Click to Download: English version of Nov. 24 Alma Family Letter
Click to Download: Spanish version of Nov. 24 Alma Family Letter
November 24, 2020
Dear Alma Families,
Congratulations on a successful First Quarter of learning for your scholars! Thank you for your continued support and dedication to your child’s education. This school year may look different but, rest assured that the remote learning that Alma scholars are participating in is real school. We are extremely proud of the continued high rates of attendance, participation, and work completion, and we know that these achievements would not be possible without all of you.
Our Schools and COVID-19
As you may know, our country is entering another wave of the pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 in New Bedford is rising, and we do not know what the next several weeks will look like. This is why we made the decision for all Alma scholars to participate in remote learning the week following the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 30 – Dec. 4. We are fortunate to not have experienced any spread of the virus within our schools to date.
That being said, we do not plan to welcome any additional scholars back for in-person learning until at least February 2021. Based on what we’re seeing academically and what we’re hearing from many of you, at that time we will prioritize getting our youngest scholars, grades K-2, in person as much as possible. We will also prioritize additional scholars with high needs, for whom remote learning is a real barrier.
Additionally, we’re not currently considering an alternating hybrid schedule for any cohorts at this time. We have a strong remote program that is getting stronger by the day. We believe that switching to an alternating schedule would likely diminish the quality of what scholars are then doing on their remote days.
We will share more about our reopening plans during our next Family Zoom meeting, on Tuesday, December 15 at 5 pm. Please plan to attend.
Meals and Supplies Distribution Information
We are distributing meals from both campuses in two different time slots to maximize pickup potential for families who need it. Families may pick up meals from either Alma campus depending on what time is most convenient. Menus will be posted weekly on Alma’s social media and website.
- Ottiwell Campus
- 9:00-10:30 am daily Monday-Friday
- Grab and go bags of Breakfast/Lunch/Milk
- Please arrive at the rear entrance by the Cafeteria
- Douglass Campus
- 4:00-5:30 pm daily Monday-Friday
- Grab and go bags of Breakfast/Lunch/Milk
- Please arrive at the backdoor on Earle St. behind the gym
Our Operations Teams worked hard this month to prepare for you all to restock your scholars’ school supplies. We were thrilled to see over 80% of families come to pick up these supplies. We will continue to provide supplies for all scholars as needed.
Please also take a moment to review the following notices from our campus teams:
We are committed to supporting our scholars and families. If there are any additional concerns you may have, please reach out to your campus to ask for support. We are here to help. We also want to take a moment to express that we are so thankful to have the privilege of serving your scholars and of watching them grow into service minded leaders, even though this year we are seeing many of them over Zoom. We hope you have a safe and healthy break this week, and we look forward to continuing on this journey together.
In service,
Will Gardner
Executive Director