Dear Saints Community,
Like all organizations across the globe, St. Christopher’s has been focused on its response to the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19. As you know, over the past several days the international response has focused on mitigating the disease’s spread through “social distancing,” which, for schools, includes eliminating all campus activities and shifting to distance learning.
There is no greater priority for me and for the faculty and staff of St. Christopher’s than the safety and well-being of our Saints community. On Thursday, I sent
this message
to current families announcing that St. Christopher’s has suspended all on-and off-campus activities from March 13 through March 27 and will shift to distance learning between faculty and students on March 19, after several days of preparation. Importantly, we do this for the immediate Saints community, but also for our neighbors and friends throughout the Richmond region.
This is uncharted territory for St. Christopher’s and for schools across the globe. As they have done for decades, the faculty, staff, and leadership team are stepping up to formulate best practices for this new mode of teaching, envisioning engaging lesson plans and activities and making all decisions with one driving consideration--What is in the best interests of our boys and their growth and development?
At its core, St. Christopher’s is a relational institution. Our buildings and gathering spaces matter, but what matters more is the people and relationships that enliven those spaces and create connectivity that spans a lifetime. Suspending the face-to-face contact that has sustained generations of St. Christopher’s students and alumni, whether for two weeks or longer, is a real challenge, but now we must choose to frame it as an opportunity.
We pride ourselves on knowing, loving, and celebrating boys. We already do this in varied forms and approaches, using multiple instructional techniques and methods of delivery. How, in this altered environment, can we best serve our boys and deliver first-rate distance learning for our students? That is the charge and rallying point for me and for our outstanding faculty and staff.
This will be an iterative process with lessons learned for all of us. We will try, succeed some, fail some, and try again. We will listen to the voices of our boys and respond to their feedback of our efforts. What a remarkable 21st Century learning opportunity we have before us! I have complete faith that our teachers and staff will deliver for our boys and for all of you in the days and weeks to come.
To help our entire community stay informed of developments and resources related to COVID-19, we have developed this
webpage
--I encourage you to visit it frequently, as we will be adding essential information as we embark on this journey together.
St. Christopher’s and our entire community has weathered challenges--local, national, and international--in the past, and I am confident we will once again serve and lead during this moment of disruption. Moreover, please know that the strength and loyalty of our alumni, parents, and friends sustains our conviction to emerge from this challenge as an even more unified and healthy community of Saints.
Should you have any questions or concerns, we are here to support you and the entire Saints community. You may contact me or any of my colleagues listed below.
Yours,
