Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

March 22, 2020

Good afternoon St. Francis families,

I never thought my communication with you after spring break would be addressing the new reality in which we all find ourselves. I have processed a range of emotions over the break, from enjoying the time with my family, to frustration that we will not be welcoming our students back during the timeframe we had hoped for, to worry over how our distance learning will go for students and faculty. At the same time, it has been energizing and affirming to witness the resilience and strength of our community responding to this unprecedented situation. We are one St. Francis family, and we will navigate this uncertainty together.

Below, your child’s division head has provided an overview of academics in the coming weeks; specifics will come from your student’s classroom or homeroom teachers in the next two days. I know all of us would much rather have our students in class, but I also sense an excitement on the part of our faculty and students as they engage in distance learning. While this mode of instruction will look slightly different, our goal is to deliver continuity of instruction as well as a connection to teachers, classmates, and community alike. Rest assured, your student will not be in front of their iPads or computers all day. Some lessons will be synchronous (delivered at the same time), and others will be self-paced and the student may work through in different manners.

Our staff is excited for this journey and prepared for the challenges ahead. Additionally, our board of trustees and our leadership team are highly engaged to address any issues and ensure that thoughtful plans are developed for as long as necessary. I am honored to be a part of such a tremendous group of educational leaders and staff members, all dedicated to preserving and serving our mission to develop imaginative, critical thinkers and people for others!

I encourage you to help us make this learning as engaging as possible for all. Send us your photos and help us connect through social media as one community united. Use the hashtag #SFEStrong.

In closing, please know that I am thinking of you, your families, and our community. It is my prayer that this situation resolves itself as quickly as possible. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and each other, and we will continue to keep you updated as we navigate this together.

With gratitude,
Steve Lovejoy

March 17, 2020

Good afternoon, St. Francis families,

It is with a heavy heart and after much careful deliberation that we have decided to keep the campuses closed until April 10 with an anticipated return date for faculty and staff on Monday, April 13, and students on Tuesday, April 14. This was not an easy decision, but the unprecedented nature of this virus and the close contact that is the nature of school make this the best course of action to keep our community safe.

Moving Forward:

Distance learning will allow for continuity of instruction and connection. The timeline is included again below for your reference.

Tuesday, March 24: Teachers will e-mail distance learning instructions and schedules
Wednesday, March 25: Distance learning classes begin 
March 25–April 9: Distance learning 
April 13: Faculty and staff return to campus (anticipated) 
April 14: Students return to campus (anticipated)

This extended closure should allow time for health and city officials to continue evaluating the extent of COVID-19 in our community.

Events: 

At this time, any event scheduled through April 14 will be canceled (this includes athletic events, practices, and competitions). Additionally, we have made the difficult decision to cancel St. Francis Festival Day (April 19) and the Upper School spring play (April 24–25) based on the guidelines for group gatherings.

Doing Our Part: 

We continue to be in frequent contact with state and local agencies and feel this is the best course of action to slow the spread of this virus. We encourage our St. Francis community to follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and practice social distancing to do our part during this time of national crisis. Additionally, Harris County and the City of Houston continue to place new guidelines into effect that we ask our St. Francis community to review.

One Community: 

During this time of uncertainty, we can draw comfort and assurance from the strength of our amazing community. In the past few days alone, I have seen you find new ways to be people for others and supporting friends and neighbors in need. Thank you for being a part of the St. Francis family, and please reach out to your student’s division head, a member of our leadership team, or me if you need additional support. Together, we will get through these times stronger than before. 

Please continue to visit this webpage for the latest developments: StFrancisHouston.org/covid-19

In partnership,
Stephen M. Lovejoy, MEd
Head of School 

March 11, 2020

Dear St. Francis,

As the situation around the novel coronavirus rapidly evolves, St. Francis Episcopal School continues to prepare and plan. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and 12 U.S. states have declared a state of emergency. While there are NO confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the St. Francis Episcopal School community at this time, we do know that this virus is highly contagious, and we are working with vigilance to mitigate issues here at school.

We are seeing independent schools in the Houston area temporarily closing after members of their community had exposure to people with confirmed cases of COVID-19. In addition, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has canceled the remainder of its events.

St. Francis has decided to proactively close both campuses starting Friday, March 13, and continuing after spring break until Monday, March 30. Details are as follows:

• Thursday, March 12–Teachers and students work together to prepare for online learning experience. Students will bring home required materials. Explore and Extend child care will be available until 6:00 p.m., but enrichment classes will be canceled. 
• Friday, March 13–Students will not come to school. Instead, this day will serve as a teacher in-service to further train on distance learning platforms and instructional delivery.
• March 16–20–Spring break will continue as planned.
• March 23–24–Campus closed. Teacher preparation days.
• March 25–27–Campus closed. Distance learning begins.
• Monday, March 30–Campus opens, barring any new developments. 

This temporary closure is intended to minimize health risks to those in our community since we know that social distancing tactics reduce the virus’s spread. Closing the campus for one week after spring break–when many of our families travel–will allow people to monitor their health for COVID-19 symptoms which develop around five days after exposure. Division heads will attempt to reschedule events that were planned for the week of March 23–27. 

Additionally, this proactive closure gives our faculty time to prepare, students time to train and familiarize themselves with the platforms, and families time to adjust schedules.

Distance Learning Specifics

Your children’s teachers will send more detailed and robust instructions after spring break. Though significant time and planning have gone into preparing for this situation, we anticipate questions and challenges and invite you to remain in open communication with us. While our campus will be closed, school will remain in session. Our goals are twofold: 1) to maintain a sense of connection; and 2) to offer continuity of instruction for our students.

Below is a general overview of our distance learning approaches by division.

Primary School

• Families and students will use the online learning platforms to which they are accustomed—Tadpoles and e-mail.

Lower School

• Families and students will use the online learning platforms to which they are accustomed—SeeSaw, e-mails, and Google Classroom (grades 3 and 4).
• Educational materials and iPads will be sent home with students. We ask that students refrain from taking school iPads with them on spring break travel.

Middle School

• Families and students will use the online learning platforms to which they are accustomed—the parent and student portals as well as Google Classroom.
• Educational materials including textbooks will be sent home with students.

Upper School

• Students will use their laptops to access the online learning platform to which they are accustomed—Google Classroom and e-mail.

We leave you with a few reminders about spring break travel:

Currently, the list of at-risk countries includes China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Hong Kong, though please keep in mind this could rapidly change. Please visit the CDC’s Travel Health Notices page for the latest updates. 

If you are traveling to an at-risk country, please notify your child’s division head so we can prepare to assist you with distance-learning options beyond March 30. The school will not count students' absences against their record. 

We are also asking families traveling anywhere outside of the U.S. to check the CDC’s Travel Health Notices before returning to school. 

We appreciate your continued partnership as we work through COVID-19 together. Thank you for all you do to help keep our community safe and healthy. Please continue to visit this webpage for the latest developments: StFrancisHouston.org/covid-19

In partnership,
Stephen M. Lovejoy, MEd
Head of School 

Good Morning,  

We are writing this morning to update you with information that has come to our attention overnight. St. Francis Episcopal School has been made aware of possible cases of exposure to COVID-19 in the Houston area, including at other independent schools. Those schools reached out to their families directly last evening.

If you suspect or have been notified that anyone in your family has been exposed to COVID-19, St. Francis is asking you to stay home from school out of an abundance of caution through spring break. We will work with those families directly to provide support.  

We have been in contact with the Harris County Public Health Department overnight and they have advised us that the chance of exposure to St. Francis is low. However, we wanted to make you aware of the latest steps we have taken.  

Once again, there are NO confirmed cases within the St. Francis Episcopal School community at this time, we do know that this virus is highly contagious and we continue our work to mitigate issues here at school. Our leadership teams meet daily to evaluate the current information and to provide our community with the most accurate information.  

We ask for your continued partnership and support as this situation is evolving. We will always have our students' and community’s best interest in mind and will communicate again before spring break with additional updates.   We will continue to send e-mails for major updates as well as update this web page: StFrancisHouston.org/COVID-19

In our most recent communication regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we updated you on the enhanced safety and sanitation procedures we are implementing across both campuses. As we continue to navigate the situation, we are taking the following additional steps with our food handling, preparation, and service, effective immediately:

Primary School
Teachers will serve lunch to students in all grade levels. 

Lower School 
Hot lunch service will remain the same. 
Pre-made sandwiches, fruit, and salad will be served by Dining Hall staff. 
Utensils, condiments, etc. will be placed on trays for the students. 
Beverages will no longer be self-serve. Teachers will serve bottled water or milk cartons. 

Middle School 
Hot lunch service will remain the same. 
Fruit, plated salads, and made-to-order sandwiches will be served by Dining Hall staff. 
Utensils, condiments, etc. will be placed on trays for the students. 
Beverages will no longer be self-serve. Teachers will serve bottled water or milk cartons. 

Upper School 
Dining Hall staff will serve lunch and beverages (no self-serve). 
Utensils, condiments, etc. will be placed on trays for the students.