hall to share updates on our plans and answer additional questions on Monday, August 31, at 7:00 p.m. (Zoom details will be shared in the coming weeks.)

Communication/Reporting of Confirmed Cases

In the case of an individual (student, faculty, or staff member) testing positive for COVID who was in the building in the 48 hours prior to confirmed infection, we will send—at a minimum—three tiers of communications to families:

We will notify all families of the Group in question that we have had an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 in the building in the 48 hours prior to testing. (Reminder, students will be split into two groups, Group A and Group B, with only one group in the building at a time.)
We will notify all families of students who were in class with but not adjacent to the infected individual that their child was near the infected individual, and we do not require their child to self-isolate.
We will notify the families of students who sat adjacent to the infected individual for a class period (or longer) that their child was near the infected individual. Those students would be required to quarantine and/or produce a negative COVID-19 test before returning to school.

Based on recommendations from our consultants, and under our current protocol, we will only send notifications when members of our community test positive. We will not notify families in cases where an individual is symptomatic and awaiting test results, or is symptomatic and declines to be tested.

While our daily health screening survey will notify us of the confirmed cases that would trigger these communications, we still urge families, faculty, and staff to contact us immediately (Stephanie Poynter, spoynter@commschool.org or 617-266-7525) if they or a member of their household or other close contact outside school tests positive for COVID-19.

In-Person vs. Remote Learning

No student is required to attend in-person classes. All students have the option to learn remotely at any time.

Students may switch from hybrid/in-person classes to all-remote learning and vice versa, but they must give notice. While the need for flexibility is to be expected, and we are prepared for fluctuations in attendance, we ask that families act deliberately in choosing a mode of instruction (hybrid/in-person classes or all remote) so that we may plan accordingly.

Whichever mode of instruction they choose, students must adhere to the class schedules they are given. For example, if a student is scheduled (and able) to attend in-person classes on a given day, they should plan to come to school; they cannot switch between in-person and virtual participation casually. This is because, for students attending in-person classes, knowing who is in the building is critical to ensuring the safety of all students, faculty, and staff. And, for students attending classes remotely, knowing who will be joining a class virtually helps teachers plan their lessons and attend to the needs of all students.

We are tracking student/family plans for returning to school via our Parent Plans for Returning to School surveys (issuing three total), though these surveys are not binding in any way. In the week before the semester starts, we will issue a final Parent Plan for Returning to School Survey where families will choose a mode of instruction (hybrid/in-person or all remote). After that point, if a student/family wants to change the mode of instruction, they must inform Stephanie Poynter (spoynter@commschool.org or 617-266-7525) so we can alert faculty and plan accordingly.

Reminder, too, that no student may attend in-person classes without having a completed Informed Consent form on file.

Thank you again to all who joined us last night. We will continue to endeavor to answer your questions and provide clarifying guidance on our Fall 2020 webpage. You are welcome to respond to this email or to reach out to Headmaster Bill Wharton or Assistant Head of School Rebecca Jackman with any additional questions as well.