The COVID-19 pandemic presents the most disruptive global public health crisis we’ve ever experienced.

As the world has been disrupted, so have the plans, expectations, and lives of our families, and our children’s education. There is no way to sugar-coat this and, although we can find many silver linings of extra family time and a slower pace of living, we yearn to return to how things used to be (or some semblance of that.) This, in and of itself, is a silver lining. Through the loss of our Kehillah experience we recognize its salience in our lives and how important it is for us to find a way to maintain as much of it as possible in an online or hybrid environment. 

We know learning is best facilitated in-person and the community our school provides is instrumental to our students’ social-emotional wellbeing and mental health. This knowing lies in opposition to the reality that in-person schooling may create a higher risk than we are willing to take with a virus that appears to affect 10-19 year olds similarly to adults and has no treatment or vaccine. 

As a community committed to taking responsibility for ourselves and others, we must choose to protect the physical health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff. To do so, we will continue to monitor Santa Clara COVID data and consult with OSHA, public health, and medical professionals throughout every decision process. 

As a community committed to taking responsibility for our learning, we must work together to provide the best possible teaching and learning environment in spite of the limitations of this pandemic.