Mid-July Update

Dear Headwaters Parents and Community Members,

We hope you and your families continue to be well. Thank you to everyone in our community who has shared information, support, and resources with us as we plan for a very different start to our school year. The Creators and Thinkers portion of our PACT is certainly being activated this summer as we engage in our planning.

As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, we are staying apprised of updates and directives from Austin Public Health, including this week's requirement that all schools in Travis County delay on-campus instruction until after September 7. ( See the Health Authority Order at this link.) We will, of course, follow those directives that prohibit on-campus instruction. Because the situation remains fluid, we realize that this original date may be extended if conditions continue to escalate and authorities deem it appropriate. We remain in close communication with other local independent schools, and we continue to monitor TEA and AISD announcements, along with data-driven and science-based updates from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). We are extraordinarily grateful to the Headwaters parents, who work in public health and medicine, and who have been advising us.

Just before the fourth of July holiday weekend, faculty representatives from across all three campuses provided valuable feedback and input to the Scenarios Working Group about the reopening plan we sent to you in mid-June. Their thinking and ongoing work this summer will inform and influence the next iteration of our plans, which we will be sharing at the end of July. Additionally, we wanted you to know that several faculty members have offered online and Zoom-based professional development around a variety of topics related to virtual and distance learning, and several have been participating in online learning opportunities offered through our Montessori networks and Global Online Academy. Like our parents and students, the guides have demonstrated remarkable resilience and commitment in the face of so much uncertainty. They continue to work and prepare this summer and have been collecting and sharing valuable articles and resources. We remain grateful to them for their tireless efforts and thoughtfulness.

We will send a more comprehensive update at the end of July. Prior to that, our board of trustees and senior leadership team will be meeting to review the latest information to inform our decision-making around opening plans for each campus. The health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff will be prioritized in all of our decisions. 

In the meantime, we invite you to visit our webpage for 2020-2021 School Year Planning. Feel free to send along questions, suggestions, or resources to us at planning@headwaters.org.

Sincerely,

Ted Graf, Head of School

Paul Cronin, Director of Studies

Susie Demarest, Director of Early Childhood

Roberto Germán, Director of Middle School

Virginia Luff, Director of Elementary

Avé Luke-Simpson, Director of High School

Amy Nylund, Senior Director of Community & Enrollment

Alex Penry, Senior Director for Advancement & Strategy

Cait Taylor, Director of Communications and Assistant to Head of School

Headwaters Senior Leadership Team