Dear Pathway Community:
It is with some reluctance that I write to inform you that we have made the decision to convert the entire Pathway School to virtual learning beginning tomorrow, Tuesday January 11, 2022. This morning, 20 staff members tested positive for COVID-19, and were sent home to quarantine. A nearly identical number of staff tested positive last week, many of whom are still in quarantine. Nearly 50% of our students are absent today due to quarantine or due to concerns regarding the infectiousness of the current COVID-19 variant. Public Health officials have advised us to expect both of those numbers to increase over the next several weeks. Based upon these numbers, I do not believe we can safely or effectively operate in person learning, and have had to make the decision to transition to virtual learning.
For planning purposes, tomorrow, Tuesday January 11, 2022 will be an asynchronous learning day for students, with synchronous learning to begin in earnest on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
As of right now, we will operate the school virtually for three weeks. Our plan and our hope is to reopen fully to in-person learning on Monday, January 31, 2022, but we will make a final decision based upon staff and student health the preceding week.
We are aware that for many of our students virtual learning is not ideal. As was the case last year, Pathway educators and support professionals will do everything they can to make this transition as smooth as possible—for everyone.
We are also aware of the burden this presents to our families. We attempted to keep the school open and functioning as best we could. In the past week, we have made numerous adjustments to the school day to keep incidental contact to a minimum, while offering each student full and robust class offerings. It is our intent and our goal to make this adjustment to virtual learning as brief as possible for all.
I am certain you may have additional questions. We will continue to host a virtual town hall this evening beginning at 6:30pm. Please check your email for the Zoom meeting information.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. I wish our decision could have been made differently.
David Schultheis
President & CEO