Before We Begin

Ted Graf, Head of School
Dear Headwaters Parents, Guides, Trustees, and Students--

Schools are remarkably resilient organizations, and Headwaters is no exception. Resilience is in our roots; it's how we began. After all, courage and agility were required to bring Khabele and Primavera Montessori into existence, nearly 20 years ago. It took strength and chutzpah to merge the two schools nearly ten years later, and it took vision and luck to raise the money for the purchase of buildings on the downtown campus just three years ago. And this is our recipe for resilience--courage, agility, strength, chutzpah, vision, and, yes, luck! Our school is NOT the buildings or the campuses; it's us and how we come together in service of a transformative education for a child of any age.

Each of these qualities has been on display in our hearts and your homes since March. We have heard the stories of job loss or sudden moves or health scares. Parents, especially the parents of our youngest students, have been balancing care for their kids, with (unrealistic) job expectations, alongside a family member who may be in need. In partnership with us, many of you have been educating your children, too.

And even when we might have sounded tentative or exhausted, parents have remained committed to the school and to our vision. We are deeply grateful for your faith in us, and we are excited to welcome you and your children back whether it's through a computer screen, a mask, a face shield, a windshield, or across a picnic table. And please know that we yearn to be in-person with our students and with you; to look you in the eye from six feet away and say through that gaze, "I see you and I see your child, and I can't wait to help them blossom." To paraphrase Rabbi Allan Freeman, there is nothing and there will be nothing VIRTUAL about the way we interact with each other this year. Each of us is invited and expected to bring our whole selves to the school. Let this be a year where we each live authentically, think expansively, and create bravely. 

One way we're adapting this year and thinking expansively is by adding three cross-campus groups to steward the school through the challenges that may lie ahead, to help us understand the public health and scientific information being shared by so many different authorities and agencies, and to prepare for the school's future. Here's a quick overview of those groups. As the groups begin their work in earnest, we will experiment with ways to convey that work with the entire school community. It may take the form of a Pitso or a webinar; if permitted to gather in person, it may take the form of a socially distanced gathering in camp chairs;  it may take the form of an email, and it will certainly rely on using The Nest to keep us informed.
  • Health Advisory Group -- The objective of this group is to guide and advise the school on issues related to COVID-19, health & wellness, and our procedures and protocols related to the safety of our students, guides, and families. They are distilling and analyzing data that comes from external sources like Austin Public Health, Centers for Disease Control, or the Texas Education Agency. For the time being, they are meeting weekly. We are grateful to the following for their time and engagement: Jerry Aubin, Amy Nylund, Virginia Luff, Erin Moffitt, Vy Ngo, Sarah Mayes, Marc Lionetti, and Laurie Seremetis. If you have questions for this group, please use this link to pose them.
  • Headwaters Today -- The aim of this group is to support the school in ensuring its viability and resilience during the 2020-2021 school year. They will work closely with the Health Advisory Group and apply their recommendations where needed. Furthermore, this group will distill and analyze internal data and reports like attendance patterns, operational needs or issues, cleaning and sanitization needs, and new survey data from parents, guides, or students, etc. We are grateful to the following community members for their time and commitment: Jessica Rio, Aaron Levy, Ed Muzio, Alex Penry, Roberto Germán, Cait Taylor, Chelsea Scott, Jennie Glass, and Hilda Reilly.
  • Headwaters Tomorrow -- The mission of this group is to guide and advise the school in planning for its future after COVID-19, and, in particular, for the 2021-2022 school year. The following community members have committed their time and talents to this group: Jim Rudden, Cheline Jaidar, Taina Palombo-Price, Allan Cole, Abby Moncrieff, Avé Luke-Simpson, Paul Cronin, Jason Lewiss, Jennifer Phillips, Erica Hudgeons, and Terra Lynch.
  • Faculty-Staff Community Leaders (FSCLs) -- Similar to the structure of Community Leaders for students on the River Campus, we created an analogous body for faculty and staff members across all three campuses two years ago. This group's purpose is to work closely with the leadership and administration of the school to ensure open lines of communication about issues related to the support and welfare of all employees. In the past, this group met only two or three times per year to discuss items related to employee benefits. This year the group will meet more frequently to ensure a predictable format for faculty and staff concerns and questions. Emily Crumley, Chelsea Scott, Jennifer Skiffington, Jennifer Giroux, Christi Wilson, Kelly Dickens, Lisa Dubuque, Sarah Youree, Robin Scott, Ted Graf, Leslie Hirsch, and Alex Penry.
Summer Reading
In the spirit of creating bravely, we invite any and all parents and guardians in the Headwaters Community to join us for our inaugural discussion of our summer reading books. Any students who read any of these titles are welcome to join us, too. As we all aspired to be Advocates (to strive to understand diverse perspectives, cultures and faither, we recognize our agency and act with integrity in pursuit of a more just and equitable society), we are offering two book choices by Black authors, and we look forward to hosting these discussions.
 
Dates & Registration Links for Discussion for Parents
We know it will be a memorable school year, and we are eager to get it started. I look forward to seeing many of you in the next couple of weeks. Please be sure to wear your mask, wash your hands, and stay physically distanced.

Take care,

Ted


Ted Graf
Head of School 
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As a 501(c)3 non-profit school, Headwaters School does not discriminate because of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other classes protected by federal, state, or local law in its admissions, financial aid, hiring, or board membership processes.