Dear Families,
I think I saw the sun? Yes, that was the sun, and it is such a needed reminder that spring is here! Our goal as a community now and always, is to maintain positive connections so that we can lean on each other and identify places to create positive impact for ourselves and others. An amazing example of this was the initiative taken by some of our upper school students to reach out, digitally, to isolated senior citizens in our community. I ask that we all do our best to bring that spirit to this challenge for all of us in this community. With all of this in mind, I want to emphasize that our primary focus is the safety and well-being of our students and our families. Please read on for the latest updates regarding Wellington’s COVID-19 response:
A marathon not a sprint - As of today, Governor Mike DeWine has not yet expanded the deadline that Ohio schools will remain in distance learning mode in response to ongoing coronavirus concerns. I believe that it is very likely that we will not be on campus at least until May, and teachers are preparing with that in mind. It is important to view this process as a marathon, not a sprint. While we are all eager to start, we are benefitting from the lessons learned from other schools. When rushed, elements of student well-being and a focus on meaningful connections are missed. We plan to get this right and we plan to create a learning and support approach that leads to meaningful growth for our students.
What this means for learning from home - Our ‘full’ learning at home schedule will begin the week of April 6, as previously mentioned. Our faculty continues to do the important work of converting their lessons and desired learning outcomes into a format that can be delivered effectively in a longer term “learning from home” model. You can expect to have active engagement from the divisions with each individual student and their families. You will receive information from your division head very soon about the overall approach and priorities for the work each student will be involved in. If you have further questions related to the learning from home approach, please contact your division head directly. Their contact information is:
Shelley Brown, early childhood director, brown@wellington.org
Jill Webb, head of lower school, webb@wellington.org
Rachel Althof, head of middle school, althof@wellington.org
Rishi Raghunathan, head of upper school, raghunathan@wellington.org
Family resources for ‘Learning from Home’ - From curriculum-inspired games and activities to social emotional health resources, Wellington has curated a portfolio of online learning resources for at-home learning. You don’t need to wait until classes begin to dive into this page! You can access those resources immediately here: www.wellington.org/learnfromhome
Wellington was founded with a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, authentic learning experiences, and creative problem solving. Given our history, I cannot imagine a school better suited to manage a crisis. We are poised to guide our students and families through this next stretch. Stay well. Stay connected. We will be together soon. Thank you for your ongoing partnership.
Take care,
Dr. Jeff Terwin
Wellington Head of School
Media Contact
Danielle Turkovich
Director of Marketing & Communications
turkovich@wellington.org
614-754-4263
For all information related to how Wellington is monitoring and addressing COVID-19, click here.