Lower School Students: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Create a daily routine. Think about the classroom routines you enjoy and find a way to imitate them.  
• Find a comfortable, quiet space in your home where you can learn.
• Ask an adult in your home to help you access learning activities and feedback from your teachers.
• Take breaks! Play, rest, be active.
• Create a schedule for your weekly work.
• Try to do your best learning!
• Reach out to your teacher to ask for help.
• When possible, collaborate with your classmates in your learning.

Lower School Families: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Establish daily routines and expectations that will support your child’s learning and play.
• Help your child find a comfortable, quiet space where they can learn with few interruptions.
• Help your child create a daily schedule to complete their assignments.
• Monitor communications from your child's teacher. 
• Take an active role in helping your child process their learning.
• Establish times for quiet and reflection and provide time for your child to have ownership over their own use of time and activity.
• Encourage physical activity.
• Mindful of your child’s wellbeing, speak to them regularly about fears, concerns or challenges.
• Monitor how much time your child is spending online.
• Keeping in mind our community commitment to social distancing during this closure, create safe opportunities for your child to interact with peers––likely online or by phone––to maintain social connections.
• Communicate concerns or questions via email with your child’s teacher, counselor, or learning specialist. 
• If there are siblings online simultaneously, choose locations that do not cause noise interference when recording learning or video conferencing.
• If you experience any technical problems, email support@blakeschool.org.

Middle School Students: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Establish a daily routine to support your learning.
• Identify a comfortable, quiet space so you can learn with few interruptions.
• Check your email and your Canvas course pages frequently.
• Participate actively in learning activities, whether those are synchronous (happening in real time) or asynchronous (happening on your individual schedule).
• Take breaks, play, rest, be active.
• Communicate proactively with your teachers. Ask questions, but be patient when waiting for a response. If a teacher emails you, respond in a timely manner. You can use email or, if permitted by your teacher, Zoom.
• Stay connected to the community by communicating with your friends, classmates and advisory group.  
• Be mindful of your workload and wellbeing. If you have any concerns, speak with a parent/guardian, your advisor, a school counselor, or a learning specialist.
• If you experience any technical problems, you can:
  • Go to https://support.blakeschool.org/. Click the “Sign In” button located on the top right of the page, and use your Blake Google login to submit a Web Ticket. IS/ISS will be able expeditiously respond to web form tickets.
  • Or in a pinch, email support@blakeschool.org.

Middle School Families: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Establish daily routines and expectations that will support your child’s learning.
• Help your child find a comfortable, quiet space where they can learn with few interruptions.
• Talk with your child about their remote learning experience.  
• Ask questions about upcoming deadlines and workload.
• Help your child identify a quiet, comfortable space that will minimize interruptions and facilitate learning. 
• If there are siblings online simultaneously, choose locations that do not cause noise interference when recording learning or video conferencing.
• Encourage your child to take study breaks and to take part in physical exercise.
• Monitor how much time your child is spending online.
• Mindful of your child’s wellbeing, speak with them regularly about any fears, concerns or challenges they may be experiencing.
• Keeping in mind our community commitment to social distancing during this closure, create safe opportunities for your child to interact with peers––likely online or by phone––to maintain social connections.
• Communicate any concerns to your child’s advisor, teachers, learning specialist, counselor.

Upper School Students: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Establish a daily routine to support your learning.
• Identify a comfortable, quiet space where you can learn with few interruptions.
• Check your email and your Canvas course pages frequently.
• Participate actively in learning activities, whether those are synchronous (happening in real time) or asynchronous (happening on your individual schedule).
• Take breaks, play, rest, be active.
• Communicate proactively with your teachers. Ask questions, but be patient when waiting for a response. If a teacher emails you, respond in a timely manner. You can use email or, if permitted by your teacher, Zoom.
• Stay connected to the community by communicating with your friends, classmates and advisory group.  
• Be mindful of your workload and wellbeing. If you have any concerns, speak with a parent/guardian, your advisor, a school counselor, or a learning specialist.
• If you experience any technical problems, you can:
  • Go to https://support.blakeschool.org/. Click the “Sign In” button located on the top right of the page, and use your Blake Google login to submit a Web Ticket. IS/ISS will be able expeditiously respond to web form tickets.
  • Or in a pinch, email support@blakeschool.org.

Upper School Families: Tips for Remote Teaching and Learning

• Establish daily routines and expectations that will support your child’s learning and play.
• Help your child identify a quiet, comfortable space that will minimize interruptions and facilitate learning. 
• Talk with your child about their remote learning experience.  
• Ask questions about upcoming deadlines and workload.
• If there are siblings online simultaneously, choose locations that do not cause noise interference when recording learning or video conferencing.
• Encourage your child to take study breaks and to take part in physical exercise.
• Monitor how much time your child is spending online.
• Mindful of your child’s wellbeing, speak with them regularly about any fears, concerns or challenges they may be experiencing.
• Keeping in mind our community commitment to social distancing during this closure, create safe opportunities for your child to interact with peers––likely online or by phone––to maintain social connections.
• Communicate any concerns to your child’s advisor, teachers, learning specialist, counselor.

Dear Blake families,

I hope you are all doing well in this final week of classes. I know these past two months haven’t been easy, and I thank you for all you’ve done to support students throughout our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP). This has been a collective effort, and I remain grateful for your partnership, as well as the notes of encouragement you’ve sent to our faculty and administrators.

Decision Process and Timeline for Fall
Our administrative team and risk management team have begun planning for the next school year through a two-pronged approach: evolving our RTLP should we need it; and creating protocols for on-campus instruction and activities that address the health and safety of our students, families and employees. As we focus on these two areas, we’re collaborating with nationally recognized schools similar to Blake in size and scope to share resources and best practices. And our lead Blake administrative team is engaging in scenario-building exercises to create both short- and long-term plans for all areas of school operations. 
 
We will communicate with employees and families no later than August 1 on how we will deliver instruction when we open in the fall. As always, we will align our plans with the recommendations set forth by the CDC, MDH and Governor Walz. We are planning for an on-campus start to the year with safety and hygienic protocols in place.
 
RTLP 2.0 Survey
We invite you to take a second, brief RTLP survey. That feedback will inform our work over the summer to further evolve our RTLP. We want to deliver the best possible student experience should we need to return to remote instruction for some part of next year. As before, the survey is going out to sixth through twelfth grade students, faculty and current parents and guardians. The survey will remain open though Tuesday, May 26 at 3pm. 

Summer at Blake
Last week, Governor Walz signed Executive Order 20-57, outlining the options for summer school and summer programs in the state. We are currently exploring all options for running Summer at Blake in line with the recommended health and safety guidelines, which include health monitoring, increased adult supervision and continued social distancing. We recognize that families are eager to know our plans, and we thank you for your patience as we tackle these substantial logistical questions. We will communicate our plans no later than June 1.

Construction Update
Our campaign-funded construction project for a new entry hall on the Hopkins campus is on track to open this summer. This welcoming, light-filled and accessible space will serve as the front door we’ve long been missing on our busiest campus. It will connect the Lower School and Middle School, making it easier for students, faculty and visitors to move from one area of campus to another. It will provide an outdoor space with a fireplace for students and families to gather. Our main parking lot has been resurfaced and upgraded with landscaping, and our main drive and circle dropoff and pickup areas have been leveled and widened. Our need to be off campus and teaching and learning remotely has had an important silver lining. Our outstanding Mortenson construction team has had the Hopkins campus to themselves and they’ve moved the project ahead of schedule. I can’t wait to have you see this wonderful new space!

Commencement 2020
I’d like to invite you to our Blake commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30pm. You can view it at blake.mn/blake2020. I think you’ll enjoy seeing the speeches, musical performances and smiles of our class of 2020, as we honor and celebrate them in this hour-long virtual ceremony. Please feel free to share the link with family and friends.

Warm regards,
Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake families,

I hope you are all doing well in this final month of the school year. While these are, of course, challenging times, there are many moments over the past six weeks where our Blake community has come together in creative and meaningful ways. I thought you might enjoy learning about just a few of these memorable moments.

Celebrating Our Seniors
This past Friday and Saturday, we invited students in our class of 2020 to campus to participate in a graduation walking ceremony. We offered a specific time for each student to walk across a stage and pick up their diploma cover. (The diploma itself will come after the school year ends.) We maintained social distancing, wore masks and put hygiene protocols in place. Upper School Director Joe Ruggiero, Grade Dean Mike Canfield and I were in attendance to cheer students on and congratulate them. We captured each student’s walk on video, and footage will be used to create our virtual commencement ceremony that will stream on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. (We will send the ceremony link to you so everyone has the opportunity to watch.) It was so fun to celebrate with each student and have a moment to recognize them individually. I’m looking forward to celebrating  — including some surprises — our seniors in the coming weeks.

Moments of Connection
In addition to our commencement events, faculty in the Upper School (US) have created a StoryCorps-inspired project to give teachers and seniors the opportunity to have the farewell conversations that usually take place at the end of the school year. The conversations are shaped by a common set of questions and captured on Zoom. You can see some of them here. In order to continue our US student-directed play series, directors and actors adapted or wrote scripts for a Zoom format, creating five short plays and three original scripts all directed by juniors and seniors. We wrapped up our senior speeches for the year, with the entire US student body tuning in to two to three speeches a week. Afterwards, students used guided questions to discuss the speeches in advisory group meetings.
 
In response to our RTLP survey, the Middle School (MS) has launched grade-level social gatherings for students. These 30-minute Friday gatherings have included a shelter-in-place scavenger hunt, “Twenty Questions: Blake Edition” and charades with words related to MS life. Our eighth graders are gearing up for their capstone research project, the Influential. This week students will view FlipGrid projects in advisory, and links to their projects will be added online. Digital access means students and families will be able to conveniently watch as many projects as they’d like, rather than the few they would have been able to watch in person. Our MS affinity groups have been meeting regularly, which has offered an additional way, beyond advisory, for students to connect and check in on each other.
 
In the Lower School (LS), teachers have been creatively connecting with students by hosting scavenger hunts and “choice time” when children can talk while they build together. One teaching assistant hosts “Lunch Bunch" where children eat and chat. Teachers are playing games in real time such as Connect Four, matching and checkers through Google Slides. Our Extended Day students have attended gatherings with familiar visitors such as Chef Noah and Chef Jill. And LS administrators have hosted several weekly coffee hours so parents and guardians can talk and connect.

In the coming weeks, I’ll share video messages with you, some in partnership with each of our three division directors. While written communications such as this one are an excellent vehicle for providing information and updates, I recognize that they cannot replace the tone, gesture and expression of video. Across the country, indeed, around the world, we’re figuring out how best to connect personally and genuinely with each other. 

Bear Care 2020
Bear Care 2020 wrapped up a successful week of donations from Blake families. Bear Care is a collaboration among Blake, LearningWorks at Blake, and Learning in Style School to address needs emerging out of each of these three communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, we’ve collected hundreds of food and household items and more than 250 Target and Cub $25 gift cards. Eighteen Upper School students have signed up to be tutors and 24 parents, alumni and staff have volunteered to serve as conversation partners with adult Learning In Style students. In addition, the Otto Bremer Trust has provided LearningWorks with emergency assistance funds to support their Minneapolis Public middle school students and families. I want to offer a deep and heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to this effort. It’s been wonderful to see our community come together to help learners of all ages and their families.

Second RTLP Survey
Next week, we will invite you to complete a second, brief survey about our Remote Teaching and Learning Program (RTLP). As before, sixth through twelfth grade students, all faculty and all current parents and guardians will have the opportunity to share comments and observations. Our goal is to gather a second round of feedback to inform this summer’s design process for RTLP 2.0. We will evolve our RTLP to deliver the best possible student experience should we need to return to RTLP for some part of next year. In next week’s community message, I will share more details about how we’re planning for the fall and our timeline for decision-making.

Wishing you all a good week.

Warm regards,
Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake Families,

As we settle into the fourth week of our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP), I am writing to share three things: 1) findings from our RTLP community survey, 2) news regarding CTP-5 testing, and 3) an update on Bear Care 2020.

RTLP Survey Findings
Our response rate for the survey was outstanding for all the groups who took it: parents and guardians, faculty and academic program personnel, and Middle and Upper School students. We reviewed these results with our survey consultant, who helped contextualize them with similar surveys for other independent schools, and we have discussed them at length in divisional administrative teams. 

Overall key results:

The RTLP has honored the spirit of Blake’s academic program.

• 85% of students strongly agree or agree
• 85% of faculty strongly agree or agree 
• 76% of parents strongly agree or agree

The RTLP has helped to maintain a sense of community and connection.

• 80% of students strongly agree or agree
• 96% of faculty strongly agree or agree
• 86% of parents/guardians strongly agree or agree

I/my students/my child(ren) have adjusted well to the RTLP.

• 80% of Middle School students strongly agree or agree
• 78% of Upper School students strongly agree or agree
• 81% of faculty strongly agree or agree
• 86% of parents/guardians strongly agree or agree

Based on the aggregated results from all constituents, we have identified two priorities for all divisions: 

1. Create additional opportunities for community and connection for students. In particular, we will increase opportunities for them to interact with the peers and adults they might not see in morning meetings, classes or advisory. 
2. Continue to evolve our pedagogy to take the fullest possible advantage of a remote teaching and learning environment. We will shift much of our faculty meeting and professional learning time away from logistical and technological support and toward discussions of best practices for remote teaching and learning. 

Division-Specific Priorities: 

Lower School 

1. Increase opportunities for synchronous class meetings and instruction.
2. Create more intentional opportunities for counselors to connect with students and families. 
3. Take fuller advantage of the expertise and energy of teaching assistants to support student learning.   

Middle School

1. Expand opportunities on Fridays, including additional meetings for clubs and affinity groups, new academic enrichment offerings and connections among students.
2. Streamline and standardize the use of Canvas, particularly the ways in which assignments are posted.
3. Create additional learning opportunities for teachers to evolve their online pedagogy.  

Upper School 

1. Maximize instructional time by canceling final exams and continuing to hold classes during penultimate week and exam week.
2. Leverage office hours so students can connect with teachers outside of synchronous classes.
3. Create additional learning opportunities for teachers to evolve their online pedagogy.  

You can follow this link to a more detailed summary of key questions for each constituency and division. In the coming weeks, I will share examples that illustrate the expansion and evolution of our RTLP. Many thanks to all who took the time to share their perspective and feedback.

CTP5 Testing
To allow students and teachers to best focus on RTLP, we will not administer our CTP5 assessment tests for students this spring. The CTP5 is a standardized test used among independent schools to benchmark students’ skill development; Blake also uses the CTP5 results as one component of the Middle School math placement process. Our Middle School math department is confident they can make informed and accurate student placements using student classroom work, consulting past CTP5 assessments and consulting in faculty-administrative teams. 
 
In order to accommodate this year's gap in data, the Middle School will administer the CTP5 to all students in grades 6, 7 and 8 next year. Families may reach out to Lower School assistant directors or Middle School advisors if they have specific questions about course placement or academic areas of focus for the summer. 

Bear Care 2020
Thanks to those who have expressed a desire to participate in Bear Care 2020 to help those experiencing hardship during the pandemic. We are extending our survey through Friday, April 24 to offer you additional time to identify which goods and services you and your family may need or what you could share with those at Blake, LearningWorks at Blake, and Learning in Style School. If you have not yet taken the short survey, you can do so here.

I realize that being away from campus for a month and knowing that we will not be coming together during this school year is very difficult for us all. Please know that I, too, am feeling the weight of this distance and wish that we could all be together. I remain grateful for and impressed with our educators and students as they continue to show so much grace, patience and optimism with each other. I hope we are all able to continue to support each other, be kind to each other and show the generosity of spirit that, for me, is a hallmark of the Blake community.

Wishing you all a good week.

Best regards,

Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake families,

I am writing with the news that we will continue with our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP) for the remainder of the school year, which ends on Friday, May 22, to ensure the health and safety of our students, families and employees.

RTLP Extension Rationale
We are sharing this decision now because we realize that families and faculty need sufficient time to plan for the next several weeks. Clarity is beneficial for all of us. 

In discussing possible options for school in May, our risk management team was faced with the reality that it is simply not possible to conduct on-campus, classroom teaching and learning while maintaining current social distancing and safety standards as established by the Minnesota Department of Health and governor. Nor can we safely hold athletic practices and competitions or other co-curricular activities. Our highest priority is the health and safety of the people who comprise the Blake community. Regarding our year-end events, we will not risk spreading COVID-19 to high-risk groups — such as those over age 60 and those who are immunocompromised —  by bringing our students, faculty, staff and families into close proximity with each other.

I greatly appreciate the RTLP survey feedback we received from students, parents and teachers. Overall, the feedback was very positive and, at the same time, we have identified areas for improvement in each division. In my Monday, April 20 communication, I’ll share themes from this feedback and how we will use them to refine and evolve the RTLP in the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School.

Closings and Commencement
Because we are not able to gather on campus to celebrate, we will reschedule our 5th and 8th grade closing ceremonies from May to August. We will share event details in the weeks prior to the celebrations. In the meantime, please save the following dates for:

• Highcroft Campus 5th Grade Closing: Thursday, Aug. 27, 9-10:15am
• Blake Campus 5th Grade Closing: Thursday, Aug. 27, 12-1:15pm
• 8th Grade Closing: Thursday, Aug. 27, 3-4:30pm

To celebrate and honor our class of 2020, we will stream a virtual commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 28 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm (the date and time of the original event). The broadcast will be available online and accessible to anyone, anywhere. We will share viewing details closer to the date. 

We will also host an on-campus celebration for all seniors, their families and faculty on Thursday, Aug. 13, from 4pm to 6pm on the Blake campus in Hopkins. We are excited to make this a special event in our new Entry Hall and courtyard.

We are holding our seniors and their families in our minds and hearts, and we recognize the profound loss many are feeling. We will continue to plan purposively for ways to make their graduation from Blake positive and memorable. And we will count on seniors to help us shape both the virtual and on-campus events to be meaningful to them.

Summer at Blake
To ensure the safety of campers and counselors, we will cancel Summer at Blake classes and camps for June. We plan to start summer programs on Monday, July 6 and continue them through Friday, Aug. 7. We are exploring possibilities to reschedule certain June camps and programs to dates later in the summer. In the coming days, Summer at Blake Director Tony Andrade will share details via email with families who have registered for Summer at Blake camps and with employees scheduled to work at those camps. We will confirm the start date for Summer at Blake by June 1. 

During this time of significant disruption and loss, we are all longing for consistency and certainty. While remote teaching and learning is not the way any of us would prefer to conclude our school year, I hope that communicating these plans now helps you and your family to plan thoughtfully and with clarity. Please continue to stay safe and take care.

Best regards,
Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.

Dear Blake Families,

As we begin the second week of our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP), I am writing with a few updates regarding: Blake events in May; our COVID-19 relief efforts; tuition and optional services; athletics; and upcoming religious holidays.

RTLP Review and Feedback
Our first RTLP week went well, with teachers and students getting acclimated to various online platforms and establishing new routines. Our teachers and administrators are having good discussions about how to evolve the program based on what we learn is most effective for students, best practices that emerge among our teaching experiences and areas where we need to revise and adjust.

Later this week, we will send parents and guardians a survey for feedback on your own experience — what you see happening with your student and what you are discovering as parents who are guiding children through a remote learning experience. We'll also survey the sixth through twelfth grade students and all faculty. We've worked hard to have a very strong RTLP from the beginning, and we will work equally hard to refine it.

May Events and End-of-Year Ceremonies
We continue to look toward May and our end-of-the-year events and activities, including our fifth and eighth grade closing ceremonies and commencement. In determining any potential cancelation or postponement of these events, our decisions will be informed by the latest information from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and governor’s office. The timing of our decision seeks to balance the need for families to plan ahead for these large events with our desire to have the latest, complete information in this rapidly changing situation.

I will send a community message on Friday, April 17 with the following information: whether we will return to campus for teaching and learning in May; the status of our end-of-year events and activities; and plans for Summer at Blake programs. In the meantime, we will formulate back-up plans for commencement and other key events that cannot be postponed. We will bring students into the planning process for these important ceremonies.

Blake’s Relief Response to COVID-19
Through the pandemic crisis, Blake seeks to support our students, families, employees and members of the broader Twin Cities community with whom we have existing partnerships. We are committed to continued compensation for all Blake employees — including faculty, staff, specialists, instructional support teachers, teaching assistants, Extended Day staff, bus drivers and athletic coaches — through the end of the academic year. In doing so, we seek to honor the commitment that our employees make to Blake every day. And we want to make every effort to stand behind and retain our outstanding employees during a time of economic uncertainty.

Also, we have:

• Modified our financial assistance application process to respond to new financial needs among our families.
• Earmarked additional funds for Blake financial assistance in anticipation of new applications. Families who are experiencing significant financial hardship due to COVID-19 should contact Adriana Matzke (amatzke@blakeschool.org), associate director of admissions and financial assistance.
• Partnered with families who need to postpone tuition payments by developing an interest-free payment schedule. Families who need to restructure their current payment plans should contact Kendall Christian (kchristian@blakeschool.org), account associate in our business office.
• Donated all perishable foods from our three kitchens to Second Harvest Heartland.
• Collected face masks, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer from our classrooms and donated them to a local hospital.
• Developed a list of resources for families and students who wish to help others now or volunteer when the state’s shelter-in-place order is lifted.
• Created Bear Care 2020, a collaboration among Blake, LearningWorks at Blake and Learning in Style. Blake will serve as a hub for collecting and distributing a set list of items needed for daily living and coordinate tutoring support for learning at home for students in all three organizations. We will gather information via Google Forms about items and services that families might need, as well as items and services that families can provide. Look for more information soon from co-leaders Lisa Sackreiter, service learning and community engagement director, and Rebeccca Schubring, chief advancement officer.

Spring Athletics
We continue to follow guidance set by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) for school athletics. As of March 25, the league has suspended participation in spring sports and activities. While we have not been able to hold regular team practices or compete with other schools over the past two weeks, our coaches have been tremendously creative in offering activities and team-building virtually. Our coaches’ efforts include conducting live workouts via Zoom, creating small “buddy” groups that span grades and campuses, and checking in with individual student-athletes on their mental and physical wellbeing.

Tuition, Lunch and Optional Service Fees
In creating our RTLP, we have called upon the expertise of faculty, administrators, counselors, grade deans, learning specialists, instructional support staff and more. And as we evolve the program, we will continue to focus on our two main goals: ensuring the integrity of our academic program and fostering community connectedness. Because we will continue to deliver our educational program and hold it to the same standards as our traditional program, we will continue to charge tuition.

Blake sets its annual tuition to be an all inclusive price. We do not charge additional fees for sixth through twelfth grade laptops, lunch or field trips, nor do we break out those programmatic features by line item per student. This approach allows families to anticipate costs up front, and it offers Blake some flexibility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Currently, for example, we have realized some cost savings from student lunches. We have redeployed those savings to cover the unanticipated costs for Lower School student computers and home internet access for families and staff who did not have it.

For school fees that are optional such as bus service and Extended Day programming, we will refund pre-paid fees and will not charge for days we have not been able to perform these services. We will issue refunds when we have a clearer sense of how long we will be engaged in RTLP.

Religious Holidays
Please know that our educators are mindful of upcoming April and May religious holidays including Passover, Good Friday, Easter and Ramadan. As always, teachers will make appropriate accommodations for the students and adults in our community who may be observing these holidays.

I want to thank everyone for the kindness, thoughtfulness and moments of levity you have all shown each other in the past week. Our care for each other will carry us through this challenging time. And we will emerge an even stronger community for having traveled this rough road together.

Sincerely,

Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake Families,

I hope you are doing as well as can be expected in these uncertain and challenging times, and I hope this final week of spring break will offer you some relaxing and perhaps even joyous moments as you spend time with your families and those closest to you.

I am writing with news about our post-spring break plans at Blake. For the safety and wellbeing of our community, we have decided to implement our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP), effective Monday, March 30 through Friday, May 1.

In the days leading up to this decision, our risk management team accounted for myriad factors, including CDC and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommendations, guidance from the governor's office and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), decision-making among peer institutions regionally and nationally, and advice from independent schools on the west coast who have been teaching and learning remotely for as many as four weeks now. Closing our campuses is not only key to ensuring the health of our community members, it is a critical step in preventing further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

We have shared a RTLP general overview, links to each division’s RTLP, and division-specific tips for students and families on Blake’s COVID-19 page that we encourage you to read. In designing this plan, our primary goals have been to preserve the integrity of our academic program and to sustain meaningful connections between faculty and students and among classmates. In designing the RTLP, we drew on a breadth and depth of resources, all the while keeping in mind the developmental ages of our students.

We are also acutely aware of the reality that all the adults in our community — parents and guardians, faculty and staff — are juggling a host of obligations. Parents and guardians of Blake students will be learning how to coach their children through new tasks and routines. Blake employees will be supporting our students through the RTLP, while also caring for their own children and families. And many of us are likely feeling anxious about domestic and global news.

We ask everyone to show patience, kindness and generosity toward one another so that we can sustain the partnership and community that are central to our shared commitment to Blake.

A few other notes:

• Campuses remain closed to students, families and employees. Our facilities are open only to a very small number of Blake staff who are performing duties essential to school operations that cannot be done remotely. These few staff are adhering to CDC best practices.
• Essential staff are in the process of disinfecting and sanitizing, room-by-room, each area of all three of our campuses. Once sanitized, rooms will be sealed and marked with “no access” signs on the doors. 
• All school activities and events scheduled for April will be canceled or postponed. 
• Please expect to hear regularly from me, division directors and other administrators in the coming weeks. Our aim is to connect in meaningful and timely ways.
• You can search contact information for Blake teachers, administrators, counselors, advisors and staff via the online directory here. (A link to that directory is also accessible on the COVID-19 page.)
• Because we will be relying on digital communication, it is especially important that we have your up-to date contact information. If you haven’t yet please complete your Blake forms. (If you have trouble logging in to BlakeNet, email blakenetadmin@blakeschool.org.)

We will communicate no later than Friday, April 24 if, in our judgment, we need to extend the length of our RTLP beyond Friday, May 1. If circumstances change and we’re able to return to campus sooner than anticipated, we will communicate that information at least one week in advance of the adjusted return date. 

Please know that we are mindful of upcoming events that hold particular significance for our students, teachers and families. These include the fifth grade play, fifth and eighth grade closing ceremonies, prom and commencement, to name a few. We recognize how meaningful these rites of passage are and how much these celebrations and traditions shape who we are as individuals and as a community. We are fully committed to considering alternative venues and dates for events, and we deeply hope we will be able to host them. If we need to cancel or postpone these larger events, it will be because of restrictions set forth by the governor's office, MDH or MDE. 

I want to underscore that during this closure, all of us — students, parents and guardians and employees — have a responsibility. As public health officials have emphasized, school and work closures will not be effective unless they are accompanied by social distancing strategies. We ask that you restrict your student’s social interactions during this period and stay home as much as possible.

Thank you for everything you are doing to keep yourself and those around you healthy. Please know that we want Blake to be a source of strength and comfort as we learn how to connect with, learn from and help each other in new ways. We will meet these challenges together.

Best regards,

Anne
Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake Families,

In response to Gov. Walz’s directive to close Minnesota schools March 18-27, Blake will close all campuses for spring break, starting Wednesday, March 18. We have also canceled Spring Break at Blake and any campus rentals during this period of time. 

Campuses will be open only to a very small number of Blake staff who perform duties essential to school operations that cannot be done remotely. These individuals will follow CDC prevention practices when on campus.

Given the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s and MDH’s announcements yesterday, our risk management team has been discussing daily many aspects of this situation, including whether to keep campuses closed after spring break and implement our remote teaching and learning program, effective Monday, March 30. 

We will notify you of this decision via email no later than Monday, March 23 regarding our plan for the week of Monday, March 30. (We have moved the announcement date from our originally communicated March 26 to March 23, as we believe we’ll have the requisite information by that time.)

Thanks for your ongoing support, flexibility and optimism in these uncertain times. Be well and stay safe.

Best regards,
Anne

Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Greetings Blake Community,

I’m writing to update you on our remote teaching and learning plans should we need to close in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This is an uncertain and rapidly changing situation, and we continue to prioritize the health and wellbeing of our students, employees and families.

The primary purposes of this update are to:

1. Share high-level plans for remote teaching and learning.
2. Ask students to take home before spring break any books, materials and school-issued laptops they would need to continue classes remotely. 
3. Remind you to report CDC-designated Level 3 travel to the school.

Remote Teaching and Learning Plan
If Blake needs to transition to a Remote Teaching and Learning Plan (RTLP), our top priorities will be to create learning experiences that align with our academic program and to maintain a sense of community and connectedness for our students. We are fortunate to have the technology infrastructure, tools and support system to facilitate this work. These include:

• A suite of Google applications
• Canvas (Middle and Upper School learning management system)
• Seesaw (Lower School student digital portfolio and family communication tool) 
• Sora (Digital library platform for Middle and Upper School)
• Epic! (Digital library platform for Lower School)

The Middle and Upper School RTLP includes both synchronous (students and teacher work together online at the same time) and asynchronous (students work independently) learning experiences for every course, accessible via Canvas. In addition to designing assignments that go beyond the laptop, faculty will create opportunities for individual work and peer collaboration. They will also hold virtual office hours for students. And they will continue to assess student work with the goal of maintaining the continuity and integrity of our academic program.

The Lower School RTLP will be largely asynchronous and include activities for literacy, math, science, social studies and specialist disciplines, accessible via Seesaw. As Lower School teachers gain understanding about students’ capacity to engage online, they may seek to create synchronous opportunities for community and connection via small groups.

We recognize that students may experience challenges while learning remotely, and we are committed to providing academic and socioemotional support for all students. In addition to maintaining the continuity of our MS and US advisory programs, students will be able to connect with school counselors, learning specialists, college counselors, librarians and grade deans. We have also created resources for parents and guardians as you support your student in a remote teaching and learning environment. 

Decision-Making Regarding a Potential School Closure 
We continue to monitor frequent updates from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), CDC and our national network of schools.

During the second week of Blake’s spring break, our risk management team will discuss whether to close our campuses and implement our remote teaching and learning program, effective Monday, March 30. The key decision-making drivers will be recommendations from the MDH, CDC and the Minnesota governor’s office.

Please know that in our decision-making, we are accounting for both the health of our community members and the recognition that school closure produces a fundamental change to the daily lives of families, especially those with younger children. 
    
We will email Blake families on Thursday, March 26 regarding our status for Monday, March 30. If we implement the Remote Teaching and Learning Plan, we will share our full RTLP with you at that time.

What You Can Do

1.    Remind students tonight and tomorrow to take home any school materials they may need after break. 

a.    Middle and Upper School students should take home all books, laptops and chargers. Ensure that the student’s device is fully operable and that it can access your home internet connection.
b.    Lower School teachers will identify the materials students need to take home and provide reusable bags for those materials.

2.    Contact Blake’s director of human resources, Kevin Xiong (952-988-3470 or kxiong@blakeschool.org) if you or anyone in your home plans to travel to a CDC-designated Level 3 country (or layover in an airport located in a Level 3 country). Please check the CDC Level 3 designated-country list regularly; additions to this list could come rapidly in the coming days and weeks.

3.    Know that if you need to access campus during spring break to retrieve forgotten items, security hours are:

a.    Blake campus: 7:30am-9pm
b.    Northrop campus: 7:30am-8pm
c.    Highcroft campus: 7:30am-4pm 

4.    Continue to practice prevention through hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, social distancing and staying home when sick. (Full list here.)

5.    Access Blake's COVID-19 webpage to locate information in this letter, all other COVID-19 Blake community updates, and links to the CDC and MDH. The page is accessible from any digital device at www.blakeschool.org/covid19.

Upcoming School Events and Travel
We continue to assess upcoming school events and travel, including performances, field trips, co-curricular trips and tours, as well as the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. We recognize that many of you are eager to hear updates about these plans, especially as you anticipate impacts to your family’s schedule. 

As always, we want to maximize student opportunities while keeping health and safety our highest priority. We will notify you as soon as possible of any changes to scheduled events. 

Spring Break at Blake is scheduled to operate as planned. Families who have registered for camps will receive an email Friday, March 13 with additional information about camp operations.  

Once again thank you for your continued partnership as we navigate this challenge together.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and enjoyable spring break.

Sincerely,

Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake Community, 

As we approach spring break, I write with an update regarding coronavirus/COVID-19. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has confirmed two cases of the virus in the state. While the current risk regarding COVID-19 in Minnesota remains low, we continue to plan for our community’s safety and wellbeing. We are:

• Developing preparedness plans specific to COVID-19 with a focus on ensuring a robust academic experience for all students should we need to close.
• Creating a webpage, set to launch on Wednesday, to serve as a centralized place for all COVID-19 updates related to the Blake community, accessible at blakeschool.org/covid19. 
• Sharing best practices and resources with our national network of independent schools and learning from peer schools who are experiencing more advanced stages of the outbreak.
• Participating in weekly update calls with the MDH and daily consulting the MDH, CDC, WHO and U.S State Department to stay abreast of the latest developments, recommendations and advisories.

Self-Reporting Family, Student, and Employee Travel
Effective today, we urge all community members to inform the school of any upcoming travel to countries designated by the CDC as Level 3 for COVID-19 concerns. This includes parent/guardian business and personal travel to these countries. Please contact Kevin Xiong, Blake’s director of human resources, to share your plans for travel to these countries. He can be reached at 952-988-3470 or kxiong@blakeschool.org.

Anyone visiting a CDC-designated Level 3 country, including their immediate family members and other individuals in the home, will not be permitted to return to any Blake campus until they:

• complete the CDC-recommended 14-day self-quarantine;
• present documented clearance from their health care provider; and 
• are free from fever, cough and shortness of breath. 

As of this writing, Level 3 countries include China, Italy, South Korea, Iran and Venezuela. Additional countries could be added at any time, so please check the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Health Notices regularly. In addition to avoiding travel to specific countries, the CDC also recommends that travelers, particularly those with underlying health concerns, defer all cruise ship travel worldwide.

We will partner with families to establish distance learning in the event that a student must self-quarantine for two weeks. Employees should contact Kevin Xiong, director of human resources, if they have questions about travel or self-quarantine. Families with general questions about COVID-19 preparedness or distance learning should contact their division director(s).

Health, Hygiene and Reporting
As always, thank you for continuing to stay home and keeping students home if they are sick. Please wait to return until being fever-free and vomit-free for 24 hours. 

Experts continue to stress the importance of hand-washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, covering coughs and sneezes with inner elbows, avoiding face-touching and abstaining from sharing food and drink. If you haven’t yet, please review this CDC information on how the coronavirus spreads, its symptoms, prevention, treatment and what to do if you are sick.
 
We will continue to keep you updated in the coming weeks. The situation continues to evolve rapidly. We want to maximize learning opportunities for our students while keeping the health and safety of our community as our highest priority. 

This may be a stressful time for you and those around you, and I encourage all community members to be generous and kind with one another. 

Wishing you a safe and healthy spring break. 

Sincerely,

Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School

Dear Blake Community,

We continue to monitor closely the latest developments regarding the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Our administrative team is in ongoing discussion to ensure sound and thoughtful decisions regarding our students, employees, visitors and families. As always, the health and safety of our community remain our highest priority. 

While there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Minnesota, public health officials have urged schools to have a plan ready in the event of school closure. Our team has begun planning for remote instruction should our regular school routines be disrupted.

Student and Family Travel
We have cancelled a Blake summer global immersion experience in Taiwan that had been planned for Upper School students. In concert with our expert travel partner organizations, we will continue to evaluate school trips scheduled for this school year to ensure high safety standards. This includes the fourth grade trip to Camp Widjiwagan and the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. 

We ask families and employees planning to travel over spring break to review CDC travel recommendations and U.S. State Department advisories.

What We Are Doing

• Monitoring and following guidelines for schools as established by the Minnesota Department of Health and CDC.
• Using hand-sanitizing stations located throughout campus and disinfecting wipes on common surfaces. 
• Encouraging students and employees to wash their hands frequently.
• Sending students home if they have a fever or illness.
• Assessing approaches to upcoming community events where large groups will gather.
• Preparing to intercede in instances of harassment or discrimination, particularly against community members of Asian descent, that may occur as news of the virus continues.
• Reviewing the status of planned school trips to areas experiencing virus-induced illness.
• Evaluating options for remote learning should this become necessary.

What You Can Do

• Keep students at home if they are experiencing fever and illness.
• Report student illness to divisional offices with an email or phone call.
• Follow these practices:
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Cover your cough in an elbow.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Abstain from sharing food or drink.
• Stay home when sick: wait 24 hours after the end of a fever and/or vomiting before returning to school or work. 

Resources
We will continue to monitor news of the virus and recommendations from the CDC, Minnesota Department of Health and Hennepin County. We remain in daily communication with our National Association of Independent Schools network and continue to seek recommendations from the Global Education Benchmark Group, an organization of K-12 schools that researches and establishes best practices for global education. We encourage you to review this CDC information on how the coronavirus spreads, its symptoms, prevention, treatment, and what to do if you are sick.

As with any challenging situation, we ask you to partner with us. News about the virus is evolving rapidly, and children in particular may feel overwhelmed or afraid. In addition to consulting the following resources, please feel free to reach out to school counselors, deans or divisional administrators with questions and concerns. We have developed a short list of relevant points about prevention and preparedness at Blake. This document will evolve along with our plans and practices.

• Common Sense Media: Explaining the News to our Kids
• American Psychological Association: Five Ways to View Coverage of the Coronavirus
• Time: How to Talk to Your Kids About the Coronavirus Outbreak

We will continue to monitor information about the coronavirus vigilantly from national and local health and government organizations, maintain close contact with peer institutions, further develop preparedness efforts and provide updates as needed.

Thank you for your commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our community.

Sincerely,

Anne Stavney, Ph.D.
Head of School