COVER S TOR Y
Robust academics, inspiration, engagement, and care. At The Steward School, this mission shapes every decision affecting our student body. Whether developing curricula, planning community celebrations, maintaining budgets, or creating lunch schedules, we keep ourselves grounded by placing community well-being at the center of each choice we make. But no matter how dedicated we remain to our mission, sometimes we are confronted with situations that challenge our traditional notions of how we bring “care� to life. The COVID-19 pandemic presented one such dilemma. Or, rather, a series of them. "We're educators and school administrators, not health experts or crisis managers," Associate Head of School Lisa Dwelle said, describing the diversity of logistical hurdles facing the school when a national emergency went into effect on March 13, 2020. Following Governor Northam's closure of all state schools shortly afterward, Steward finished the 2019-20 school year with a fully online experience, suspending all in-person interactions for the next five months. "It was just eerie," Head of School Dan Frank said, describing the empty grounds. Although campus life appeared idle, board members, school administrators, faculty, and staff were working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure we were ready to open the campus to families at the start of the 2020-21 school year. "We had a strategic vision to get these kids back in the classroom safely," Mr. Frank said. "We weren't exactly sure what that would look like, or if we could entirely commit to our vision, but we knew that having the opportunity to be together again was paramount." We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be in the position to have offered in-person learning this year as well as a Synchronous At-Home Learning (SAL) option. Our small class sizes, our sprawling campus, and our dedicated faculty and staff all factored into our opening this year, as did an abundance of good fortune. In the following pages, we look back at the detailed preparations that allowed Steward to safely resume school in person and on mission in the fall of 2020.
ALL HANDS ON DECK The phrase "spring break" conjures sunglasses, crowded beaches, and breezy vistas. Those images stand in stark contrast to the signage posted on all building entrances leading up to last year's spring break requesting that people who had recently traveled to COVID-19 hotspots not enter and instead follow self-quarantine guidelines. Families were advised to share any illness information with school nurse Rebecca Heck, who would pass it along to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) anonymously, and faculty and staff were preemptively trained on the technology needed for program and business continuity in the event of a school closure. When faculty, staff, and students left for spring break on March 6, the atmosphere was anything but relaxed. "I don't think any of us knew what to expect heading into break," Mrs. Dwelle said. "We felt as ready as we could be given the circumstances, but there was still so much uncertainty."
The Colonnade |
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