The Whole Child Review Issue No. 6, May 2021

Opening Letter

I hope you’re taking and giving good care. On April 19th, for the first time in over a year, we opened our school doors to welcome back students. After a year of severe disruption, I am so heartened by the reciprocal joy seen and felt between staff, students and families.

Recognizing the many challenges of teaching remotely, I have witnessed unqualified resilience and brilliance at each campus as staff, students, and families now navigate the logistics of safely transitioning students back to in-person learning. I have so much gratitude for our teachers who work hard each day to simultaneously engage students in-person and at home and am equally thankful for the operations teams who worked for months to prepare our buildings and ensure our team and family could meet this moment with ease, dignity, and confidence.

In this edition of the Whole Child Review, I encourage you to carefully read about the meaningful progress we have made with all 7 priorities. Three things I am excited about and want to emphasize are: the intentional support being provided to students through our SEL priority, the robust work being done under the priority of Cultivating Identity Development Practices, and the powerful Wellness Wednesday event entitled, Black Fathers, Mental Health, and Critical Thinking. I am also happy to share several staff features throughout this Review.

In gratitude, community, and health,

April