August 12, 2020

Dear Barrie Parents and Guardians,

We are writing this letter together to share Barrie's reopening plan and articulate the careful thinking behind it. We apologize in advance for the length of this letter as we feel it is appropriate to err on the side of more rather than less information on our response to the most widespread health and economic crisis of the last 90 years.

Since February, Barrie's COVID-19 Task Force has been charged with the critical responsibility of determining the safest and most inclusive methodology for navigating this unprecedented challenge. In all decisions, we strive to measure the most up-to-date infection rates, incorporate the advice of national and regional health experts, liaise with the experts at Johns Hopkins University, and remain ever-mindful of wellness and social justice. Core questions we explore also include: How do we protect the health and safety of students and staff when returning to in-person learning? Which perspectives in our community do we need to keep foremost in our minds to determine what is in the best interest of all of the children?

As we shared on Monday August 9, we have developed specific Reopening Protocols to mirror Montgomery County's reopening phases. These Protocols are designed to account for the latest medical research regarding viral behavior as well as developmental learning needs & abilities. The American Academy of Pediatrics has indicated that Coronavirus infection and transmission rates appear to be low among children, infections among children lead to less serious symptoms, and the importance of in-person learning is key. We have done our best to prepare for all eventualities and developed comprehensive campus-wide health and safety protocols, including the installation of MERV-13 air filters in every building on the campus. Central to our approach has Barrie's Learning Village model, whereby clusters of students are kept completely separate from one another, reducing germ transfer and minimizing exposure risk.

After considerable deliberation over the past week and a detailed review of current health data from the state and our region, the Task Force has made the following decisions:

Toddler and Primary: Classes will open for in-person classes on Wednesday, August 26th for Age 1 through Kindergarten.

Our Toddler and Primary programs are managed by the Maryland Office of Childcare (OCC), which mandates the Learning Village model among other strict health and safety guidelines. Following the advice of Dr. Gayles -- the chief medical officer for Montgomery County -- we believe that in-person instruction for our youngest students is both prudent and appropriate. Please note that additional details will be forthcoming regarding our inclusive process to orient new families into our Toddler and Primary classroom experience.

Lower Elementary: Classes will begin with online instruction for the first two weeks and start in-person classes on Monday, September 14 for 1st to 3rd grade.
Upper Elementary: Classes will begin with online instruction for the first four weeks and start in-person classes on Thursday, October 1 for 4th and 5th grade.

The CDC is recommending that schools create a staggered reopening process in order to intentionally bring back groups of students in smaller cohorts over time. This recommendation was created to give schools time to solidify their health and safety routines, implement their protocols gradually, and carefully monitor changes in regional health data. In parallel to the decision for Toddler and Primary classes, the COVID-19 Task Force felt that the small sizes of the Elementary classes will allow us to create a program that is safe.

Here are some additional steps we are taking.

Lower Elementary classes will be separated for all aspects of the academic day, with each group of ~14-18 students working together as a fully independent Learning Village. Each group will take separate PE classes with EJ Shanahan outdoors or in the Strauss Gym. Their separate Art classes with Luis Cerritos will continue in the existing Rothschild art studio, and we are transforming the Rothschild Library into a Makerspace for their separate classes with B.A. Grace. No students from other grades or programs will enter Rothschild Hall.
Our Upper Elementary program will be structured exactly the same way, except they have even more room to spread out. They will take all their specialist classes either outdoors or in their building and no students from other grades or programs will be allowed to enter their classroom spaces.
Please know that LE and UE off-campus learning days will be recorded appropriately by the School following the details articulated in the Lower School COVID-19 Tuition Credit plan. Please recall that this tuition credit does not start until after the 11th day of distance learning and that credits are applied after a family has paid their full tuition obligation for the year.
Middle and Upper School: Classes for 6th to 12th Grade students will begin the year with online instruction. Following the advice of Dr. Gayles, we will make a determination by Thursday, October 1st on whether it is appropriate to begin in-person classes or continue with distance learning.

While a staggered opening is safe and appropriate for our younger students for all the reasons mentioned above, we need additional time to monitor the health data of our region before making a determination on whether we can bring our older students back to campus. A key consideration is the size of this Learning Village, which is four to five times larger than any of the others. The interlaced web of academic courses means that, for example, 6th graders share the same classroom spaces and teachers as 11th graders, and share the same germs. In addition, students of this age are more able to engage meaningfully in remote instruction, as they have high facility with technology (better than us adults!), are already accustomed to being responsible for their own school work, and can more readily socialize with friends via live video chat. As a result of these core facts, we will:

Give Middle and Upper School families additional time in choosing theVirtual-Only option for Trimester 1, if a decision is made to return to in-person classes later in the fall.
Utilize updated health data from our region to inform the decision on whether or not it is appropriate to hold in-person classes after October 1st.
Please note that given the current health data from our region, our Middle and Upper School programs may likely continue with distance learning into the mid-fall or longer.

We anticipate that parents and members of our community will have a wide range of reactions to this letter, representing a natural diversity of opinions ranging from the idea that we should open for 100% in-person learning to 100% virtual learning. We embrace this diversity of thought and have strived to balance transparency in our process while respecting all perspectives. To empower families to make a personal choice regarding the best option possible for their own children, we are offering a Virtual-Only option for Lower School and Middle & Upper School families.

Our COVID-19 Task Force has always sought to utilize the best available scientific data and our experience as health professionals and educators to make the most appropriate decisions to steward the health and well being of our entire community. We monitor incoming data day by day, shifting our responses as needed, and may need to change the plans shared in this letter based on how the pandemic continues to evolve.

We hope that all of you feel that the information conveyed in this letter represents the values, care, and thoughtfulness you would expect, and understand that these have been some of the most difficult decisions in living memory of our school.

In Health and Partnership,