Religious School Closing Announced

To Our Religious School Community,

We know it has been a challenging time, and we wanted you to hear directly from us as we continue to make decisions for our Religious School and broader Kol Ami community.

We continue to be guided by our care and concern for everyone in our building. We both are or have been parents of Religious School students. Susan has taught many of your children as both a 6th grade and substitute teacher, and she served for several years as the Religious School Committee Chair. We say in the strongest and most heartfelt of terms that as we make decisions that affect Kol Ami schools — Your children are our children.

With the facts before us, and in consultation with state and county health departments and medical specialists, we continue to think several steps ahead. We have not been advised or required to take any specific measures but have chosen to take voluntary acts to protect the health and wellbeing of our children, our families, and our staff. For instance, we have been mindful of the presence of COVID-19 in neighboring communities and asked staff with even remote connections to those communities not to come to our building. In addition, we closed our building this week to allow for professional cleaning so that we all could have peace of mind that our physical spaces are safe. And we emphasize that we are fortunate that we still are not aware of anyone in our Kol Ami community who has tested positive for COVID-19.

As we are sure you know, we are facing a quickly evolving set of circumstances. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to make difficult decisions during this period of uncertainty. Given the continued governmental recommendations to avoid large gatherings and to practice social distancing, we have decided to continue to close our schools through at least March 29, and possibly longer.

But as you know, closure does not mean there will be a break in our connection to you and your children. We understand the challenges school closures place on families — and Pam, our teachers, and our Kol Ami community will be here to support you. Many of you have already been contacted by your children’s teachers with lessons and plans for home learning. Pam is continuing to work with our teachers to develop procedures to stay in touch with you and your children and to continue your children’s learning from your homes. She will be in touch with more information.

We will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 and will update you as developments arise.

As a school and a synagogue community, we believe it is our responsibility to care for and support each other during trying times. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Pam, to Executive Director Jess Lorden, to our Clergy, or to us if we can be of any help to you and your family.

Please stay and be well.

L’shalom,