Our Response to COVID-19
What if our community were presented with an opportunity to stay healthy, to contribute to the greater good, and to learn about and practice the future of work?
We believe now is such a time.
Beginning tomorrow (Friday) March 13, 2020 and lasting through next Friday, March 20, 2020, we are moving all learning and programming—including check-ins, Socratic launches, Quests, e-learning, and more—remotely. Next week we will make a decision about school plans for post March 20.
We are making this change for three main reasons:
By not convening in person we can help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Currently a few of our Forest School learners are sick but have not yet been tested for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution, we feel it's best to pause in-person convenings to mitigate spread among our own community.
The reality of COVID-19 is already affecting our Studios. We've been down 15+ heroes everyday this week, and those absences are impacting goal setting, launches, group work, Theatre Quest, Studio maintenance, and more. Working remotely will allow us to all be on the same page and working within the same parameters.
Our team is not living in fear, and we don't want the heroes to live in fear. We see this as a way that we can help one another and our larger community. And how amazing is it that we live in a time of technology where life and learning can go on digitally!
We recognize this change will be harder for some families than for others, due to work and childcare needs. If you need help, you can reach out directly and we will crowdsource help among our parent community, or you can post specific needs online in our private Facebook group.
Moving forward, please note the following important expectations:
Work— Learners are expected to make significant progress on their badge plan daily, to attend virtual Socratic launches (led by our Guides using Zoom), to check in with their Running Partners, and to check in weekly with Guides.
Communication—Learners should check their email 3x daily to look for instructions from Guides. Heroes should check their emails by 9 am tomorrow (Friday, March 13, 2020) to receive instructions and a schedule for the day.
Schedule—It's important that learners keep scheduled work times daily so they can meet for group launches, Running Partner check-ins, and Guide check-ins.
Technology—Learners can bring home Chromebooks today. We will be present at school tomorrow from 8:30am-3:15pm if you need to come pick up your child's Chromebook tomorrow. Please be reminded that Chromebooks are school property, and that learners should be responsible with them and uphold the tech policy. Zoom will be used for virtual meetings; ideally learners use Zoom video, but Zoom also offers to join via phone. Guides will email learners with Zoom links and call-in information. Elementary parents can email guides@theforest.school for username and login info.
As always, we expect parents to check in with learners at the beginning and end of each week to discuss goals and progress. In addition—and to the extent you're able tomorrow and next week—we encourage parents to take on a “Guide” role to encourage and inspire heroes to direct their own learning. Here are some (optional!) ideas you can pull from.
Our hope is that throughout this our community stays healthy, continues to learn deeply, and grows closer together.
Please let us know if you have questions, concerns, ideas, or suggestions.
- The Forest School team
banner image via