The School's Strong Foundation and Community Ties Allow Flexibility in Pandemic Times

GOOD GOVERNANCE, BOARD MEMBERS CONTINUE AS PILLARS OF TSS.

The support by generous leaders in the community who feel an affinity for TSS allows for leadership, innovation, and confidence in the program Their expertise as parents, educators, attorneys, fundraising experts, financial leaders, community connectors, and the like lend themselves to our mission and vision, staying ahead of trends, business decisions, and opportunities.

Through Board members and their connections, we have secured incredible gifts and grants that include: a gift from Paul Newman's Newman's Own in 1997 for renovations in the Academic Building, a grant from the Hearst Foundation to support the costs of our Community Lecture Series over three years, and most recently from the Estate of Daniel E Offutt III, which gave to the creation of the Creative Arts Classroom in the same name in the newly renovated Arts, Music, and Movement Building, among many other generous givers.

THE VILLAGE IS OUR CAMPUS.

Often memories and feelings are associated with school experiences and link to the buildings in which classes, programs, and events take place Our two historic buildings within our campus offer such space. However, we also find and feel that our campus extends further into Southport Village We are fortunate to have the opportunity to utilize the quality facilities available nearby with student field trips to Pequot Library, local art galleries such as HollisTaggert, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, Perry's Green, and Sammy's Pizza, to name a few.

FLEXIBILITY, SAFETY, OPTIMISM: OUR PANDEMIC RESPONSE.

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, we dismissed all faculty and staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a safety precaution However, the government closed down schools and required citizens to quarantine, initiating virtual instruction that remained in place through the end of the academic year Recently summarized by Dr Powers, "Twenty-twenty was one of our most important years in operation, perhaps only second to when Len Tavormina and a brave group of colleagues opened our doors for the first time in 1984."

In April 2020, while everyone was adapting to new circumstances in response to the coronavirus pandemic, our team began an unprecedented process to reconsider every aspect of our program, expecting a very different start to the 2020-2021 academic year We looked to leading experts to help shape our understanding and knowledge about practice and implementation With extensive experience and global leadership in developing safe, dynamic, and fluid learning environments, Stephen Forneris, a Principal Architect at Perkins Eastman, was just the expert for the job of making our campus safe.

In just four months, we invested close to $1M and countless hours to change, update, adapt, and improve nearly every aspect of our program This effort was accomplished while continuing our normal, day-to-day operations, including implementing regular programming and preparing for the upcoming school year We were open every day during the 2020-2021 academic year, teaching in-person on campus, including our Summer Programs We continue to operate present day at total capacity on campus, in person with augmented CDC COVID-19 mandates