Update 9/25

Here is the Digest:

  • DPH Site Inspectors came on Wednesday and it went well

  • We have finished all the steps in the re-opening application and are awaiting approval 

  • If we are approved the start date for Lower Elementary will be Oct. 5th

  • We may need to adjust the upper elementary and middle school start date for proper staggering.

  • If you choose to start in Distance Learning you'll have a chance to re-consider your decision in early December.  

  • Students in Distance Learning will have the opportunity to join for outdoor PE times if they would like.

Re-opening Application Process
Yesterday, a team of 5 DPH inspectors equipped with tape measures and checklists visited Brightworks for our site assessment!  They were incredibly thorough, and we were incredibly prepared.  I have to give a huge thanks to the Auxiliary Collaborator team led by Freya who has been working hard to prepare the building for the past month!  I'd also like to shout out the group of parent volunteers who joined us last Friday to beautify the space!  Yesterday would not have been possible without everyone's hard work and attention to detail!

The City has published a website that is tracking the application process for re-opening schools.  Brightworks has completed all of the steps in the application process.  We are currently awaiting approval.

Should we be approved, our start date for elementary would be October 5th.  Though the DPH hasn't published any clear expectations or guidelines on how best to stagger the return of different grades, they have shared that this is important. We anticipate that we may be asked to adjust our timeline for bringing back upper elementary and middle school.  We will share it with you as soon as we have clear guidance.

Updates to our plan

We know that choosing between Distance Learning and In-person learning for your student is an incredibly difficult decision.  In the last two weeks, we've had the opportunity to talk with many families struggling with this decision, we've heard that Arc 2 is a really long time and that there are so many unknowns.  To help ease this we've decided to make a re-entry point in the first week of December.  We also want to make the opportunity for kids who are continuing to learn at home to keep connected with their bands by offering an optional outdoor PE meet up in the week.  

Best Wishes, 

Mackenzie and the Leadership Team

Justine