COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

September 1, 2020

Dear Tapestry Family,

Yesterday, we welcomed our K-12 instructional staff back into our buildings to kick-off a week of professional learning, in what will most certainly prove to be an extraordinary school year.  I am consistently inspired by our incredibly dedicated and talented staff, and this year with the challenges and opportunities mounting for educators across the country and the globe, I feel more fortunate than ever to be a part of this outstanding crew.  The hard work and preparation, the eagerness and excitement, and the attention to detail and passion to offer the best experiences possible for their students is bubbling over here on the Great Arrow campus.  They cannot wait to reach out to you and your students at the end of this week.

Today’s update includes new information about masks/face coverings AND 1:1 technology distribution AND transportation.

Masks/Face Coverings:

We would like to offer new information to help you select an acceptable style of mask for your child to wear at school. Since the Centers for Disease Control has not included the gaiter or neck buff style of mask as an acceptable style, we will not be allowing that style of mask to be worn at school. Further research shows the gaiter masks or neck buffs made of thin, stretchy fabric are not as effective as masks made with multiple layers of a cotton material.

As a guide to assist you, masks should:

  • Be made of a cloth with multiple layers of material
  • Fit properly by covering the nose and mouth
  • Fit snug but comfortable
  • Be secured with ties or ear loops
  • Allow you to breathe without restriction
  • Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape
  • Not be a mask with one way valves or vents, per CDC. One way valve/vent masks are not allowed.

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I encourage you to select a comfortable mask for your child and practice wearing it for extended periods of time. Mask breaks will be built into your child’s schedule, but with anything that is new, the more practice or familiarity your child has with it, the quicker they will acclimate to it.

Technology:

Tapestry has made a significant investment in our student device hardware this school year, in all three of our schools so that every student, K-12 will have access to a school-provided electronic device (iPads for grades K-2, and Chromebooks for grades 3-12).

Over the past few months, the school, like the rest of the country has suffered manufacturing and shipping delays from overseas, but despite those delays that are out of our control, we hope to have 100% of our devices out to students by October 2020.  In the meantime, we will be using the data compiled by our parent surveys to prioritize the distribution of devices out to families that have communicated a need to us, and then those who will be opting for 100% remote instruction, for distribution before others.  By the first week of October, all students should have a Tapestry-provided device in their possession.  More information is on its way to you from your students’ building principal this week.

Transportation:

Tapestry will be able to provide NFTA student bus passes to any family that requests one.  Please call your school’s main office or email Kathie Mann ([email protected]) to request an NFTA student bus pass.

For those families that reside outside the city of Buffalo in our outlying suburban districts and who rely on yellow bus transportation for your child, you must work with that particular district’s transportation office to request yellow bus transportation to and from school.  New York State Department of Education reopening guidance (on page 63) has stated that whether or not that district is in session remotely or otherwise, pupil transportation must be provided to charter school students.  While transportation may be provided by that district, it may not match up to Tapestry’s school day this year.  In that case, parents must be responsible for transporting their child to and from school, on-time.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns.  I cannot wait to begin this school year with you and your children.

We are crew, not passengers.

Thank you,

Eric Klapper

Executive Director