• Middle School Director Communication

    Supporting educators and staff

    Our educators and staff are essential to our success at TCIS in preparing for a safe and successful learning and teaching this fall. We recognize that educators have been concerned about the challenges of distance learning and student learning loss during school closures this spring, and many educators have been balancing their teaching duties with their own family and personal needs. Some have felt the devastating impact of the virus personally.

    We also know educators are eager to teach their students in person again, and that staff members are concerned about the health and safety of their students as well as their own health and safety.

    We recognize that planning for reopening in this “new normal” will not be easy; we also know that planning is not nearly as important – nor as difficult – as execution. To have a successful school year, we will all have to be problem-solvers, flexible and responsive to data, and willing to course-correct as necessary. It is also important to acknowledge that there will be COVID-19 positive cases in schools, and we will have protocols to help us determine the appropriate next steps when this happens to keep the school community safe.

    We will provide guidance to support educators and staff on critical reopening issues, including those who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

    Recognizing the special role of families

    Families, in consultation with their medical providers, will ultimately make the decision as to whether their children will attend in-person instruction, or whether their children will continue with distance learning. We should engage regularly and substantively with families in their primary language to ensure that they have accurate and up-to-date information to make informed decisions about whether an in-person return is best for their children. This also means that TCIS will need to have a distance-learning academy in place for students who are unable to return to in-person school in the future.

    Families also play a critical role in supporting the new culture of health and safety that each must establish.