Reopening Update

November 12, 2020

Good afternoon Tapestry Families,

As mentioned in recent communications this week, Erie County has entered into a new phase in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Governor’s designation of most of Erie County as a Yellow Precautionary Zone earlier this week through the state’s Micro-Cluster Action Initiative came to us all as the data around positivity rates and daily cases has continued to rise exponentially across the region.

Tapestry has closely monitored the regional data that would factor into future in-person closures (orange zone criteria- 10 days where the % positive 7-day rolling average is above 3% AND a 7-day average of 10 or more new daily cases per 100k residents) and sought out further guidance around testing implementation and access.  Additionally we have learned from the Erie County Department of Health that they have no ability to assist schools in this mandated testing.  Taking into account these factors and others, the Compass Leadership Team met this morning and determined that the best course of action for our school community would be to plan to pivot to 100% virtual/remote learning in all grades, K-12, beginning on Monday, November 16th, temporarily, through Monday, December 7th, 2020.

This proactive move to 100% virtual/remote learning follows the planning that the Compass Leadership Team has drafted in our reopening plans, and not only prioritizes the health and safety of our students and staff, but allows for a thoughtful, planned and manageable transition from in-person instruction to virtual instruction.

We realize what this transition means to our families and to our incredibly dedicated staff that have sacrificed and given so much of themselves to our community in the face of so many barriers this fall.  The work that we as a school community have accomplished in the last 60 days is beyond commendable… its been truly inspiring to watch.  This success will propel us into this new chapter of our school year and we will continue to offer robust instruction, we will continue to address the needs of our students, we will continue to support each other, and celebrate each other and be the shining example of what is possible when a dedicated and passionate group of educators decides to work together to build a learning community that ensures that each student receives what they need to develop to their full potential.  We will continue to be a crew.

Please stay tuned to hear more details from your child’s building principal to surrounding logistics around class schedules and logging into virtual classes.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

We are crew.

Thank you,

Eric Klapper

Executive Director