1.7.2022 COVID family response letter - Akiba Yavneh Academy

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January 7, 2022 Dear Families, We want you to remain in our community. Your concerns about COVID policies have always factored in the decision making. Nonetheless, it is also essential to point out that no one perspective or point of view has preeminence on these matters and that the goal all along is to make decisions that are informed by the current conditions of this continually evolving pandemic. We read your message with sadness and trepidation. Your children are precious to all of us, and the continuity and vibrancy of the school is a paramount goal of this board. We understand and empathize with your frustrations, which we also personally experience. The current circumstances created by the pandemic are unsettling for all of us. This school has always been a big tent school, bringing together families from different backgrounds, religious denominations, synagogue communities and political perspectives. This is part of what makes AYA special, and our hope is that it always remains this way. In response to the three points articulated in your letter to the board, we want to share AYA’s approach on the matter. We recognize that across the community there are many debates to each, but this is how AYA leadership is addressing them: 1) Decision-making is not supported by science: We understand that there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding COVID. Our medical advisors are well equipped to assess conflicting scientific evidence and provide sound rationale to policies being put in place. There are dissenting opinions, but the policies have been informed by reputable scientific groups and agencies, such as the CDC and AAP, and are in line with what has been implemented in other similar schools in our region. The medical advisory group includes doctors that specialize in pediatric infectious diseases, adult internal medicine and endocrinology, adult pulmonology, and general pediatrics. 2) Other schools are back to pre-COVID guidelines: This is an evolving landscape, and we were looking forward to continuing to lessen restrictions and reach a state of normalcy as in pre- COVID times. However, the changes announced last week, and this week are in response to new developments. There has been a rapid increase in infections throughout our region and our community. While Omicron appears less severe compared to Delta, infections in the school setting nonetheless disrupt the ability to have classes in person, which is a top priority. Also, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID in our region is fast approaching the peak seen last summer with Delta, with no plateau or end in sight yet. Thus, in the face of uncertainty, temporary caution while the situation is being better understood, is also a factor under consideration. It is vital that the school minimize disruptions to in-person learning. When a teacher gets sick, even if not seriously ill, it is likely the entire class will have to revert to remote learning, as finding substitutes is increasingly difficult. Furthermore, part of the school’s job is to provide a safe work environment and protect our teachers from illness to the best of its abilities. Masking reduces exposure and helps limit classroom learning disruptions. Other schools are now responding similarly to this reality. We would invite you to review the policy announcements by Greenhill, Hockaday, JCC Preschool, DISD, and Levine Academy and we assure you that we take other school policies in mind when assessing the needs at AYA. 3) Townhall deliberations for COVID policy: We appreciate and desire the process to be inclusive of a variety of opinions, but a public debate of policy is not conducive to orderly and civil discourse, as we all have seen on display in various school districts across the country. We do not wish to invite that rancor into our school. Your points of view have always been considered, however we suggest that you designate 2-3 representatives to come and meet with the AYA administration to have a constructive conversation. We also feel that we all belong to the same community and must be able to communicate with each other with respect, kindness, and consideration so that we can continue to do the hard work of keeping this community vibrant. In that regard, please always feel free to be forthright but we want to appeal to you to raise your points of concern with decorum and respect. Having said all of this, the school’s policies will continue to evolve as time and circumstances demand, and as a result it is unfortunately likely that at times you may disagree with specific items. Again, we welcome your feedback and civil discourse of ideas. However, please understand that as a Board, we are singularly focused on the best interest of the school as a whole and no single family or even a group of families should dictate any policy for the entirety of the families in our community. Additionally, personal and unkind attacks upon those who make decisions with which you may disagree, does not add credibility to the dissent, but rather strains the cohesiveness of our entire community in what is already very challenging times. As the Trustees charged with governing the school, we collectively appeal to your sense of community to come together for the greater good of AYA and the Dallas Jewish Community at large. Sincerely, Akiba Yavneh Academy Board of Trustees Laura Burstein Dani Meyerovitz Helene Schussler Tammy Diamond Jessica Josset Scott Levine Josh Hochschuler Gil Abramov Pam Fine Debbie Katz Merissa Kogutt Tara Ohayon David Radunsky Steven Rosenberg Neil Rubinstein Andy Schultz Lisa Strobel David Yalovsky