Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 9/24/2020

Good afternoon, ASCA parents!

Today marks our 26th day of school this year. We are so grateful for the efforts of our teachers, support staff, parents, and students who have allowed us to stay in person safely each day. It is no easy feat, but we are proud that our precautionary measures, social distancing, maskwearing, and cleaning are working to keep our student body safe.

As you know, we have been offering both an in-person and a virtual option for our Kindergarten-8 th grade students. Our goal has been to keep as many of our ASCA students engaged in the school community and actively learning, whether here in person or at home. All Saints is a Catholic school community, and the power of our school exists in our faith and in our relationships with one another. We believe the best way we can continue to serve your children and build relationships with them is by having them here in person with us.

After many discussions with our faculty and administrative team, I have made the decision that at the end of the first quarter we will no longer offer a virtual option at the same time as in-person instruction. In our efforts these last five weeks to provide excellent instruction to both our in-person learners and our virtual learners, the teachers have been working tirelessly, at all hours of the day and night. They have given up prep periods to host Google Meets and have spent their evenings and weekends preparing videos, lessons, and other instructional materials. We have tried several different strategies to make the task of simultaneously teaching in-person and virtually more manageable, but continuing to operate in this way is not sustainable, nor is it the best way for us to build relationships with your students and properly meet their needs.

For those of you who had selected the virtual option for the first quarter, I know that this news is not what you want to hear from me today, and for that I am truly sorry. I hope you can understand that this decision has not been easy and that I am making the choice that is best for the mental health and wellbeing of our faculty and staff. They need to be healthy and mentally well in order to best serve our children, and focusing their attention on one group of students in person allows them to do this best.

I hope that our current virtual learners will join us here, in person, for the second quarter. We are ready to welcome you to our in-person classrooms, and we are hopeful that you will continue to be part of our school community. We believe that in-person instruction, with our additional COVID precautions in place, is a safe option and the best way for us to educate our students.

I also understand that every family has different views about in-person education right now and that some may not feel comfortable returning. I regret that we cannot offer you an alternative at this time, and I hope you will consider ASCA as an option at a later date when you are more comfortable with in-person instruction.

I imagine there are two questions that many of you are asking that I want to address right away. Our goal continues to be to safely attend school in person each day this year. If at any time we must close the school and have all students participate in virtual learning, either for a short or extended period, we are fully prepared to do so. The reason for this message is not that we are unable to do virtual learning, but that we are unable to do virtual learning at the same time as in-person learning. If we must all switch to a virtual option at any time, I am confident that we can do this well, and I can assure you that the teachers will give it their undivided attention.

Additionally, we understand that throughout the course of this pandemic students may be absent for a number of reasons, per the IDPH protocols that we are following. If your child must stay home from school, either for illness or quarantine, we will work with your family to provide work in their absence. The teachers will assist these students as needed throughout the absence to ensure they don’t fall behind academically.

For our current virtual learning families, I will follow up with a separate communication about next steps. To all our families, thank you for your support of the teachers and staff throughout this challenging time. While I know you may find this decision upsetting, I hope you can understand our desire to serve all our students well. I hope we can continue to work together as partners in your child’s education.

Thank you,

Margie Marshall

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