Dear Friends,

I hope that you all enjoyed a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. I am writing with an important update about instructional modes in each of our three divisions for the final days of the fall semester. In brief:

Upper School will operate in Westtown Distance Learning (WDL) for the last five days of the semester, starting Monday, December 7. Boarding students may engage with WDL on campus. Day students will learn from their homes.
In Lower and Middle School, we plan to continue with on-campus learning until Winter Break. However, students and their families must be mindful of the fluidity of the situation and take steps to prepare for a last-minute shift to WDL in case that should become necessary.
We continue to hope, expect, and plan for an on-campus spring semester in all divisions beginning January 11, 2021.

These decisions are premised, as always, on our commitment to on-campus learning and confidence in our Reopening Plan. However, during this surge we must ensure that students faithfully adhere to our mitigation strategies, and we need a robust adult presence for that purpose. Lately, we have seen a significant staffing shortage in Upper School, which is expected to continue into next week.

Let me explain our thinking in greater detail.

During on-campus learning, our students from Primary Circle through 12th grade have impressed us with their understanding of pandemic-related safety measures, and especially with their willingness to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, take meals in the open air where possible, and wash their hands regularly. Still, it is understandable that in order to keep up these measures every minute of every day, our children and teens have required careful oversight. It's all too easy for young people to let their attention wander away from health and safety imperatives. Faculty and staff in each division have been vigilant with reminders. Long ago, I lost count of how many times I had to remind students: Six feet, friends!

Over the course of the fall, our tireless and vigilant teachers and staff members have occasionally been prevented from coming to campus by various factors beyond their control, including illness of any kind, concerning symptoms, childcare needs, quarantines due to close contacts at school, quarantines due to close contacts at home, quarantines while awaiting a family member's test results, etc. We have secured copious additional staffing this year, including classroom assistants, building substitutes, remote learning support teachers, and an "emergency bench" of staff and administrators ready and willing to drop their usual responsibilities at a moment's notice to help in a classroom. Nevertheless, the number of essential Upper School team members unable to come to campus has recently increased, for a variety of reasons, such that we are concerned about our ability to properly oversee and support students' compliance with mitigation measures. Given the current surge, this is an especially significant concern.

Upper School will operate in Westtown Distance Learning

starting Monday, December 7

Tomorrow will therefore be our last day together on campus in Upper School until the new year. When Upper School day students leave campus at the end of the day tomorrow, they should make sure that they have not left anything behind. Our current boarders are welcome to stay and engage with WDL from campus. In Just the Facts this week, T. Veda will share details about the final week of the semester, including how to access office hours and pick up library books. Friends, I know that this decision will come as a disappointment to Upper School students and their families who have enjoyed — as we have — learning together on campus for the past six weeks. I want to emphasize that this decision was not reached lightly or hastily. And remember, we continue to hope, expect, and plan for an on-campus spring semester. T. Veda's Just the Facts this week will also include information about in-person spring classes.

Middle and Lower School: Please be Prepared

In Middle and Lower School, our staffing levels have fluctuated throughout the fall, just as they have in Upper. From time to time we have approached the tipping point, and may yet reach that tipping point next week. For this reason, Middle and Lower School children should be prepared to enter WDL on short notice. At the end of each day, Middle School students must bring home everything they would need for WDL. Lower School students must be prepared for a no-school day to transition into WDL if necessary. In Just the Facts this week, you will hear more from T. Will and T. Karyn about necessary preparations.

Reflections on our Decision-Making

Before closing, here are some reflections about decision-making at Westtown during this difficult time.

From the start of the pandemic, Westtown administrators and faculty have dedicated countless hours to planning, preparation, and discernment, based on feedback from both parents and colleagues as well as information and insight gleaned from webinars, information sessions with experts, meetings with county health department officials, and conversations with peer schools. As more has been learned about the coronavirus, we have been heartened by evidence-based research clearly establishing that linked transmission is rare in schools with robust mitigation strategies like those in our own Reopening Plan. It has been a pleasure to spend eight weeks thus far on campus with Lower and Middle School students, and six in Upper School.

In large teams and small groups, we continue to put our heads together several times a week for careful discussions. As the pandemic runs its course, we are very aware of the wide variety of competing needs and wants in our community. During the surge, our meetings have been even more frequent, and we have pored over new information and feedback in order to determine what is best for our community as a whole. We had hoped to maintain our on-campus mode till the start of Winter Break. I hope you will understand why this is no longer feasible in Upper School.

Our administrative team will continue to monitor the situation through the Winter Break. We look forward to an on-campus start to the spring semester. That is both our hope and our plan. At the same time, we are clearly entering an acutely difficult stage of the pandemic. Should the need arise, we will endeavor to communicate any change of plan by January 1.

Thank you, Westtown families, for your flexibility, patience, and understanding. Thank you for making cautious and responsible decisions in your lives — over the recent holiday and every day — for the health of our community. Be well this evening!

Yours,