2020-2021 Reopening

2020-2021 Reopening:

We have missed seeing our Park Day students and families in person, and are proud of all our students for showing resilience, flexibility, creativity, and fortitude during SIP.

The 2020-2021 school year is scheduled to begin on Sept. 2. Enrolled families, please check ParentSquare for our fall reopening plan. Per Governor Newsom’s briefing on July 17 which outlined new guidelines about reopening schools, Park Day will begin the 2020-2021 school year activating our upgraded Distance Learning model. We are committing to distance learning through the end of September and will continually assess Alameda County’s mandates as they are announced.

Meanwhile we have plans in place to support multiple learning scenarios next year (see below), including a return to campus that prioritizes student and teacher health and safety. We anticipate utilizing our expansive campus and grounds to support outdoor learning spaces as much as possible.  Investments have been made to our facilities to support health and safety, including additional sinks and hand sanitizing stations, touchless faucets, disinfecting protocols and tools, and improvements to reconfigure spaces in order to maximize physical distancing.

2020-2021 Learning Scenarios

Progressive education is child-centered, inquiry-led, and relationship-based. Students learn by doing and are encouraged by expert teachers to follow their own curiosity to build personal connections to their learning. While acknowledging and prioritizing these core elements, Park Day School recognizes that even the best distance learning program cannot replace the invaluable in-person social interactions and relationships that occur naturally among students and teachers. Forging personal connections in creative new ways remains a high priority of our program, even as we connect from afar.

 As teachers lead synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, reach out personally to students, and flex to accommodate family circumstances, we are mindful of our role as the main community hub in this time of isolation. We host weekly community projects around literacy, individual “passion projects”, art, and more. A core value of our school is to honor each student, pivoting and differentiating to reach and inspire individual learners within a community context. We know that learning takes place on a continuum, and distance learning weaves into our commitment to honor each child’s strengths and help them grow and stretch depending on where they are at this moment.

As a maker-centered school, design thinking guides our approach to lesson planning. Teachers are encouraged to reflect and iterate while considering the following:

• How will these learning experiences nurture continued cognitive development?

• What are the most important, essential understandings and skills students should be working on at this moment?

• How can lessons be differentiated to respond to the various ways students learn?

• How will student learning be assessed in a way that resonates for the student and helps educators guide them to take the next step forward?

 Our educational philosophy puts student emotional and intellectual well-being at the center of everything. Our learning program remains focused on developing critical thinking skills, understanding how to be a changemaker and compassionate community citizen, while teaching key academic skills and concepts and cultivating resilience in the face of uncertainty.

At our core is the belief that we must continually assess our priorities and respond to challenging circumstances with creativity and compassion while providing new opportunities for students to learn in authentic and meaningful ways.