July 2 Update

Dear Headwaters Parents and Community Members,

We are so thankful for your engagement and attendance last week at our parent presentations and for your thoughtful questions as you think about the next few months. In spite of the stress everyone is feeling, we are privileged to be in conversation with you about the welfare of your child and your family. In a way, we get to join families, for a brief time, as they make decisions and plans regarding their child's education. Even in these unsettling times, we are honored for that opportunity. 

As we continue to monitor the alarming increase of COVID-19 infections in Austin, our state, and the country, we learn more about what the year could look like. We were very fortunate to have had a call earlier this week with a prominent official at the National Institutes of Health who talked with us about the conditions in Austin and some of our most pressing questions. One of the most critical questions we asked focused on how best to make decisions related to opening. The official emphasized that any decision will be dependent on the course of action that Austin takes over the next few weeks--if the local and state directions are followed, we should see a decrease in cases. We encourage all community members to follow our local Stay-At-Home orders, to wear a cloth face covering when out, to maintain social distance, and continue thorough handwashing, especially this holiday weekend.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) did not provide any new or updated fall in-person school health and safety guidelines this week, nor do they have a date set for when they plan to update. The guidance the TEA provides will provide a standard of care that will help shape our decisions to serve our community best. 

We are looking into various ways to offer extra programs like Early Arrival, Creativity Club, and the Shuttle for our campuses. If these are services that you plan to use for the '20-'21 school year, please take a moment to sign-up and pay your deposit. These sign-ups will allow us to better plan with those interested. If a program is not offered, all deposits will be refunded. Click here to sign up for Early Arrival and/or Creativity Club (Springs and Creek). Click here to sign up for the shuttle (students 2nd grade and above). 

We are so thrilled to welcome Avé Luke-Simpson officially to Headwaters School! She joined us yesterday as our new High School Director and is eager to get to know the community. Avé was the Dean of Faculty and Director of Professional Development at The Nora School in the Baltimore/Washington DC area, in addition to teaching Spanish at the school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University, a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from American University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from George Mason University. Avé has roots in Texas, too. She grew up in San Antonio and is excited to live closer to her family.

We wanted to re-extend the invitation to participate in summer reading with our community. This year we are inviting parents and grade 6-12 students (parents, please review the books closely to determine appropriateness for your child) who wish to join us. We are offering three book choices by Black authors, and we look forward to hosting discussions this fall.

For middle schoolers who are curious about topics of diversity, equity, and inclusivity, but are not interested in any of the books listed above, please consider Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped, Antiracism and You: A Remix based on the National Book Award-Winning book by Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning.

As we said in the recent presentations and follow-up communications, our next email to the community is scheduled for Thursday, July 16. In the meantime, we welcome you to visit our webpage for '20-'21 School Year Planning. Feel free to send along questions, suggestions or resources to planning@headwaters.org.

We wish all of our families a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday. The campus offices will be closed next week (July 6-10) in observation of the holiday, though several camps will be running.

Take care,

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