Staying True to the CA Mission in a Pandemic
T
his Spring, Robert Frost, a redtailed hawk, and rabbits ruled an empty Colorado Academy campus. With no sound of children laughing in the Dining Hall, no players competing on the fields, no students debating in the classroom, and no artists displaying their work in the Ponzio Arts Center, the CA community felt like it had lost touch with its home. But the school did not lose its determination, its energy, its resilience, and its commitment to excellence. Seniors pivoted on their Community Impact Projects and began sewing masks and writing letters of gratitude to health care workers. Another Senior launched a weekly talk show with students and teachers which quickly became must-see TV. Lower Schoolers learned online in the morning and took the “Courage and Kindness Challenge” in the afternoon—sometimes creating chalk art messages of appreciation for their teachers. Middle School students pursued their regular academic program and collectively exercised for more than 90,000 minutes. Between the first day of remote learning, March 25, and mid-May, CA logged more than seven million Zoom meeting minutes, the majority in the classroom with students learning. CA even found a way to continue the beloved Senior-Kindergarten Buddy Program during a pandemic. Much of what the world has seen and lived through in 2020 was certainly not normal, but even during these challenging times, Colorado Academy stayed true
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Colorado Academy Journal
to its mission—Creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders. This is the story of how CA did it.
Ramping up One of the often-noted aspects of the coronavirus pandemic is how quickly it spread. CA began watching the arrival of COVID-19 in January, shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on a pneumonia-like coronavirus traveling from China to other places around the world. Reports from news organizations around the country began confirming, one by one, cases of people testing positive inside the U.S. Working in conjunction with CA’s Health Assistant and consultants at Children’s Hospital Colorado, school leaders began to think about just what a pandemic would look like and how CA could prepare to respond. Each time there was a cancellation, a postponement, or directive by health or government officials, CA ramped up its response: forming a task force to monitor news developments, increasing cleaning and sanitation efforts, exploring a virtual platform provider, and planning for what was, at first the unthinkable, and then became a matter of course.
Transitioning to remote learning Early on, CA anticipated that the school might have to make a transition to remote learning, with students and teachers all working at home, using either a >>>
Fifth Grader Georgia Roberts attending school at home
