Coronavirus Update #2—3/12/20
March 12, 2020
Dear TSA Families,
I hope this letter finds your family well. These are certainly exceptional times.
I’m writing to connect with you about actionable steps we have taken at The Sharon Academy middle and high schools to ensure, to the best of our ability, that your children’s safety is being taken seriously in light of all of the developments surrounding COVID-19. Before I proceed further, please know there are no known cases of COVID-19 at TSA at this time.
We take the threat of this new virus very seriously. We are doing, and will continue to do, everything in our power to keep your children and our larger school community safe. Our administrative team is spending time every day, including weekends, appraising and assessing the situation.
Just as we feel an obligation to take these circumstances seriously, we also want you to know we’re approaching them in a calm and thoughtful way. To the extent that it’s possible, it is our hope to conduct school business as usual, keeping student anxiety at a minimum.
Obviously we are dealing with an extremely dynamic set of circumstances. One thing that we know makes a difference is keeping children and staff home if they are sick with a cough or fever. Please continue supporting this long standing policy. We appreciate your efforts.
Regular updates will be available on our website. Should the need arise to communicate urgent information, we will use our emergency alert system to contact all families. If your contact information has recently changed, please update Blackbaud or let Cynthia Masterman know by emailing [email protected].
A lot has been written about COVID-19 and how we should respond. One of the more cogent pieces I’ve read comes from the chief medical officer at Gifford Memorial Hospital in Randolph, Vermont. The link to that letter is posted here.
If your family plans to travel internationally this Spring, please let your student’s advisor know ahead of time. We may request, depending on your destination, that upon return your student spend two weeks in quarantine before returning to school.
What follows is a bulletted list of steps we have taken as a school. As the need arises, we will take additional measures. Please know we will keep you informed of any and all decisions. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. We can make this work if we continue to work together.
Michael Livingston
- We are following the recommendations and guidelines of the VT Department of Health and Agency of Education.
- All school trips, including those to San Diego, Canada, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, have been canceled.
- All extracurricular activities involving regional travel, including Robotics, Model United Nations, True Colors, and Junior Iron Chef have been canceled. The State basketball championships will be played without spectators. We have canceled our fan bus.
- All school gatherings, including TNC on 3/17, the Vermont State One Act competition, the Middle School Circus, the upcoming Earth Day Celebration at the high school, The Sharon Academy Gala, and both the Middle School and High School Graduation ceremonies are under review.
- The Sharon Academy has added an appendix to our emergency plan that deals specifically with action steps to be taken relative to COVID-19. We are working in cooperation with the local elementary school and are jointly hosting an emergency preparedness meeting in Sharon on March 26.
- We have purchased a “fogger” to be used once a week in each school to apply an antimicrobial mist to all surfaces with the specific intent of disinfecting the school. This system was recommended to us by other local area schools, and we appreciate open communication around student safety and health. Additionally, containers of this disinfectant as well as Clorox wipes have been provided at both schools. Please note that the students are taking our request to wash their hands frequently quite seriously. We are going through record amounts of soap in our bathroom dispensers.
- The faculty has met twice in the last 10 days to discuss how to best connect with students using various online platforms should we need to cancel school and offer classes through online platforms. A few of us have also participated in Global Online Academy’s training to learn more about our technological options.
- We conducted a survey to determine the quality and accessibility of student internet access at home as well as the reliability of computers. It would be helpful if you could check with your student to see if they have responded to the survey.
- We are prepared to offer middle school students a chromebook and charger for their use should we need to move classes online.
- Dr. Becky Foulk will come speak to the high school on Tuesday, March 17, to address any concerns students might have about the spread of this virus. A number of high school students reached out to staff looking for reliable, clear, and well-presented information about this virus, and Dr. Becky was our first call. Becky, recently retired, was the lead medical practitioner at the South Royalton clinic, which she founded, for many decades. She’s currently a member of our board of trustees.