We recognize that this crisis is impacting the emotional well-being of every member of our community and so we prioritize balance and connection whenever possible. Everyone needs to know what they can and can’t do from day to day, and communication is critical to our ability to be responsive and supportive to one another.

Our students are at the center of our work and we believe they should have voice and agency in their learning. We wish to empower students in this time away to set goals for themselves and access what is offered by Grace at a pace that fits their own needs and those of their personal family schedules. As we near the end of the school year, we will ask students to reflect on their distance learning and review how they have grown and where they will need support in the next school year.

We see this Distance Learning period as a marathon and not a sprint; we wish to iterate and evolve our work with students over time. We will strive to balance synchronous and asynchronous teaching so that students and teachers can connect virtually and students can also move at their own pace. We wish to offer both predictability and flexibility so that children can thrive.

We believe that this distance does not remove what we value most: a culture of belonging where each student is deeply known and loved.