Dear VTT Families,
Over the last months, the Board has been working together with the Head of School and CFO to determine how best to support our families during this challenging time. Our focus has been to assess all avenues for assistance and maximize and stretch our budget to create the financial capacity to support our families’ needs now and into the coming school year.
With that in mind, we would like to share with you the details of our
Covid Family Response Initiative
that has been created in order to serve the needs of our families for the current school year and moving into the 2020-21 school year. This initiative includes multiple elements that we believe will target the needs that have surfaced since entering this global pandemic.
As a non-profit organization, VTT operates on a break-even budget and, although we were able to have some operational savings when our building closed, COVID-19 has created many additional expenses for the school as we strive to ensure the health and safety of all in our building. Through the process of strategizing financial decisions, the Board is, as always, focused on maintaining the long-term financial viability of the school while always considering how best to serve our families.
We want to acknowledge the extraordinary generosity and unwavering support of the
Diamond Foundation
and
Jewish Federation
which has given VTT the ability to offer financial support to our families during this challenging time. We would also like to thank our generous donors and sponsors who supported us during this year’s annual campaign, virtual gala, and Day of Giving.
Below are the elements of our
Covid Family Response Initiative
that VTT and the Board have instituted
:
Emergency Tuition Relief
: To date, VTT has provided assistance to 19 of VTT’s families by offering emergency tuition relief to those who have lost income due to COVID-19.
Tuition Assistance and Affordability Discount Program: VTT will be allocating additional funds to Tuition Assistance and the Affordability Discount Program to support families who have fallen on challenging times or experienced lost income due to COVID-19. With that in mind, our application deadline for the Affordability Discount Program has been delayed to
August 1st
in order to accommodate the changing financial circumstances of our families and to ensure that we are able to capture the needs that exist. Please stay tuned for further information regarding the Affordability Discount Program application and process.
The deadline for tuition assistance applications has also been delayed to
June 15th
. Questions regarding Tuition Assistance and the Affordability Discount Program can be directed to our finance office at
[email protected]
. As a reminder, any applications for financial relief or assistance are dealt with on a
strictly confidential basis
.
Tuition Payment Plans
: VTT has adapted our payment plans to allow for more flexibility for families who would rather pay their tuition over a larger span of months. We have also deferred many tuition payments until the summer to allow time for the economy to restart.
Family Fund
: The VTT Family Fund has been replenished through fundraising efforts and is currently being directed to our families hardest hit by COVID-19. The Family Fund’s goal is to support families who struggle to pay for necessities such as medical assistance, food and nutrition and transportation as well as uniforms, field trips and hot lunches.
Early Childhood Credit
: In an effort to acknowledge the challenge of providing a robust remote learning experience for early childhood students, we have offered a one-time credit to these families.
Increased Tech Investment
: With multiple families borrowing our computers and iPads to assist with distance learning, VTT has purchased an additional 45 Chromebooks in order to accommodate the needs of all of our students while our teachers instruct remotely.
Social-Emotional Support
: Students are processing this new reality on many levels and many of them are mourning the loss of experiences they have been looking forward to for years. As a community, VTT wants to ensure their emotional wellness as we move towards gradual re-entry. The Board is committed to investing financially in ways to support our students through this emotional journey, such as an increase in counselor availability and targeted training for staff to address common concerns arising from these weeks of isolation. Further efforts will be communicated by our Head of School in the new school year.
COVID Health and Safety Protocol
: The Board is committing budget funds to ensure that VTT is meeting all health and safety requirements for both the re-opening on June 1st and for the upcoming new school year. VTT has also hired a medical consultant to assist in this endeavour.
We know that the last two months have been extraordinarily challenging for our families and students and that the effects of this virus will be, unfortunately, with us for some time. As a community Jewish day school, the Board of VTT continues to keep our families top of mind in all decisions being made and our goal remains that no student be left without an option to attend or maintain their enrollment at VTT. It is our goal to ensure Jewish education is accessible for all of our families.
While we continue to look forward to better days ahead, we have learned throughout this crisis about the power of working together to preserve that which we hold dear and vital to our community.
Wishing you good health and
Chag Shavuot Same’ach
,
From Strength to Strength,
