5/5

Dear Boulder Journey School Families, 
We look forward to seeing some of you on Monday, May 11, and many others in June. If you have not yet notified Christi of your Summer plans, please do so by May 15. Thank you for your patience. We know this period of time has not been easy for anyone. 


A few updates and reminders:
  1. Teachers will continue some form of online learning through May for those of you who are not returning yet. 
  2. The teachers have created a beautiful digital storybook to help children anticipate the changes they will encounter at school. The storybook is attached below so that you may read it to your children prior to returning to school. 
  3. There will be some changes to our Summer Calendar so that we can remain open more days this Summer, in order to offer you some form of compensation for days missed. (See new Summer calendar attached below.) 
  4. We are collecting flat bed sheets to drape over cushion covers, so that we may wash the sofas more regularly. If you have any extra flat sheets you are not using, please bring them to school next week. 
  5. We are collecting towels to use while disinfecting the classroom materials. If you have any bath towels to donate, please bring them to school next week. 
  6. Nap blankets will come home every week on Thursday or Friday, so that you can wash them. 
  7. Remember to pack some additional food for snacks, as well as any dishes or silverware your children will be using to eat at school. 
  8. Remember to send a water bottle each day and to disinfect it each evening. 
  9. We are not assigning drop off times for the month of May. We will reconsider if assigned drop off times for each family are necessary for June and July. 
  10. Take the temperatures of both children and parents immediately before drop off each day. Anyone with a fever of 99.4 or above must be excluded from school. 
  11. Adults wear masks at drop off and pick up. 
  12. Apply sunscreen to your child no more than 30 minutes before drop off. 
  13. Read through all the information in Boulder Journey School COVID-19 Policies and Procedures here. Be familiar with the Symptoms and Exclusions information and report any symptom(s) to andrea.sisbarro@boulderjourneyschool.com so we can make reports to Public Health.


Thank you for your help in keeping our community safe. 


Sincerely, 
Alison, Andrea, Vicki, Fara, Christi, and Sam  


Storybook:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pT5Ruql-dhy5No6zXQ64ZC41WfAXipxE/view?usp=sharing​

4/24

Dear Boulder Journey School Families,

Boulder County Public Health has extended the Stay-at-Home order until Friday, May 8. You can learn more here: https://www.bouldercounty.org/families/disease/covid-19/ Sadly, this will prolong reopening the school until Monday, May 11. If you have communicated to Christi that you will return May 4, and need to change anything due to the delay in reopening, please reach out to her to make any needed adjustments.

As a faculty, we have made many detailed plans regarding how to best manage the risks of COVID-19 when we do reopen. You will find the initial draft of this plan attached below. You will notice that the plan is divided into two sections, one for families and one for teachers. It is most important that you read the section for families, but we included the other part for those who would like more detailed information. Additionally, we would like to host an open Zoom call on Wednesday, April 29 at 5:00 pm for anyone who has suggestions, recommendations, and questions. We appreciate any thoughts you have, as this plan is still being modified daily. 

A few more details:
  • Online learning will taper off as we near reopening, so that we can focus all of our attention on preparing for a “new normal” while at school. 
  • We have collected many masks, and still need many more. If you have any connections, please help us collect more. 

Sincerely,
Alison, Andrea, Vicki, Fara, Christi, and Sam
Boulder Journey School COVID-19 Policies and Procedures
Updated 4/24//20


Information for Families


How you can help before and after school
  1. Take the temperatures of both children and parents immediately before drop off each day. Anyone with a fever of 99.4 or above must be excluded from school. (See Symptoms and Exclusions below.)
  2. Wear masks at drop off and pick up. 
  3. Schedule your child’s bath time for immediately after school. 
  4. Dress your child in clean clothes each day they attend school.
  5. Disinfect lunch boxes daily. Pack extra food for snacks and pack any dishes or silverware needed. 
  6. If your child brings a lovie to school, disinfect it each day after school.
  7. Apply sunscreen to your child within 30 minutes of dropping off at school. This will help teachers know when to reapply.
  8. Commit to social distancing as a family. 


Drop off  
  1. We will organize a staggered start and families will have an assigned window to arrive at school. 
  2. Each family will enter through the front gate, located in the parking lot, and then walk clockwise around the school until you reach the outside of your child’s classroom vestibule door. Teachers will welcome children into the classroom through the vestibule. Parents are not able to enter the school building. Parents will continue walking in a clockwise direction and exit through the gate on the toddler yard. This gate is adjacent to Yarmouth Ave., and parents will follow the rocks along the outside of the fence to return to the parking lot. Someone will be stationed at the gates when they are open. 
  3. Sign in/sign out sheets will be pre-printed with children’s schedules and pick up information. Teachers will track children’s arrival and departure to ensure that they are the only ones touching the clipboard throughout the day.
  1. Any special instructions or information regarding your child can be verbally communicated to teachers and the information will be noted on the sign in sheet.
  2. Per the health department, we need to be able to get in touch with a parent or guardian within 30 minutes in case of emergency pick up. Your phone number must be up to date with the school.
  3.  For the time being we are requesting that parents drop off and pick up each day.  If you need to assign a different, consistent, pick up person, it should be someone who lives in your home. We will reevaluate this policy at the end of May. Please email office@boulderjourneyschool.com by Wednesday, April 29 to add this person’s name and phone number to your child’s sign in information. 
  4. Other daily information or changes should be emailed to the classroom teachers before 10:00am and to the office after 10:00am.
  5. Parents will not enter the building, so more in depth communication between teachers and parents will happen through email, phone calls, texts, and written notes. 
Pick Up
Children will be brought to the front of the school for pick up. We ask that you arrive on time. 


Hours of Operation
We will be open from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. If this is a reduction on your current schedule, Christi will adjust your tuition. 


Masks and Clothing 
Teachers, faculty members, and parents must wear masks during drop off and pick up. Teachers and faculty members will wear masks when in close contact with children. Safety glasses are optional. Masks must be clean. Children over the age of 3 years old can wear a mask if requested by parents, and teachers will make every effort to ensure the masks are used during the day. Parents must provide a clean mask for children each day. Children 2 years of age and younger are not permitted to wear masks. 


School Snack
Families will pack additional food for snacks throughout the day, as we are not able to serve school-wide snacks at this time. 


Symptoms and Exclusions
  1. We are required to report any symptoms present in people in the school community to Boulder County Public Health and they will provide guidance regarding exclusion time.
  2. Any one of the following symptoms require children or teachers to stay home from school and inform us as soon as possible. 
    1. A fever of 99.4 or above
    2. Cough
    3. Shortness of breath
    4. Stomach cramping
    5. Diarrhea
    6. Nausea
    7. Fatigue
    8. A family member living within your home has any one of the above symptoms
  3. If a child or staff member presents with any combination of the symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (fever of 99.4F or above, cough, shortness of breath, stomach cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, fatigue), the child or staff member must self-isolate at home until all of the following are true:
    1. The child or staff have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers)
    2. Other symptoms have greatly improved (for example, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, etc.)
    3. At least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
  4. Children with pre-existing health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 will need verification from a doctor to return.


What if someone in our community tests positive
At this time, the Health Department is advising us to consider anyone who presents with multiple COVID-19 symptoms (listed above) to be a presumed positive. If the child or staff are present at the center when presenting with multiple symptoms, Boulder Journey School is required to close for 24 hours for deep cleaning, disinfecting, and social distancing. 


Cleaning Classrooms and Materials
  1. We currently have enough cleaning supplies in order to disinfect the school environment as required by the health department.
  2. We will reduce the soft materials in the classrooms and select materials based on how easily they can be sterilized. 
  3. We will remove high touch materials from the outdoor spaces, such as bikes with handlebars.
  4. All classrooms will be disinfected using the regulations outlined by the Health Department daily. 


Information for Teachers


How families will help before and after school
  1. Families will take the temperatures of both children and parents immediately before drop off each day. Anyone with a fever of 99.4 or above must be excluded from school. (See Symptoms and Exclusions below.)
  2. Parents will wear masks at drop off and pick up. 
  3. Parents will schedule their child's bath time for immediately after school. 
  4. Parents will dress children in clean clothes each day they attend school.
  5. Parents will disinfect lunch boxes daily. 
  6. If a child brings a lovie to school, parents will disinfect it each day after school.
  7. Parents will apply sunscreen to their child within 30 minutes of dropping off at school. Teachers will reapply sunscreen every two hours from time of drop off.  
  8. Parents will commit to social distancing as a family. 


Drop off  
  1. Teachers will enter through the vestibule doors. 
  2. Families will have an assigned window to arrive at school in order to ensure a staggered drop off for the school community. Drop off will take place between 8:00 am - 9:30am daily. Someone will be stationed at the gates when they are open. 
  3. Each family will enter through the front gate, located in the parking lot, and then walk clockwise around the school until they reach the outside of their child’s classroom vestibule door. Teachers will welcome children into the classroom through the vestibule. Parents are not able to enter the school building. Parents will continue walking in a clockwise direction and exit through the gate on the toddler yard adjacent to Yarmouth Avenue, and follow the rocks to return to the parking lot. 
  4. Sign in/sign out sheets will be pre-printed with children’s schedules and pick up information. Teachers will track children’s arrival and departure to ensure that you are the only ones touching the clipboard throughout the day.
    1. Any special instructions or information regarding a child can be verbally communicated during drop off and the information must be noted on the sign in sheet.
    2. For the time being we are requesting that parents drop off and pick up each day.  If a different, consistent, pick up person for the month of May is assigned, it will be indicated on the pre-printed sign in information.
    3. Other daily information or changes may be emailed to you before 10:00am and to the office after 10:00am. Teachers should check their email at 10:00am each day. 
    4. Parents will not enter the building, so more in depth communication between teachers and parents will happen through email, phone calls, texts, and written notes. 
Pick Up
Children will be brought to the front of the school for pick up. Teachers leaving at the same time as children may be asked to escort children to the front of the school to meet their family. 


Cleaning Classrooms and Materials
  1. We currently have enough cleaning supplies in order to disinfect the school environment as required by the health department.
  2. (The faculty is still working on a more detailed plan from the Health Department for sterilizing materials that will go here.)
  3. Please reduce the soft materials in the classrooms and select materials based on how easily they can be sterilized. 
  4. High touch materials on the outdoor spaces, such as bikes with handlebars, have been removed from the playgrounds. 


Hours of Operation
We will be open from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. (This could change as we sort out staffing patterns for classrooms next week. You can expect more detailed information from us regarding your schedule and teacher schedules next week.)


Masks and Clothing 
  1. Teachers, faculty members, and parents must wear masks during drop off and pick up.
  2. Masks can be worn around the adult’s neck until they are within 4 feet of another person, when they need to be covering their mouth and nose.
  3. Masks must be clean each day. 
  4. Children over the age of 3 years old can wear a mask if requested by parents. Parents must provide a clean mask for children each day. 
  5. Children’s masks must be removed for napping. 
  6. Children 2 years of age and younger are not permitted to wear masks. 
  7. Safety glasses are optional.
  8. Teachers need to have a change of clothes available in the event they need to move to another classroom for the day or in the event a child presents symptoms while at school. 
  9. All clothing must be freshly laundered. 


Food
  1. Families will pack additional food for snacks throughout the day. We are not serving school-wide snacks. 
  2. Teachers should pack cold lunches, so we aren’t sharing the kitchen. 


Symptoms and Exclusions
  1. Any one of the following symptoms require children or teachers to stay home from school:
    1. A fever of 99.4 or above
    2. Cough
    3. Shortness of breath
    4. Stomach cramping
    5. Diarrhea
    6. Nausea
    7. Fatigue
    8. A family member living within your home has any one of the above symptoms
  2. If a child or staff member presents with any combination of the symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (fever of 99.4F or above, cough, shortness of breath, stomach cramping, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, fatigue), the child or staff member must self-isolate at home until all of the following are true:
    1. The child or staff member have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers)
    2. Other symptoms have greatly improved (for example, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, etc.)
    3. At least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
  3. Children with pre-existing health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 will need verification from a doctor to return. 
  4. We are not enrolling any new infants until August 2020.


What if someone in our community tests positive
At this time, the Health Department is advising us to consider anyone who presents with multiple COVID-19 symptoms (listed above) to be a presumed positive. If the child or staff are present at the center when presenting with multiple symptoms, Boulder Journey School is required to close for 24 hours for deep cleaning, disinfecting, and social distancing. 




General Information


Group Size and Co-mingling
  1. The group size cannot exceed 10 children plus teachers.  
  2. We will not use hallways and other community spaces, including the Theater and Studio.
  3. We will have a schedule for outdoor classrooms, so that we can avoid the commingling of classes outdoors. 
  4. The kitchen will not be accessible during the school day so teachers should pack lunches accordingly.
  5. Shared bathrooms will be divided up among faculty. 
  6. Resident Teachers will not go into the front office to sign in. The office faculty will track contact hours.
  7. No outside visitors will be permitted in the school. All tours and professional development have been cancelled. 


Health and Safety:
  1. All classrooms have easy access to hand wash sinks and hand wash sinks are stocked with soap and paper towels.
  2. We have the capacity to high heat launder bedding and other items daily.
  3. We have established a connection with Boulder County Public Health to notify them regarding staff, child, or family with COVID-19 related symptoms.
  4. Children who develop symptoms at school will be isolated in the Reflection Room until parents are able to pick up. 


Office Spaces and Directors
  1. Because our office spaces are crowded, some administrators and directors will continue to work from home. 
  2. School Directors will work at school, in separate office spaces, and will only go into their five assigned classrooms, and only if necessary.  

Information from the Department of Human Services https://covidchildcarecolorado.com/provider-faqs/
4/14

Dear Families,  We really enjoyed our Zoom conversations with some of you last week. It was nice to have an online space to be together and to think together. We left each meeting with a sense of camaraderie, as we try to navigate the unknown, which is incredibly powerful. Thank you! 
 At this point, we feel it necessary to extend closure through the end of April, with the hope of re-opening on Monday, May 4. Because we anticipate that school districts will remain closed until Fall, we will base our future decisions on Shelter in Place orders. Generally speaking, we do not feel comfortable reopening until Shelter in Place orders have been lifted by both the state of Colorado and the city of Boulder. 
 Please contact Christi if you need to adjust your April tuition due to these recent developments and please let her know your return date if you have not done so already. This will help us know how to invoice each family, and it will help us plan for the mandatory reduction of classroom group sizes. As a side note, we are reorganizing our Summer calendar with the hopes of remaining open during the Summer Conference days, days we are typically closed, in order to offer year-round families some form of compensation for days missed.
 Meanwhile, we are busy meeting and talking as a faculty to put plans in place for when we reopen. Here are some of the things being discussed:
 While social distancing is not possible with young children, how can we keep groups of children and adults from co-mingling?
Obviously, this is not how our school currently functions, and being all together is one of the greatest joys of being at school. Yet, with some small tweaks to our current organization, we think we can greatly reduce the number of people each member of our community encounters. Strategies will include dropping off and picking up outdoors at staggered times, closing the community spaces, reducing class sizes, and not combining classes at the beginning and end of the day. 
 How else can we reduce the spread of illness? 
We will make decisions regarding classroom materials based on how easily they can be sterilized. We will take children and adults’ temperatures throughout the day and those with temperatures above 99.4 will be excluded, as mandated by the Public Health Department. We are also discussing how we will use masks. At this point, masks are recommended, not required, for adults and children over 3. It is not safe for children under 3 to wear masks. 
 How can you help? 
Our community is large and we will need several hundred masks. If you, or a friend, or a neighbor, or a grandparent, know how to sew and are willing to help make us masks, please contact Assistant Director, Marisa Wheeler at marisa.wheeler@boulderjourneyschool.com. We will also reach out to local resources for masks if necessary, but we thought we should try to see what we can collect on our own first, and leave those resources for others if possible. 
 
Last, you may observe the various impacts of COVID-19 being integrated into your child’s play. It can be somewhat alarming to see a young child playing “coronavirus,” yet this should not be cause for concern. Young children process the world through play. The things that they process through play can be, at times, the more sad, confusing or scary aspects of life, such as death, war, and even COVID-19. This is a very normal and healthy way for children to respond to what they know about what is happening. 
 Along these same lines, you can support your children by reading them stories about what is happening, by inviting them to draw what they know or feel, by showing them what your face looks like with a mask on, and by even putting a mask on a baby doll for them to explore. One of our current parents and teacher educators, Ashley Marotta, has co-authored the digital book, We Wear Masks, that is linked here for you to read to your children at home. 
 Our educators are also working to refine the ways we will talk with children about COVID-19 when school reopens, so that we can have one collective approach that is aligned with what we know about how young children thrive and learn. 
 As always, please let us know if you have any suggestions, additions or questions.
We hope you all are happy and healthy! ​

4/4

Dear Boulder Journey School Families, 
Thank you so much for the generous and loving responses to all of our communications. We are incredibly grateful to have such a supportive family community. Sadly, the National Association of the Education of Young Children predicts that only 11% of early childhood centers will remain in operation after this crisis subsides. Due to your support, we feel confident that we will be one of those in the 11%, so thank you! Your efforts, both in tuition payments and/or in your unwavering encouragement, have not gone unnoticed. Please see the video message attached below, created by our entire faculty, extending our appreciation to all of you. 

As we continue to learn about how COVID-19 is affecting each person and each family within our community, we can see that this time at home with family is both precious and stressful, especially for those trying to navigate working from home with young children. Please reach out to your classroom teachers and/or School Director if there is anything else we can be doing to support your family specifically. 

In terms of when Boulder Journey School will reopen, you are probably already aware that the Boulder Valley School District will remain closed until April 30 and the Shelter in Place order could be extended until the end of the month as well. It seems likely that we, too, will need to remain closed until then. Yet, because of all of the reasons shared in previous communications, we would like to refrain from making this decision until we get closer to April 17. We understand that, at some point, we may need to separate ourselves from the decisions being made at the district level, yet it is difficult to know when to do this. 

We would like to offer you the possibility to join a Zoom call with the Director Team - Alison, Andrea, Vicki, Fara, Sam, and Christi - as another way to process this pandemic and how it is affecting our school community. You can sign up for one of the various times below and we will limit each call to 30 families. We will send a zoom link to everyone in each group the day before the call. 

Thank you again and we hope you all are safe and healthy.
3/18

Dear Boulder Journey School Families, 

We miss you terribly. A school is not a school without children, families, and educators. Thank you for all of the ways you have stayed connected to us virtually--through emails, on Facebook groups, on Zoom calls, etc. These connections are bringing us so much joy during a time of uncertainty and disconnection. 

We want to update you on what has occurred over the last few days. We have been under a great deal of pressure as we try to balance the health and safety of our children, families, and educators with what is being expected of us by government agencies. We are in direct or indirect communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Boulder County Public Health, the Department of Human Services, the Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Children’s Campaign, the University of Colorado Denver, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Governor's office. We have also been in communication with many schools and early childhood centers, locally and around the nation, so that we can make informed decisions in collaboration with others. 

While school districts around the country are being mandated to close, the message being received by early childhood settings is different. Early childhood education plays a critical role in emergency planning and response, as we serve as childcare for working families. Not only do we provide childcare for healthcare professionals, but the economy depends on everyone continuing to work in some capacity, an expectation which is especially challenging when young children are home. (The irony that one of America’s most underfunded social programs, early childhood education, is being tasked with keeping the nation's economy afloat is not lost on us. We can only hope that when this is all over that early childhood education gets the long overdue respect and attention it deserves.) On a positive note, early childhood educators are some of the most resourceful, creative, and hard-working people we have ever encountered, and we are up to the task. 

We have received an outpouring of love and support from so many of you. We cannot express enough how much we appreciate your patience and flexibility while we try to navigate a situation that is brand new for us all. We have also received communications from a couple of families asking questions and expressing frustrations. In an effort to be open with our communication, we will try to address those questions and others below, knowing that things are changing by the day and by the hour. This is likely both too little communication too late, and too much communication too soon. We feel stronger with you supporting us, so this is an attempt to put our current thinking into words. 

Why did we extend Spring Break and close for a longer period of time than indicated on the school calendar?

We closed in order to contribute to flattening the curve, a virus-abatement strategy that is intended to relieve some of the stress placed on our hospitals and healthcare professionals. We took our lead from the school districts, as we do for snow days. We also closed to give ourselves time to formulate a plan for how we will proceed to protect our children, families, and educators. We know that not having your children in school, while continuing to pay tuition, has been a sacrifice on your part and we are incredibly grateful to all of our families. We also know that this is not a long-term plan if lengthy closures are imposed.

Why did we not reimburse tuition for the 6 days that we extended Spring Break, and what are the financial losses we are experiencing as a school? 

The finances surrounding early childhood programs are extremely complicated due to the higher number of teachers required, as compared to K-12 schools, that also struggle to make ends meet, but to a lesser extent. In general, early childhood programs are challenging to sustain, due to the lack of funding that results in young families paying too much and educators getting paid too little. Thus, programs are forced to find alternative sources of revenue. We are fortunate to have had success in offering professional development to educators from around the world, which provides additional revenue to help subsidize the school. Yet, due to the spread of coronavirus, we have cancelled all visitors to the school for at least a month, and likely will have to extend that for several more months. We typically generate around $8,000 - $10,000 a month from our professional development programs. We are working on ways to increase the amount of online professional development opportunities we offer as a way to address this loss, but this will take some time.  

Additionally, we have forgone revenue from childcare over Spring Break, revenue that averages $10,000. These, of course, are only initial rough estimates surrounding financial losses, and many questions remain. For example:

  • Will we need to close again for small periods of time and how will this affect our families? 
  • How many of our families are experiencing economic loss and how will this affect the amount of tuition we receive? 
  • How many of our teachers will be sick and for how long?
  • Can we extend sick pay and for how long?
  • Will we need to hire substitute teachers? 
  • How can we continue to pay both hourly and salaried employees during periods of closure? 
  • How will this affect the significant amount of revenue we receive from our Summer Conference? 

We are looking into small business loans to be able to address some of the things listed above. We are also participating in conversations at the State level, with the hope that funding will be offered to ease the burden on families, educators, and early childhood schools. These conversations are unfolding right now.

Why are we hoping to re-open on March 30?
In addition to the perspectives shared above, young children thrive on playing with peers and with materials. This is essential to their development. Young children also seem to be the least affected by COVID-19, from what experts can tell. The CDC states that children with confirmed COVID-19 have generally presented with “mild, cold-like symptoms.” Additionally, because of state licensing requirements, early childhood centers have stronger practices in place than other public spaces surrounding cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting the physical environment. 

How will we keep your children safe?
  • Families will drop off and pick up children outside, so only children and educators are entering the building. 
  • Children and teachers will be separated by classrooms and outdoor classrooms to try to maintain a group gathering size as close to 10 people as possible. Room 11 will have sole use of the Theater space, as their group size is larger. 
  • Common spaces, such as the hallways, the Library, and the Studio, will not be used.
  • We will have all educators take their temperatures before entering school each day, and will ask that families do the same. Anyone who is sick, anyone who has symptoms associated with Covid 19, or anyone in contact with those experiencing symptoms must stay home. 
  • We will continue to urge educators and families to participate in social-distancing outside of school. 
  • We will refrain from serving communal school-prepared snacks and ask families to provide their children with a little extra food each school day. 
  • We will continue to sterilize toys after each use and the entire classroom at the end of the day. 
  • We will continue to be diligent with our hand-washing practices. 
  • We are going to open with modified hours to ensure we have enough teachers to meet ratios and to ensure there is enough time for deep cleaning before and after school. We will plan to be open from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday. If your current schedule includes hours before 8:30 and/or after 4:30, please reply to this email with your desired schedule. (The April 1 bill will be sent on April 5 to give us time to adjust tuition bills for those who are affected by our change in hours.)

How will we ensure quality of learning? 
In order to compensate for the loss of learning associated with not being able to use communal spaces, we will increase the amount of experiences offered within each classroom and each outdoor classroom. For those who are quarantined, our teachers, as well as the hundreds of graduates from our Teacher Education Program, are continuing to develop strategies for families who are educating young children at home. These strategies can be found on a new section of our website: http://educators.boulderjourneyschool.com/onlinelearningdatabase

How can you help our school community and the greater community?
  • Practice hand-washing and social-distancing. 
  • Take your temperature, and that of your children, before school each day and quarantine your family if any family member is sick, or if any of you come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. While we typically exclude children that have a temperature of 101 or higher, we now ask that anyone with a temperature of 100 or higher stay home. 
  • Wipe down lunch boxes with disinfectant daily and schedule bath time for immediately after you get home from school. 
  • Continue to pay tuition during small periods of closure or quarantine, so that we can stay open as much as possible.

What else can we expect?
This health crisis is incredibly difficult to predict. As we all have witnessed, the messages and recommendations being shared are changing day to day. There are a few other things we think should be considered:
  • As dictated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the school could be closed for periods of 72 hours - 14 days should we have confirmed cases involving members of our community.
  • Based on the number of people who get sick, we may need to continue to alter the length of the school day, as well as family and faculty schedules.
  • We have been asked to provide childcare for children of healthcare professionals who are experiencing a loss of childcare. We only plan to do this if we feel confident in our ability to maintain low student-teacher ratios and if we feel confident in our ability to offer a high quality education to all children in our care. 
  • We are also considering how we might run a school-age program for our families who need to work and have students enrolled in K-3 programs, should school districts remain closed. 

Please reply to us with any questions, comments, suggestions, and solutions. We can address and summarize your thoughts in our next communication. In spite of everything that is unfolding, we have a positive outlook because we have a very strong and supportive community of families, and we also have a very educated and dedicated faculty. And, of course, we have young children, who model strength and courage every day. We want to quote our friend and colleague, Carlina Riladi, President of the Foundation Reggio Children - Loris Malaguzzi Center, from Reggio Emilia, Italy, “We should listen to the children, so they can express their fears, but also for them to give us courage to face, for and with them, our fears.” 

And here are some thoughts from young children in Reggio Emilia, Italy:
  • “Everyone has peace inside their bodies.” - Eleonora, 5.5 yrs
  • “Peace is a life that's happy.” - Giovanni 6.3 years
  • “Peace is a thought.” - Aurelia, 5.1 years
  • “To make peace, you have to talk.” - Giorgio, 6.1 years

Stay safe and peaceful.

Sincerely, 
Alison, Andrea, Vicki, Fara, Sam, and Christi ​

3/12

In the evening of Thursday, March 12, Boulder Valley School District and St. Vrain Valley School District announced that classes would be cancelled starting tomorrow and Spring Break will begin immediately. We have also received notice that many other early childhood programs and independent schools in Boulder will be closing as well. Given that many families have children at more than one school, it is prudent that we all follow suit in order for this closure to have a positive impact on the health of our community. We will be closed starting Friday, March 13, and we will extend Spring Break to span two weeks. We will not be open for Holiday Program the week of March 23-27, and we plan to resume school on March 30th. However, we will need to make the decision to resume school in collaboration with Boulder County Public Health and with other schools in the area. 

The school building will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Friday, March 13, for families who need to gather children’s personal belongings. 
Additionally, we are postponing all Study Groups of educators who were intending to visit the school in the next month, as well as all student observations, family tours, interviews, events we are participating in, etc., and we will look at extending this decision past one month if needed. We will continue to reevaluate this policy as the situation develops.
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Sincerely,
Alison, Andrea, Fara, Vicki, Christi, and Sam

Boulder Journey School