This past week has been eventful and we are grateful for your engagement. We have seen CA’s senior leadership, the Board of Trustees, families, faculty, staff, and students step forward with a shared goal: to help the school open in-person as safely and equitably as possible.
On September 1, the CA academic program will begin remotely in STAC 1 for all students as previously announced. In response to input from across the community and the need to ensure that we are hearing from all voices about our path forward, the Board of Trustees and senior administrative team have created a structure to bring all stakeholders together. This morning, the Board voted to create a “Safe Return to CA Advisory Committee.” Please see the charter for this committee below.
Two trustees, Jennifer Pline P’13 ’15 and Ly Tran P’22 ’23, will Co-Chair the Safe Return to CA Advisory Committee. We are grateful for their willingness to lead this effort. We know that Jennifer and Ly will ground this work, and these conversations, in the common trust that is our community’s north star. All voices are welcome, and we expect every member of the CA community to move forward through this challenging time with kindness and mutual respect.
Here are the immediate next steps:
President of CA Parents, Lori Hick P’19 ’22 will send a message to all families outlining the process for selecting parent representatives.
Adam Bailey (Modern & Classical Languages), Maggy Godfroy (Human Resources), George Larivee (Mathematics), Marie Myers (Admissions), and Kate Peltz (College Counseling) have received statements of interest from faculty and staff and will select three faculty and staff members to serve on the Advisory Committee.
Student representatives will be Student Head of School, Zahaan Khalid ’21; Student Head of Boarders, Nancy Onyimah ’21; and Student Head of Day Students, Sofia Silva ’21.
Board representatives will be selected by the end of this week.
The entire community will receive an update from the Safe Return to CA Advisory Committee soon. Meanwhile, we are working hard to make sure that school will start smoothly and with great energy. Students will receive individual class schedules next week, and families will receive a schedule of on-campus opportunities before the start of school.
In this work as in everything we do, we have been and expect that everyone will continue to be guided by our mission. Please give the Advisory Committee the time space to get organized, and to establish a regular cadence for communications. For now, we will refrain from daily email updates.
Safe Return to CA Advisory Committee Charter:
The "Safe Return to CA" Advisory Committee has been formed in response to the challenges Concord Academy faces in light of a global pandemic, and in the interest of increased transparency and communication in these rapidly-evolving circumstances.
The Advisory Committee will bring together representatives from the broader CA community — faculty, staff, parents, students, and trustees — with the goal of working together in a spirit of common trust to inform and advise school leadership and the Board of Trustees in connection with matters relating to the safe return of students to CA. The Advisory Committee’s recommendations will be advisory in nature, drawing on the expertise and good will of the entire CA community, and will not be binding on school leadership or the Board. The Advisory Committee chair(s) will be appointed by the Board, and will be empowered to form subcommittees and working groups to carry out different aspects of the Advisory Committee's work. The Advisory Committee will provide periodic (at least monthly) reports to school leadership and the Board during the period of the Advisory Committee’s existence.
If you have any questions or comments, please reply directly. You can also email us at healthyconcord@concordacademy.org. You will receive a prompt response.
With many thanks,
Sincerely,
Fay Lampert Shutzer '65
Board of Trustees President
