COVID-19 Response

Dear families,

I hope you are doing well and have plans for family time this weekend. We continue to make great progress on our reopening plan, and you will receive it next Friday, July 31. I continue to be bowled over by the effort, talent, and creativity of our faculty as we get ready to welcome all our students back to campus safely. I know that we can all work together to stay safe and healthy so that once we open, we can remain open.

We recognize that families may have different needs and concerns when it comes to returning to on-campus learning in the fall. Meadowbrook is committed to serving every student, either at school or from a distance, to the best of our abilities with the resources we have available. 

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey which indicates the likelihood that you will send your children back to campus for daily in-person learning in September. We know you do not have all the information you need to make a final decision, so your response to this survey is non-binding. In a few weeks, you will need to make a final decision and will have the information you need to do so; your input on this survey will help us get a sense of how our families are thinking so that we may shift resources accordingly.

Note: students who join us for daily in-person learning will be required to wear masks all day, maintain a distance of 6 feet, and remain in their cohorts each day. 

 

Have a great weekend,

arvind

Click here to watch  arvind’s video message. If you'd like to watch it later, here are the key points he covers: 

• For Meadowbrook to be a thriving learning community, we continue to focus on two unshakable priorities: health & safety and academic excellence
• The COVID Steering Committee and its working groups are hard at work making arrangements for a safe return to in-person learning. This includes efforts by the program design team, who are now prototyping their plans, and the facilities team, who have made great progress in preparing our physical plant.
• This work includes every one of us. We have a shared responsibility as a community -- including the kids! -- to play an integral part in our school opening and staying open. This includes handwashing, mask-wearing, daily screening, and quarantining for two weeks before the start of school if you are able.
• We are designing a system that allows us to move from very strict measures to intermediate to more open. Meadowbrook will reopen under the strictest measures. We have the ability to increase and decrease different measures depending on how the situation unfolds.
• Our draft plan for reopening will be sent to the community on July 31. arvind will hold a series of Town Hall meetings to answer questions after you have all had a chance to read the plan.
• The situation has been and continues to be changing rapidly. We’re committed to adapting rapidly, too, to make sure we serve our students, our faculty, and our families.
• Click here to view previous summer updates.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Dear families,

I hope you are having a great week. Last night we hosted a video call with LGBTQIA+ (Don’t know what that means? That’s ok, read about it here.) alumni and it was wonderful to have students back and even a former faculty member join us!

It has been another busy and productive week at Meadowbrook. We continue deep work on our two immovable priorities: academic excellence and health and safety. 

I have a few notes to share with you this week, particularly on:

• The school-home collaboration
• Health and safety: physical classroom setups, indoor air quality, and quarantine

SCHOOL-HOME COLLABORATION

I want you to know that both the learning and the safety of our community will depend on powerful collaboration between all of us: students, faculty, families. Fortunately for us, this has long been one of our greatest strengths.

We need your help and collaboration to open school, but moreover, to stay open. Any potential spread of infection at our school risks closing our entire campus. Each of us has tremendous control of our own decisions - when you add up over 200 families and more than 80 faculty members, that’s a powerful total impact. Please keep in mind that your choices impact every other member of our community.

We’re not a community that seeks to blame or to shame people for their decisions. We are a school with the highest standards of excellence and character. These trying times call upon us to act judiciously, and I trust that I can count on you and you can count on me. Meadowbrook truly is stronger when we all work together. To be strong I encourage each of you to have a family conversation: What can we do to help? How can we actively help stop or prevent the spread of the virus? What are we willing to do as a family?

HEALTH AND SAFETY UPDATE

It’s been a week with bad news for the country overall in terms of the spread of COVID-19, with the country continuing to break infection records nearly daily. Dr. David Rubin (Physician and Director of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab) shared this week that New England is doing the best in the country, but he worries that we may simply be two weeks behind the rest of the nation. 

What is on my mind is that we will control all that we can at Meadowbrook, and I’m hopeful that both local and national leadership will do the same. It will take a national, even global cooperation, to stem the flow.

Classrooms

• Our facilities team finished measuring all usable learning spaces.
• We hired an architectural firm to design layouts of desks for every teaching space with multiple distances between desks.
• We ordered an additional 230 desks so that every student can have their own desk, and we will be storing away all our shared student tables. 

Indoor Air Quality

• Indoor air quality has been getting a lot of media attention. There are two issues to know about: 1. Droplets containing the virus moving (think when someone coughs, big drops that fly), and 2. Aerosolized virus (tinier droplets that hang around in the air).
• Dr. Rubin advised this week that we focus much more attention on droplets than aerosolized virus, but we continue to attack both.

There are two ways we improve indoor air quality: 

• 1. We dilute the air (we have our automated building systems increase the amount of fresh air that gets pulled in to building - this is the opposite of what we normally do as it wastes electricity/gas heating and cooling and it also increases allergens in the building - but for COVID, we would be doing it). We can and will also open windows and doors.
• 2. We filter the air - we have a variety of filtering methods and we’ll ensure they are all up to speed and acting property. Both the doctors and building safety experts shared this week that dilution is more important and powerful than filtration.

Quarantine 

Thank you to all who filled out the survey in last week’s email. It was really helpful to us to hear from you directly. We learned via the survey that there was much support for the idea from some and a good number of families thought it was untenable, unenforceable, or not impactful for the goal. We included a number of the responses anonymously below for you to see.

I brought this question back to Dr. Bravo, who has been advising schools nationwide, and her recommendation is that we strongly recommend, but not require, a 2-week quarantine for everyone who can do it.

As a reminder on how our layered approach works: no one layer is impenetrable - but each layer is critical. For example, many people in our community need to work outside their homes, and if their kids are quarantined and parents are still at work, their children are at risk of getting the infection and traveling with it. However, the more of our families and individual students that quarantine, the less risk there is to our school. Both are true simultaneously.

Our current course of action

• We strongly recommend a 14-day quarantine prior to the start of school for all students; where adults can participate, they should - this only helps our school, too. 
• Definition of quarantine: staying home for the most part; limiting those who go to grocery store and limiting trips; no playdates; avoiding travel; this is similar to our guidance in April.

Why recommend a quarantine?

• It adds a layer of protection (remember our layering strategy we introduced last week)
• Every family that quarantines reduces the chance of the virus being present in the school - and every reduction lowers our Ro value (the reproductive number of the virus). Click this link to watch an informative video that explains Ro value, if you are interested. The lower our Ro value, the more likely our community stays healthy, and we stay open.

Other considerations

• If you travel, we expect every family to abide by the state’s rules. While you are away it is very possible that the state’s rules change to be more restrictive. If that happens while you are away, you will have to follow the guidance and may be excluded from starting school in-person.
• We know families will have difficult choices to make, and we support you in whatever you choose. If you end up needing to not quarantine, you may want to ask yourself, what other layers could we apply to help? (think masking, interacting with others outdoors and not indoors, handwashing, checking your and your family's temperatures before interacting with others, etc).

CLOSING 

I am grateful for all the faculty members and board volunteers working to do what is within our control to reopen school. It’s humbling to watch and be a part of. Thank you for making Meadowbrook strong with all you do for us.

We will be in touch again next week. In the meantime, have a happy weekend,

arvind

 

Snippets from Last Week's Survey

Families responded to the question on how a 2-week quarantine (August 25 - September 7) would impact them. Here are a few of your responses to see how people felt:

• “Minimal impact and we are supportive”
• “I think it is important to mention an indirect impact on our family and the entire community that should be considered. Obviously, quarantines only work if everyone in the community does what they are supposed to do and approaches the requirements with the same level of commitment and seriousness. I think there is real risk to the fabric of the community if some families take a different approach than others to the quarantine.”
• “As always, we will support your decision 100%”
• “I agree and support family quarantine before the start of school. It’s not that it wouldn’t be a hassle, I just believe the benefits outweigh the risk.”
• “We are willing to do whatever it takes to re-open the school in the Fall. Thank you for all your thoughtful work! "
• “While the Mb students could stay home, the rest of the family might not be able to.  That would defeat the purpose of the quarantine. In a perfect world, I love this idea.  Unfortunately I think it’s too burdensome for many families.”
• “I do not believe that kids quarantining creates actual safety benefit. It would make some people feel better.”
• “Quarantining the children is not an issue for our family. However, it would not be reasonable to request the parents not go to work during that time frame.”
• “I like the idea. For families that can quarantine prior to school, they could do distant learning for two weeks before return to school. “
• "Quarantining students for two weeks would not be in line with what is being advised by DPH or what the current infection trends are for the state. Quarantining the student themselves would not be enough to achieve the desired goal. If you quarantine the student then you would have to quarantine the entire family. Some parents are still working outside of the home environment and the school can not mandate the parents to quarantine/stay home from work.
• “It is reasonable to advise families/students that if they leave the state and travel to an area outside of Massachusetts (where the infection rate is higher than the current 1.8%), then they have to quarantine upon returning to Massachusetts. This would be the case for not only the student, but the entire family and would be in line with the current state’s advisory. This should be the mandate going forth for any foreseeable time period. The underlying problem with any mandate is also ensuring compliance, not only at the onset of school, but throughout the year."
• “It does not make sense to impose a mandatory 2-week quarantine before returning to school.  First, it is unenforceable. Second, the school cannot control where students or members of their family go before or after school once school starts which defeats the purpose of the 14 days quarantine prior. Third, many of the parents have returned or will be returning to work.  Many students also have siblings in other schools.  There is no point of forcing the MB students to quarantine themselves when people they live with are not quarantined.”
• “We can do it. No problem for us. Thank you!”
• “I don't think this is warranted unless you intend to require all students to quarantine for the entire time they are attending school. What is to prevent student A from seeing grandparents or the friends down the street (whom they've likely been seeing for months) on the second day of school? You're delaying the risk and giving everyone a false sense of security. It just doesn't make sense, and it also places a hardship on parents, who may be relying on childcare from people outside the home in order to work. ”

Dear families,

Happy Friday! It has been a full week at Meadowbrook. Our teaching faculty have just completed their fourth day of professional development focused on teaching online, and teams working beneath the COVID Steering Committee have been hard at work on health and safety, logistics and operations planning.

I write to share some of what we are working on and some of what we are thinking about. If you have been following the news, following congressional testimony and medical updates, you know that things are changing rapidly. Given the incredible amount of information, remember our non-negotiable priorities: academic excellence and health and safety; they are guiding all of our planning as we strive to live up to our mission.

I have tasked Jonathan Schmid, our director of innovation and technology, with leading our school reopening process. Jonathan is a trusted and valued member of our leadership team, will serve on the COVID Steering Committee, and will be responsible for coordinating the teams working on the various pieces of our reopening plan.

This is a long email, but I think the information is highly valuable for you.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

We want to get you comfortable with the concepts involved in creating a safe school environment in a world with COVID-19. 

One of the first for you to know about is layering. There are many ways to reduce risk to the virus. You likely know many of the layers, from hand washing to masking to physical distancing to testing. But there are many more, and our strategy will include using multiple layers simultaneously. There is no one layer that solves everything - we do as many as we can, as often as we can, as widely as we can. We’ve been counseled by the medical experts we’re listening to that you can dramatically reduce viral exposure with more layers. One can toggle layers on and off as needed (e.g. when eating lunch one takes off a mask, but could increase distance or add hand washing or eat with the same group each day).

Here’s a simple example Dr. Adrianna Bravo showed us which demonstrates how layers can work together (notice two layers together when both people are wearing masks + distance is increased, transmission chances lower):

More details will follow on how Meadowbrook will specifically employ various layers. Here are just some of the safety measures we are exploring:

Masks
Students and faculty will likely be asked to wear masks for much, if not most of, the day. Of course, there are times during the day that mask-wearing is not possible, such as during snack and lunch. In addition, we know that “mask breaks” will be important for our students. 

Physical Distancing
You may be familiar with the term, “social distancing.” We are using the term “physical distancing,” as we want our students to be socially close, but literally, physically distant from each other and their teachers. The state of Massachusetts has recommended a distance of at least three feet between desks in a classroom, while suggesting that schools try to achieve six feet of distance. There are other times like transitions in hallways, car line, etc., where physical distancing will be used.

De-densifying
De-densifying is the process of making a learning space have fewer people in it at a given time. Our facilities team has been measuring out every classroom (and even usable non-classroom) space we have available to determine how many students and teachers can be present in each space at one time. They are finishing their measuring this week and that will inform the work of the program team and will likely involve changes to the way classrooms are arranged/furnished and how we organize classes. 

Hand washing
Hand washing is one of the best ways to reduce exposure to illness. We will be adding hand washing stations and will be requiring hand washing at regular intervals throughout the day.

Screening/Attestation
Schools around the country are contemplating what types of screening they will require of students before physically returning to school. Ideas we have seen include: asking parents or guardians to check their child’s temperature 1-2 times daily and report results to school, requiring families to answer a series of daily screening questions, and having school personnel take each person’s temperature before entering the building. Our health and safety team is working with our student experience team on screening as we determine what will be best for us. 

Cohorting
Cohorting is a concept that limits the number of students that interact with one another on a daily basis. We have learned of many schools and summer programs using this concept effectively to help limit exposure and to allow one to trace contacts, should anyone within the cohort become exposed. Our program team is working with our health and safety team to work out details of how this could work for Meadowbrook. 

Testing
We are working through testing options and are considering if and how we might add this layer of screening to our measures. Massachusetts is not requiring this for schools to reopen, but we continue to explore methods, frequencies, and strategies around how this might help us. We have not yet decided either for or against testing, but will keep you posted once decisions are made.

14-Day Quarantine
We are considering a 14-day quarantine period at home before returning to school based on medical guidance we have received. If we proceed with this idea, it would mean that all Meadowbrook students would have quarantined at home beginning on Tuesday, August 25 until the start of school on Tuesday, September 7. Please click here to share your thoughts and how your family may be impacted if we make this decision. 

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

While our health and safety team have been hard at work on the myriad logistical details, our program team is moving forward with work that maintains our school’s high academic and programming standards. You may recall from previous messages that the program team is designing for our key users: our students, our faculty, and our parents and guardians. While the state has counseled schools to plan for in-person, remote, and hybrid scenarios, none of us know which will arrive, so we are doing our best work in flexible plans that will meet our users’ needs.

Program Design Team
Our program design team has been conducting research on how to create a robust, meaningful, and productive academic environment. We have been holding interviews with parents, caregivers, teachers, and students to learn more about individuals’ experiences with remote learning. The process has been inspiring and enlightening and I’m honored to be working with this team. Our assumptions are being challenged, in the best possible way! This coming week we’re developing prototypes to begin the testing process. Rashna Mehta, our head of lower school, is the team leader.

Faculty Professional Development
This week, our entire teaching faculty participated in a four-day-long course, called Agile Course Design. The course challenges our teachers to apply a designer’s mindset and approach to creating courses online that meet students’ needs. Six members of the faculty served as coaches for their peers, and there was great conversation and idea generation among the groups. In addition, many faculty are teaching summer offerings that begin next week; I am excited to see our faculty experiment and take risks with online teaching and learning this summer. If your student is signed up for any of these classes, they are in for a treat! (If you still want to sign your child up, login to the parent portal for the links to register for middle school options that are open.)

Expert Guidance
Meadowbrook has sought and is receiving expert guidance on many of these topics. We have access to experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics School Reopening Task Force, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and CHOP PolicyLab, as well as our local experts at the Weston Board of Health and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We will continue to access these resources to make the most-informed choices we can.

I had the great benefit of being included in a meeting last week with the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who was advising a handful of Heads of School. His major counsel was around how damaging social isolation can be to physical, emotional, and academic health - and it applies equally to children and adults!

CLOSING 

As you can see, Meadowbrook is doing what we do best, pursuing every option to do right by our students. Thank you for all the support you give us to make that possible. We are a stronger school when we all line up together.

I continue to hope that you and your families find ways to stay healthy and to boost each other up this summer. I will be back in touch next week.

In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend!

arvind

Dear families,

I hope your summer is off to a terrific start! After taking a break last week, our administrative team and many of our teaching faculty are back at it this week, with inspiring enthusiasm and energy. 

This email is the first of many weekly summer updates you will receive from us over the next three months. Our goal is to keep you updated on and connected to our work as we prepare for the fall. As a reminder, we are operating under two non-negotiable priorities as we plan to reopen school: 1) academic excellence and 2) health and safety. You will see these priorities reflected in my updates each week. 

Let me be direct: our plan is to open school and stay open.

We will certainly be responsive to the changing conditions on the ground, all incoming guidance from relevant experts and agencies, and will always do what is best for our students. Just today the governor of Massachusetts released new guidance for reopening schools. Our team will be carefully reviewing that guidance and will have more to report in the weeks to come.  

School Re-Opening Work

The COVID Steering Committee launched this week. This committee is composed of the senior administrative team, the executive committee of the board of trustees, and other at-large members with special expertise. As needed, various staff members will also join meetings. This group meets every two weeks.

Simultaneously, work has kicked off with regard to the physical and health logistics of reopening the school. We are working with a consulting group which has put together a 90-days to reopening program for independent schools. There are weekly briefings and guidance on health and safety; logistics and operations; and pandemic updates. They feature operations experts along with medical experts, and provide guidance for schools to work through each week. There is much to cover and we are up for the challenge. 

Program Design Team

Last week, the Program Design Team kicked off its work. This is the group tasked with leading the look back at what we did and the look forward to what we will do to meet our academic excellence priority when we return to school. The team is composed of Alison Graham (PE teacher), Craig Saslow (MS English teacher), Ilana Page (grade 3 homeroom teacher), Jordan Bentley (MS history, dean of 7th grade, acting head of middle school while Justin is out), Kevin Christensen (lower school math coordinator and teacher), Rashna Mehta (head of lower school), Suzi Holmes (JK homeroom teacher), Justin McLean (head of middle school; will serve until he leaves on parental leave) and me. We are using our knowledge in design thinking combined with a partnership with an outside firm, Leadership + Design. After launching last week, this week the team has been interviewing students, faculty members, and families to deeply understand what it was like to go through distance learning. We hope to learn from people’s stories what true challenges and wonderful things happened, and extrapolate learnings from there. Stay tuned for lots more to come from this important group. 

Faculty Professional Development

Next week, the entire teaching faculty will gather for four days of professional development on excellent online course design. We have become a member of EXPLO Elevate, a global innovative schools cooperative. Their team will train six faculty members to become coaches, and then the entire faculty will work with EXPLO trainers and our coaches through the week and through the year, to ensure we can deliver the highest-quality instruction should we be teaching remotely in any way. This is the first time we’ve asked the entire faculty to participate in required summer professional development. Having a shared understanding, approach, and level of quality is an important element of next week’s work. In no surprise to anyone, our faculty are up for the task.

Development News

Thank you to everyone who has gone above and beyond to support The Meadowbrook Fund. During this unprecedented time, this community has truly stepped up to show their love and commitment to our school -- in historic measures. For those of you who have answered the call and stretched to donate to this fund, you have my deep gratitude. We have almost reached our goal of $2.1 million! Special thanks to our development team and development committee for spearheading this outstanding work! If you have not had a chance to give yet, please consider making a gift before the end of the fiscal year, June 30. As you read above, your investments in Meadowbrook have positioned us for strength in the upcoming year.

I’m happy to announce that we have hired Michele Daly to join our team as Chief Development Officer. Michele is a strategic partner, an experienced and accomplished fundraiser, and will be a tremendous asset to our school. Most recently, Michele has worked at Babson College as director of development, and prior to that, she spent more than a decade as the senior vice president for institutional advancement at Boston College High School. Michele will officially begin her work at Meadowbrook on July 15, and she is looking forward to meeting all of you as soon as possible. 

That’s all for now -- be sure to check your email next Thursday for another update. Have a great week! 

Be well,

arvind

Dear Meadowbrook community,

As our families get ready for a summer unlike any in recent memory, and as our state slowly lessens restrictions due to COVID-19, I imagine that we are all looking to the fall and wondering what lies ahead for Meadowbrook. 

Many of you have asked what the plans are for welcoming students and faculty back in the fall. Here is the bad news - we do not know yet. Here is the good news - we do not know yet. In fact, no one knows what next year will entail. This is good news as we won’t operate from a place of hubris, but rather, humility. Despite the fundamental truth that we do not have a specific plan in place yet, we do have a principled approach that will take advantage of some of Meadowbrook’s strengths: innovation and continuous learning.

Our Ambition

The Meadowbrook Way is our way forward - our steadfast dedication to our mission; supremely talented teachers creating joyful and challenging learning experiences; and a community that is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts.

In short, we will build for the Meadowbrook we know and love - a school that is a dynamic hub of teaching and learning where the community vibrates with love and care for each other. If we are able to keep our students at the heart of our decisions and empower our faculty to lead, we can account for nearly any situation that follows in a way that respects what they need. This will allow them to persevere and succeed at whatever comes next for them, be it first grade, high school, distance learning, or their life’s work!

Scenarios

I fully expect next year to have interruptions to what we all know and love as “normal” school. It is my deepest wish that our students, faculty, and families can return to school in person come fall. Some experts are predicting delayed starts to the school year; others expect schools to flex between opening doors and closing them; others are more pessimistic on how long schools will be closed. Without clarity on this now, we can imagine needing to be able to manage a variety of scenarios, including: 

 

Each of these scenarios carries with it complex training, staffing, logistical, and health/safety needs. We are planning for and will be investing in the most challenging scenarios to ensure we are ready. In fact, many steps have already been taken such as cutting unnecessary spending, creating a new operating expense account, redirecting staff time, and researching experts to partner with to extend our capabilities, to name a few. 

Set Priorities

We will use two foundational priorities to ensure that we can rise to the aspirations of our mission: health and safety, and academic excellence. Every action and decision we make will help support and advance these priorities. As this disruptive period continues, health and safety and academic excellence are non-negotiable priorities.

Learning From Others

One distinct advantage we have is that we are more than three months away from the start of the school year. We will not rush to open early as some colleges are planning. We will take all the time in front of us to learn from others and from our own experiments this spring. Schools around the world are reopening, businesses in our local area are reopening. What is working, what isn’t? Where can we invest during this time to ensure a safe school, where students can grow and thrive, academically, physically, socially, and emotionally?

Selected Questions We've Been Asked

Q: When will we know the plan for fall?

A: The administrative team has been meeting daily since March 11th, and the Executive Committee of the Board weekly since April 6th to constantly evaluate our plans. While we will continue to evaluate until we start the school year, we plan to announce final draft plans on or about August 1st. We will provide weekly updates throughout the summer with our progress.

Q: Who decides if and when we are open?

The decision on whether we can legally open is likely to be made by both state and local officials. We will always add an additional layer of scrutiny to every piece of guidance and in the end, if it is legal to open, the decision is ours to make. As head of school, I will make that decision in close communication with our board of trustees, our consulting physician, our health/safety team, and local health officials. It's a privilege as an independent school; we will always do what is in the best interest of our students and school.

Q: What if school opens and my child is not able to attend for some reason (health reasons, quarantine, our comfort level, etc.)?

A: While we don’t know what scenario we will face, we must be prepared to serve students at a distance. We can envision scenarios with students being quarantined, teachers being quarantined, special health risks for individuals, etc. We will need to be prepared to serve students at a distance. If the majority of the school population has returned to school, their teaching needs may be prioritized, but those at home will not be left behind. As we get closer to the start of school we will add clarity as to what this might look like.

How We Are Proceeding

In addition to the many teams already working through our response this year, we will assemble more teams to do critical work this summer. These groups will be looking at all things Meadowbrook including: health and safety, academic program, communication, finances, community, and other aspects of life at school. These groups will be composed of faculty, expert volunteers from our community, and outside experts, as needed. They will make recommendations to me and we will be ready to move quickly on their recommendations, as needed. We are still thinking about all the specific tasks those groups should tackle, and we are also considering adding more groups, as necessary.

High Performance

Something on my mind of concern is the exhaustion of our faculty, teachers and non-teachers alike. They have been working at breakneck speed since mid-March; many have taken no vacation since December, and they need a reprieve. Any coach of a high-performing team knows that one of the most essential characteristics of high performers is deep rest and recovery. When I look at the Meadowbrook faculty, I see the teaching equivalent of the New England Patriots! When the season ends, I am going to help them rest. With that in mind, I will be closing the school during the week of June 15. During that week, our entire faculty, including the year-round administration and staff, will be off. The school will close on Friday, June 12 at 4 pm and will reopen on Monday, June 22 at 9:00 am. While this has the benefit of being the right thing to do, it has the added benefit of letting my team return, rested and ready to tackle the enormous challenge of what is ahead. Thank you, in advance, for supporting this. Know that you won’t hear back from us that week if you reach out!

Conclusion

After a joyous graduation, a faculty and family send-off,  and once we have had a chance to regroup, we will dive headfirst back to the work of preparing Meadowbrook for the fall. There is no question in my mind that this faculty is up for the challenge. I have said many times these past two months, there is no other group of people I would want to face this task with. This is the faculty we need for this unprecedented time in our school’s history. I know that we have the courage, the acumen, and the grit to meet whatever faces us. Despite the obstacles ahead of us, we will continue to offer the best educational experience so that your children are known, loved, and challenged. They, and we, will be stronger having been part of this community in these times.

It’s an honor to be in this community with you. Thank you for your ever-present support. 

Humbly yours,

arvind grover

Dear Families,

We are committed to making next year an incredible one, one where our community rallies together to persevere over and through the obstacles in front of us. We always aspire to have our students come out of a year stronger than they entered, and this upcoming year will be no exception. In order to do that, we continue to make plans and investments in our future.

In that spirit, I am pleased to announce several personnel updates:

Middle School Science Teacher
Replacing CJ Bell as one of our middle school science teachers is Lisa R. Troy. Lisa joins us from The Sage School in Foxboro, where she has been teaching science for nine years. Previously, Lisa worked at The Woodward School for Girls and The Indian Mountain School. With over seventeen years of independent school experience, Lisa will be an excellent addition to our science department. The hiring committee was particularly impressed with Lisa’s experience in project-based learning and her passion for sustainability education, and we can’t wait for her to join us in the fall.

Music Teacher
We are thrilled to welcome Alicia Mathewson as our new music teacher, succeeding the venerable Linda Rapciak. Alicia has taught music all over the world and has released five albums of her own. She has instructed students in voice, guitar, and ukulele, and is ready to bring her experience to Meadowbrook. Alicia currently teaches music at Wellan Montessori in Newton. Previously, she has been a music and choral instructor at Cape Cod Academy. Alicia is also a certified Yoga and Wellness teacher for children, and our hiring committee was impressed with her calming spirit, her glowing references, and her demonstrated excellence in all things music and music education.

Fourth Grade Parental Leave Substitute Teacher
With 4th Grade teacher Emma Bain going out on parental leave, Meadowbrook sought a long-term substitute to join Sandy Smith and Peter Newby in the fall. Romana Mohiuddin will be returning to the fourth grade classroom to fill this role; Romana subbed for 4th grade multiple times this past year when Ms. Smith was on leave and when Mr. Newby and Ms. Bain were out for a week-long professional development program. We are looking forward to her bringing her experience from over 20 years of teaching to our 4th graders. Throughout her career, Romana has taught in multiple lower school grades and has been an Early Education instructor and supervisor at Wheelock College. Currently, she serves as a Practicum Supervisor for Lesley University’s Graduate School of Education. During the interview process, Romana exhibited a true passion for elementary education. Her myriad experience and creativity are impressive and we know she will be a great addition to 4th Grade!

6th Grade Dean
Middle school science teacher K Fenstermacher is our new 6th Grade Dean. After three years of teaching at Meadowbrook, K has made an indelible impression on her students and colleagues alike. Her creativity and compassion for children make her an outstanding choice for this administrative position. She will be working with Head of Middle School Justin McLean over the summer to get ready for her new role in the fall.

Title IX Coordinator
Our new Title IX Coordinator is Senior Director of Communications Pam Scafati. In an effort to ensure the school’s financial stability, the school has applied for and received a federal loan that requires the School to comply with certain non-discrimination obligations under federal law.

Because the School has always made it a priority to ensure that all students, employees, and community members are treated in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner, including with respect to their gender, these changes are largely procedural. Additionally, effective immediately the School is implementing additional policies and procedures to enhance continued compliance with applicable law: Title IX Policy; Title IX Grievance Procedures; Title IX Complaint Form. These policies and procedures are available on the parent and faculty portals. All inquiries regarding our Title IX policies can be directed to Pam Scafati.

Multicultural Affairs Office Teaching Intern
We are welcoming back Regal Sealy as the multicultural affairs office teaching intern for next year. Regal assumed this position part time this year and will join us full time in the fall. Regal is a recent graduate from Lasell University and loves working with children. The intern program is one of the many ways in which we add multiple layers of support and teaching for our students.

Friday Morning Coffees With arvind
As I have been doing each week, I’ll be online and available for coffee, questions, and conversations on Friday morning. Please join me tomorrow any time from 7:30-8 am using this link.

Next week, Friday, May 29 at 8:00 am will be a special Community Appreciation Coffee on Zoom. Be on the lookout for more information on this next week, and be sure to save the date!  

I hope that you and your families are finding creative ways to stay healthy and enjoy each other’s company. One of my family’s goals has been to explore the natural beauty of our great state. This past weekend we enjoyed the Charles River Peninsula in Needham, part of the Trustees Reservation. The wildflowers were bursting into bloom and a delight to take in. Here is a list of which Trustees sites are open at this time. Please model excellent safe behavior for your children - healthy distances and masks for all!

 

Be well,
arvind

Dear families,  I love the end of the school year. It’s a time where I see months of tireless effort from students and teachers pay off in dividends. In a community that celebrates academic excellence at all levels, students brim with confidence in all they can now do that once seemed out of reach. This is what a year of learning and thriving at Meadowbrook is, and should be all about. This is clearly no ordinary year. I deeply miss seeing so many of the little and big ways in which students demonstrate their learning while we are in the building. I remain eternally grateful for the Meadowbrook faculty (and our new and amazing deputized parent/guardian faculty members) for recasting our whole school into a new medium. Our mission remains as true as ever and each day we get just a little better, and a little more ambitious to know, love, and challenge your children. It’s hard to believe, but we have entered the last weeks of the school year. During this time there are a number of things that we do to honor and celebrate learning. These are powerful days for kids when we are in school, and they remain just as important, more important even, in these times. Here is how we are reconfiguring major dates while we’re at a distance. Rashna and Justin will continue sharing more specific details about each division’s end of year activities in a separate communication, as they have been. I am really excited by how much thought, planning, and care for the students is going into making these days vibrant and vital. I’ve also been overwhelmed by the support families have offered to help with them all. Key Dates Wednesday, June 3: Lower School Step Up Day (Grades JK-4) Friday, June 5: Last day of classes  Friday, June 5: Lower School closing celebration (details coming soon!) Monday, June 8: Middle School Step Up Day (Grades 5-7) Week of June 8: Lower School one-on-one check-ins with each family  Tuesday, June 9: Virtual Graduation for the Class of 2020, live via Meadowbrook’s YouTube Live Channel. The class of 2020 will be watching live, and all others are welcome to join and celebrate this amazing and historic class! Wednesday, June 10: Honor Drive through campus for the Class of 2020. Please note: this is for 8th Grade families only. Tuesday, September 8: First day of school for 2020-21 academic year Lunch with the Leadership  Finally, I would like to thank all of you who attended our “Lunch with the Leadership” webinar earlier this week. I was happy that so many of you were able to hear some of the thinking and careful deliberation that goes into each decision we make. So often, I wish that you could all be in all the different faculty meetings to hear the dialogue, the sharing of research, the advocacy on behalf of teachers and students -- it’s all truly inspiring. Many times, I’ll just say aloud, “I love watching you all work,” and that is where the idea for Wednesday’s webinar came from. I wanted to give you all a little peek into the conversations that I am so lucky to be part of, and to offer some insight into how we are thinking about the myriad challenges now facing us. If you were not able to attend but would like to watch the recording, it’s available here.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  arvind

 

 

Click the picture above to watch a video message from Head of School arvind grover, inviting you to:

Lunch with the Leadership! 
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
12:00 - 12:45pm

 

Come listen to the academic leaders of the school share their current thinking on teaching and learning, today and in the months to come. 
 

Dear Meadowbrook families,

It’s been just a few days since Governor Baker ordered schools closed for the rest of the year, but the news is beginning to sink in. Today I met with the 8th graders to express my unending support for them and also share in the many mixed emotions that go with having to complete their school year at a distance. I’m buoyed to know that we will honor them, and every student and faculty member, for their tremendous work this year. Many of you are becoming honorary members of this faculty, too!

I have a few notes to share with you today:

Distance Learning Update
We are completing week four of learning at a distance. As an educator, this has been some of the most challenging work of my intellectual life, and I know many faculty members share in that sentiment.

Many of you have asked how the faculty are doing, and I’m grateful. I will be candid -- there is a wide range of answers. Many of our faculty members are safe and able to lean in to this new way of working; others face significant challenges at home from health-related issues to family logistics to financial hardship. We are working to support all of them. After all, what even is Meadowbrook without our amazing faculty members leading it?

In no surprise to me, our faculty have been finding terrific ways to support each other - last night there was a faculty book club meeting; yesterday a faculty member creatively started “Thursday Thanks” where we publicly (and digitally) express gratitude to others (something we normally do to start faculty meetings). These are just a couple of highlights of how the faculty are showing up for each other.

In the coming weeks we will invite you to a virtual gathering to share our vision for the rest of the school year. We have important educational decisions to make. What is the best use of synchronous vs. asynchronous time for kids? How is it different for young students vs. older students? What should the volume of work be? How should assessment and grading work? These are some of the many topics on our minds, ones we debate pretty much daily. We carefully work to address all of them, always keeping our mission and goals at the front, and keeping our students in our hearts. Come join us to spend time together, and also to hear our best thinking on educating kids at a distance, while they are restricted to their homes. You’ll receive a formal invitation with more details soon.

Because we have shifted to teaching and learning at a distance, we have updated our responsible technology use policies to more clearly articulate how the technology will be used. As always, we will do what is in the best interest of students. The addendum to our policy includes notice of recording classes at times to share with students who missed class, among asking all families and children to use the tech resources appropriately. Please review the policy here; it is in place effective immediately. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Director of Innovation and Technology Jonathan Schmid. 

In the spirit of continuing to improve, the Middle School will have a change in their daily schedule beginning on Monday, April 27. Middle School families, be sure to check your email for an update from Head of Middle School Justin McLean. Your students should already be aware of these changes. 

 

Feedback
When we launched our distance learning plan, we shared that we have three interconnected goals: 1) to promote wellbeing, 2) to build a community of belonging, and 3) to advance learning. 

We want to know how well you think Meadowbrook is delivering on those goals. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts with us. As we have said from the beginning, this is an iterative process that will continue to evolve as we learn and experiment. Your feedback helps inform our thinking, so thank you for taking the time to let us know what is working for you. 

 

Calendar Notes
Looking ahead to what would have been on our school calendar for the next few weeks, I wanted to let you know that our Leadership Chat planned for Tuesday will move to the Friday morning Zoom coffee. Be sure to join me and other members of the leadership team next Friday morning, May 1 at 7:30-8:30 am. Drop in anytime to say hello and ask some questions. I have been loving these Friday morning check-ins and enjoying seeing everyone, with some cameo appearances from some kids and pets too! Here is the Zoom link for next Friday’s Leadership Chat; remember that you can always find links to meetings in the calendar section of Parent Portal. 

Sadly, we will not be having Fine Arts Night next week. This is one of the great Meadowbrook traditions and our stellar arts department is in the process of reimagining what a celebration of the arts could look like. Stay tuned for more details on this; right now, we are thinking of having a week-long celebration of the arts in May to celebrate our student artists.

 

Personnel Updates

I’m over the moon to share the news that a beloved faculty member is returning to Meadowbrook -- Carrie Wihbey, English teacher extraordinaire, will return to school on May 1st after being on leave this year. Margaret Monteith, who has filled in for Carrie with distinction, will continue with us through the year and Carrie and Margaret will collaborate on teaching and leading classes.

I’m excited to announce that we’ve hired the newest member of the Meadowbrook faculty - Dan Riles will be our new innovation coach. Dan will begin over the summer. He’s a seasoned educator having been a homeroom teacher from grades 1-6, a skilled educational technologist, and instructional coach for teachers. With over two decades of teaching experience, Dan will be joining us from the Brookwood School; prior to that, he taught at Derby Academy and Kingsley Montessori, among other schools. He’ll be working directly with students teaching classes and with teachers helping them innovate and integrate with technology. 

As always, thank you for your ongoing support. I wish you a wonderful, restful weekend. 

Sincerely,

arvind

Before we begin the long weekend, Mr. grover has a short video message to share with you.  

And in case you missed it, be sure to check out last night's Middle School Film Festival and today's Lower School Hootenanny! 

Before we begin the long weekend, Mr. grover wanted to share a video message with everyone. Click the image below to watch. Have a safe, healthy weekend, Meadowbrook! 

Dear families,
It has been heartwarming to hear from many of you, and to see many of you and your children via increasingly-ubiquitous Zoom calls this week! While not quite the same as someone popping by my office, I am surprisingly thrilled when a new square box with a person pops up on my screen.

Distance Learning Update

What a week this has been! Yesterday morning I joined the Middle School Meeting, a Zoom call with well over 120 students and faculty members gathering to support each other; it was a hallmark example of the Meadowbrook learning community at its best. It’s one of the countless ways I have been overwhelmed by our amazing educators during our first week of distance learning. I am so proud of this learning community and grateful to be a part of it.

We would love your feedback on how this first week was for your child(ren) and you. What went well? What suggestions do you have for improvement? As you may have heard me say before, this will be an evolving, growing process over the next many weeks and we have no doubt that what we thought would work on week 1 will look very different by the time we get to week 4. That’s ok and is welcome and expected! Please take a few minutes to fill out this feedback form so that we can hear your suggestions. Many of you have emailed wonderful ideas and suggestions to various people. Please be sure to use our feedback forms to get your ideas in front of the right people.

Based on input from faculty members, families, and even students, we will add additional live opportunities for Lower School students and teachers to connect. Be on the lookout for more specific information from Lower School teachers. 

As with all new ventures, we know there were some bumps in the road. Both learning management systems SeeSaw (used by JK through Grade 3) and Schoology (used by grades 4-8) experienced system slowdowns and performance issues due to overwhelming demand from across the world! Our tech team is in close contact with both providers, who have already made performance improvements. Remember that tech help is always available on the parent portal, and includes information on which systems are having trouble, if any.

We’ve added a Frequently Asked Questions section to the Parent Portal. This is changing quickly and we’ll continue to update it as we go.

Navigating This Challenge

We continue to assess how best to support our faculty and serve our families in these challenging times. I’ll continue to seek both your patience and your guidance as we work to improve. Finding ways to make the incredible demands of teaching at a distance, online via a global pandemic, has no one right answer. Each and every member of our faculty, teaching and non-teaching, has a different set of personal and professional circumstances, and I care about them all; that same sentiment applies to all of you. The faculty has been and is dedicated to finding ways to support all of you while they support themselves and their families. The spirit has been incredible and positive; I also want you to know that faculty members are sacrificing to serve, and some have experienced tremendous hardships.

I’m cognizant that none of us knows how the coming weeks and months will proceed. Given that, we remain committed to being agile, being open to changes, all the while trying to find sustainable methods for faculty and families alike.

Parent-Teacher Conference Days Replaced with Distance Learning Days

We are canceling parent-teacher conference days (previously scheduled for April 15 and 16). Those days will now be distance learning days for all grades. Middle School families can expect quarter 3 reports next week, and Lower School families can continue to be in touch with teachers via email. Teachers will reach out to families when additional communication is needed. 

Personnel Updates

I’m pleased to announce that we have hired a new member of the middle school math department, Leah Weintraub. In addition to teaching, Leah will serve as the chair of the middle school math department. Leah comes to us with many years of teaching and administrative experience at Harlem Academy in New York, where she is currently the Educational Director. Our hiring committee was especially impressed with Leah’s impeccably high bar for math excellence and her universally glowing references. Please join me in welcoming Leah to Team Meadowbrook. She will be joining us in the fall. 

Middle School science department chair C.J. Bell will be departing Meadowbrook at the end of the school year to relocate to North Carolina, where her husband has taken a new job. In her two years with us, C.J. has made a huge impact on our middle school. Her contributions to the science program and school life will be missed by students and faculty alike. Please join me in wishing C.J. the best! We have begun a search for a new member of the science department.

Get Connected in New Ways

Be sure to check the Parent Portal and see the calendar for Zoom links to parent get-togethers. This is a great way to stay in touch! I’m grateful for the Parents Association and Room Parents for hosting parent/guardian socials.

I’m also hosting coffees each Friday morning from 7:30-8:30am, beginning Friday, April 17, so please stop by and say hello! Today’s coffee was especially lovely; after consoling each other for some time, one parent had the great idea to share positive things we’re doing and experiencing being home with our kids - I was particularly impressed by the creativity and love families were expressing!

Parents are also connecting with each other on the new Meadowbrook Families Facebook group, a private group just for Meadowbrook families. And if you are not already, be sure to follow Meadowbrook’s social media channels, especially Facebook and Instagram. 

I hope that you have a restorative, and significantly less rainy, weekend. 

 

Be well,

arvind

Dear families, 

As we reach the end of a busy week for Meadowbrook, I really just want to thank you all for your tremendous support. I am overwhelmed -- in the best possible way -- by the offers of help, the thank you messages, and the encouragement. I know I say this a lot, but truly, I have never been so grateful to be part of the Meadowbrook community. 

In that spirit, I wanted to let you know that teachers and administrators are all feeling that similar love and outreach. We are reading all your emails and hearing you -- and it is definitely taking longer than usual for you to hear back from us! We feel a little bit like one of those call centers that say “we are experiencing higher call volume than normal,” and we just want you to know we are listening! 

Check-in and feedback form

To that end, we want to know how you are doing. Please take a few minutes to complete this check-in/feedback form. It’s a way for us to get a sense from our families about how you all are doing and what kind of help you need from us. I can only imagine how each of your families are managing in these truly remarkable times. Know that I think you’re doing all you can do, which is amazing. 

Distance Learning Kickoff and Orientation Resources for Families

Distance learning begins this Monday, March 30. Many of you attended webinars yesterday and today to get oriented on what to expect. If you were unable to join us, recordings are available. Click here to watch the Lower School Parent Orientation and click here to watch the Middle School Parent Orientation. These videos and other resources are also available on the Parent Portal of the website. Be sure to log in and check out what’s available there. If you have forgotten your login information, please email Pam Ulrickson, who can help. 

 

 

 

Key Dates for Distance Learning and Potential School Building Reopening

Finally, I’m sure many of you have heard that Governor Baker has ordered all schools in Massachusetts closed through May 4. We will continue our distance learning program until at least that date, and we will be monitoring the situation to see when we can safely return after May 4th. Just two weeks ago I could not have imagined not seeing you and your children in person until May. I’m brokenhearted to stay far from you all for this long, and I’m also buoyed by all we’re trying to do to care for each other.

As a reminder, we have two upcoming school holidays: Good Friday (April 10) and Patriot’s Day (April 20); we will honor those holidays and have a break from distance learning on those days. All events between now and May 4th should be considered “off” - some will be postponed, some will be canceled, and some will be recreated, virtually!

Come have coffee with me

I miss seeing you all and would love to have coffee with you. These will be times where we can simply catch up, socialize. I’d love to see your faces and hear how you’ve been.

• Monday March 30, 7:30-8:30 am
• Tuesday March 31, 7:30-8:30 am
• Tuesday March 31, 4-4:30 pm
• Wednesday April 1, 7:30-8:30 am
• Friday April 3, 7:30-8:30 am

Drop in at any point to say hello. To join by video (my preference!) click:

https://zoom.us/j/861925985

Or to call in by phone, dial: 

646-558-8656 (Meeting ID: 861 925 985)

Conclusion

I wish you all a restful and healthy weekend. I gather virtually with a group of heads of school a few times a week since this all began. We are reminding each other, and all our families that the best thing we can do for our children right now is to actually start by taking care of ourselves - if we are physically, mentally, emotionally, even spiritually, healthy, we can care for our children. So I implore you to care for yourselves, too, even first, so you can be your best self for your young people. I am doing my best to do the same for my family, my friends, and this community. If you’re interested, here’s my favorite meditation app and my favorite 7-minute workout!

We are looking forward to a new chapter of Meadowbrook come Monday! 

Sincerely,
arvind s. grover
Head of School 

Click here to view a video message from Head of School arvind grover. Stay safe and well. Be sure to reply to this email to send notes to Mr. grover directly! 

 

 

PS: My pick of the week location is the deCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln. We had a family picnic there and enjoyed it! It's free but fair warning: there are no restrooms!

 

 

Dear families,

After careful consideration, we have decided that in the interest of the safety of our community, Meadowbrook will be closed until at least Monday, April 13. On Monday, March 30, students will begin distance learning. Please watch the video below to hear more details about how we can all support each other during this time. We are also asking all families to complete this survey to tell us about the technology resources you have available at home. 

Feel free to reply to this email if you have feedback you’d like to offer. Thank you for supporting each other during these unprecedented times. As always, we welcome the opportunity to hear from you. 

Sincerely,
 

arvind s. grover
Head of School 

 

Dear families,

As the country and the world continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19, I am writing today with an update from Meadowbrook along with information on what we will need from your family as we focus on the safety and health of the school community.  

We continue to be in regular contact with local health officials and are carefully monitoring local, state, and national health organizations for the most up-to-date guidance on keeping our school safe and healthy for everyone. I am also grateful for all of you who have shared resources with us. I’ve included a few of the most helpful resources we have at the bottom of this email.

Spring vacation and travel guidance

One of the necessary elements of Meadowbrook’s preparation is to gather accurate information about where our community members are traveling in the coming weeks. 

To that end, all families and faculty -- whether you are traveling or not -- are required to complete this form to advise us of your travel plans. This mandatory registration allows us to create a record of where members of our community have been, should infection occur in our community. Please complete this form by Wednesday, March 18. 

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR TRAVEL PLANS

Important note: Families will not be able to return to school after spring break until this process is completed. 

We are intentionally taking strong measures to ensure student, family, and faculty safety. We will need every community member’s cooperation to make this happen, so I thank you in advance for helping us. All information gathered will be shared only with appropriate school personnel; we would share it with public health authorities should the need arise.

With our upcoming spring vacation involving travel for many families we offer the following general guidelines:

• If your Meadowbrook student (or anyone who lives with your Meadowbrook student) travels to a level 3 country (as designated by the CDC), they must stay home from school for 14 days from the time they left and practice social distancing (e.g. not attending off-campus Meadowbrook-connected gatherings).
• If the CDC changes designation of a country you visited to level 3 during or immediately following your trip, we will require the same 14-day waiting period to return to school.
• If your Meadowbrook student has had contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19, they must stay home from school for 14 days as well. Please notify the school right away if you suspect your child has been exposed. 

 

Upcoming student trips

We continue to be told that the U.S. and Massachusetts remain at low-level risk for COVID-19 transmissions. We have two scheduled upcoming overnight domestic trips for students which cover the Baltimore/Washington DC Metro Areas and Gettysburg, PA. The CDC has not placed any restrictions on domestic travel. As of now, both trips are proceeding. Of course, the situation is evolving rapidly and we can and will make any necessary changes to trips.

 

Stop the spread of germs

We are continuing our vigilance here at Meadowbrook. The best advice for illness prevention is to practice good personal hygiene habits -- thorough hand washing, not touching your face, coughing/sneezing into a tissue or your elbow, and staying home if you are sick. It is worth repeating: please keep your child home if they are sick. Our faculty will be very understanding of absences due to illness! 

Our consulting physician has asked us to remind all families that if you suspect that you or your child may have the virus, the best course of action is to consult your primary care physician or pediatrician's office for guidance. She noted that many facilities do not have testing kits as yet. 

Potential school closure

In the unlikely event of a longer-term closure, our faculty is considering many options, including the possibility of sharing learning resources with you and your children remotely. School closure decisions may be made by local, state, or federal agencies, or by the school itself. We met as a full faculty this past Friday and discussed how we could best serve students and families should we be closed. We are all hopeful that a closure will not be necessary.

On speaking to your children

A key role in the lives of children is to help them be safe, physically and emotionally. Please limit their media exposure and discussion of this pandemic. We don’t want to ignore their needs, but we do only want to give them what they need. Riverside Trauma Center has a brief and helpful guide on how to manage your own reaction to all of this and how to talk to your children about it. It is attached.

Despite the intensity of all that is going on right now, I am hopeful that you and your families are able to have an enjoyable spring break. I know that quality family time, rest, and as always, some great reading, is high on my list. Thank you always for your partnership in keeping our community healthy,

Sincerely, 


arvind s. grover
Head of School 



Additional resources:

CDC Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) site

CDC Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information for Travel

Mass.Gov Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) site

Dear families,

Today we have been made aware of a presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in a parent of two Wellesley Public Schools students. Two schools there closed early today so that they could be thoroughly cleaned. Additionally, late this afternoon we were informed that a parent of a Weston Middle School student has suspected exposure to COVID-19. As a result of that news, the Weston Middle School has been closed for the weekend to be cleaned and disinfected. To the best of our knowledge, all of these schools are planning to reopen for the regular school day on Monday morning. 

We have no new news to report specific to Meadowbrook. We remain in regular communication with local health officials, and we are continuing regular cleaning practices in addition to a deeper clean this weekend.  We will be sure to let you know if things change. 

Our common refrain bears repeating: If your child is sick, please keep them home. Some of our devoted students have pleaded with their parents to come to school even when sick. As a head of school, what better problem could I ask for? If you have any reason to suspect that you or your child has been exposed to COVID-19, please reach out to me or the School Nurse, Kim O'Toole immediately.

Today our faculty spent the majority of the afternoon planning for impacts of a potential school closure. While we remain hopeful that closure is an unlikely situation, we want to be as prepared as we can be. After I briefed the full faculty, we broke up into three teams: lower school, middle school, and non-teaching faculty. All groups worked together to come up with ideas on how they could best support students, families, and each other in the event of a closure.

I will be back in touch before spring break begins next week with another update. 

 

Sincerely,

arvind grover
Head of School 

Dear families,

I’m reaching out to you again today to provide an update on how we at Meadowbrook are responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

As you have heard me say many times, the safety of our students is always our top priority. With that in mind, we have been in regular communication with the town of Weston’s Board of Health. We are monitoring information from the Centers for Disease Control, the State Department, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. We have also received guidance from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Health officials continue to assure us that the risk to our community for coronavirus is low, while the risk of influenza virus remains high. We will continue to follow the guidance of our local and national health experts as we make decisions for Meadowbrook.

Our standard preventative health measures remain in place, and our teachers are reminding students that good hand washing is still our best practice to stay healthy. Students should also avoid touching their face, mouth, and eyes. You can help remind your children about hand washing while at school and encourage them to practice it at home as well. As always, we ask that students stay home if they are sick. Students should be fever-free without the benefit of fever-reducing medications for a full 24 hours before returning to school. This is critically important and we need everyone’s help to keep our community strong. 

Right now, we are not considering closing school due to either flu or coronavirus. We are working hard to keep everyone in our community healthy. If a situation arose where we needed to close school we would do so without hesitation. We are currently considering all implications to students, faculty, and families in what we hope is an unlikely scenario of needing to close. Any decision we make would be done in consultation with advice from local experts and health officials. There are scenarios where local officials would make the call for us to be closed, and we also reserve the right to close school should we feel it the most prudent thing to do.

As I mentioned in my message to you last month, it is important for us to remember that when scary things are in the news kids often are listening carefully and watching closely. Here is some guidance as you think about how to best support your kids.

• Let them know they are safe - they are safe at home and at school. Let them know the grown-ups are working carefully to make sure that is so. That is our job, not theirs.
• Talk to them - listen and watch to see if they want to talk, and if they do, make time for it. 
• Meet them where they are - it will look very different for young children (short and simple conversation, very concrete), upper elementary and early middle school (answer questions, separate reality from fantasy), and older children (longer discussion, perhaps reading something informative together, focused primarily on their own role in safety and how to get support/help if they need it).
• Remind them how to stay safe - in this case, active handwashing with soap and water, not sharing drinks, coughing/sneezing into an elbow, etc.
• Keep an eye out - watch for changes in their state (different eating/sleeping habits, etc) to see how they are doing emotionally
• Maintain a normal routine - this is critical for children (and helpful for adults, too). Give them the mental security of knowing what they’re doing each day.

This is a quickly evolving situation, and we are receiving updates often. We will continue to provide regular updates as we have more information to share. 

Thank you for being true collaborators in ensuring that all Meadowbrook kids have a safe place to learn every day.

Sincerely, 

arvind s. grover
Head of School 

Dear Meadowbrook families,

As you likely know from national news reports, a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan City in China and is spreading. The most important thing to me and this faculty is the health and safety of your children. We have been closely following the guidelines and updates from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, and we have also been in touch with the Weston board of health.

As health officials manage the response to this new coronavirus, they tell us that we should proceed in the same manner in which we combat the flu virus.  Although this is a situation of great concern, these organizations are not identifying the outbreak as a public health emergency locally. What is of concern is the spread of seasonal influenza; the flu remains a much more prevalent health risk in our community at the current time.

As a reminder, please observe the following guidelines and remind your children to practice healthy hygiene:

1. Wash hands often: 20 seconds with hot water and soap if available, otherwise with a 60% or higher alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Students who become ill must remain home until 24 hours fever free (without fever-reducing medication) 

 

China trip
Meadowbrook’s bi-annual cultural immersion trip to China is scheduled for summer 2020. This is an incredible experience and many dozens of students, faculty, and families have experienced the wonders of China and its people over the years. Due to the emergent circumstances we may or may not be able to offer the trip this year. We have not yet made a final determination about whether the trip will take place. 

 

Talking to your kids
When scary things are in the news kids often are listening carefully and watching closely. Here is some guidance as you think about how to best support your kids.

1. Let them know they are safe - they are safe at home and at school. Let them know the grown ups are working carefully to make sure that is so. 
2. Talk to them - listen and watch to see if they want to talk, and if they do, make time for it. 
3. Meet them where they are - it will look very different for young children (short and simple conversation, very concrete), upper elementary and early middle school (answer questions, separate reality from fantasy), and older children (longer discussion, perhaps reading something informative together, focused primarily on their own role in safety and how to get support/help if they need it).
4. Remind them how to stay safe - in this case, active handwashing with soap and water
5. Keep an eye out - watch for changes in their state (different eating/sleeping habits, etc) to see how they are doing emotionally
6. Maintain a normal routine - this is critical for children (and extremely helpful for adults, too). Give them the mental security of knowing what they’re doing each day.

We have heard students talking about the virus, about China, about impact on friends and family, and more, all out of this news. We have had to intervene at times to interrupt factual inaccuracies. It is important to help students avoid buying into and relaying stereotypes about Chinese people, food, and customs, so we will proactively do this. I ask for your support in this, too.

 

Be sure to keep an eye out for misinformation. In the age of lightning-fast social media, facts often lose out to sensational stories. In a school like ours we embrace knowledge and facts; we learn from and rely upon science. I often ask people to distinguish between the facts and the story. You can model this for and with your children.

As always, we will monitor this situation and any situation that could impact the health of our students. I will be back in touch should we need to share any other information with you. At the risk of reiterating, your children’s safety is our number one priority.

Sincerely,

arvind s. grover
Head of School