Dear Prep Parents:

Thanks to the combined efforts of teachers, students, and parents, we continue to see Prep moving in the right direction when it comes to managing the impact of the coronavirus on our community. I am writing today to let everyone know that after careful deliberation with medical experts and after considering the many different needs of our students and teachers, we have made a significant change to our process for determining which learning level we will be in at any given time.

Moving forward, we will adjust our learning levels based in part on our Prep community transmission rate. Assuming transmission rates do not change significantly, all freshmen will return to fully in-person classes on September 28 and upper-level students will return on October 12. Please read on to learn more about how our new risk assessment matrix works and to see a snapshot of the feedback from our recent survey.

Up to this point, our learning levels have been based primarily on the Douglas County Health Department's (DCHD) COVID risk assessment dial. Since school started in August, the DCHD risk assessment dial has been in the high (orange) range, corresponding to a Level 2 - hybrid cohorts model. Now that we have more than a month's worth of our data to look at, along with return-to-school survey feedback and data from other schools, we believe it is prudent to adapt our protocols.

Rather than determining our learning levels based primarily on the DCHD risk assessment dial, we will also consider the three-week rolling average of diagnosed COVID cases within the Prep community of students, faculty, and staff. The matrix below will serve as a guide and not a hard line as we make decisions. Other factors will also be considered such as our ability to staff the school, time to prepare for a change, and additional input from medical consultants.

Over the most recent three weeks, our case counts have been 0, 2, 0. This means our current three-week average is 0.67. Because the DCHD risk assessment dial is high (orange), this correlates to a Level 1 - normal capacity model. However, our medical consultants have advised us to refrain from bringing everyone back until October to give us a few more weeks of data to review. Additionally, we want to ensure that families and teachers have adequate time to prepare for change. Assuming our rolling three-week average of positive cases stays below 2, we will have freshmen back in the building full-time starting on September 28 and all students back in the building full-time starting October 12.

The Pandemic Response Plan has been updated to reflect this change on page 8. We anticipate following this new matrix through the remainder of the fall semester. Each Friday we will continue to publish our case counts, quarantines, and now our rolling three-week average in the Parent Pulse so that everyone can see where things stand. Additionally, when we need to move between levels, we will communicate changes with at least a few days of advanced notice to ensure a smooth transition assuming there are no other urgent circumstances to consider.

We recognize that moving to normal capacity means we can no longer maintain six feet of distance between students and this may be of concern for some families. If you need to consider the possibility of switching to 100% remote learning, please contact your son's counselor to discuss. We care about all of our families and want to make sure that everyone is able to safely remain a part of the Prep community.

This change in how we determine learning levels is the only modification to our Pandemic Response Plan at this time. All other procedures and protocols remain in place. Masking, hand hygiene, and cleaning protocols will take on an even greater significance when we are at normal capacity. Additionally, physical distancing guidelines will still be in place for lunches and co-curricular activities such as school liturgies, watch parties, retreats, and special events.

Please note that none of the county's directives for contact tracing and quarantine have changed. We still need to let the health department know of all close contacts when any positive cases arise. In the Level 1 - normal capacity model, any positive student in a classroom setting will create three to eight close contacts in each class that will need to go into quarantine. That means a single positive case can put 20 to 50 students into a two-week county-mandated quarantine. Consequently, it is especially important to follow the guidance of our COVID screener and the school nurse when determining whether or not to come to school each day.

If you have any questions or concerns about this change to our Pandemic Response Plan, please feel encouraged to contact Ms. Corrigan, our school nurse, or your son's counselor, or me. We are committed to looking after the needs of everyone to the best of our ability as our procedures continue to evolve.

I want to thank you for your care, deliberation, patience, and understanding as we continue to move through these challenging circumstances. Please know that our faculty and staff are working tirelessly to provide your sons with the education and formation they deserve and that we are proud of how everyone has risen to meet this challenge. In spite of some very big hurdles, we are well on our way to having a highly successful school year. Let us continue to pray and care for one another that we might thrive in the midst of adversity.

AMDG

Jim Bopp

RECENT SURVEY RESPONSES

Thank you to the parents, students and faculty who took time to fill out our recent return-to-school survey. Your reflections were important considerations for us in determining the changes outlined above. A few highlights of the survey are below.

Parent Responses

We had 261 parent respondents spread fairly evenly across the four grade levels.
On a scale of 1 to 10, when asked how Prep's return to school has gone overall, 72% of parents reported an 8 or higher.
On a scale of 1 to 10, when asked how safe it is to have a son at Prep, 85% of parents reported an 8 or higher.
When asked which model is best for the current transmission rate within our community, 59% of parents preferred Level 1 - near normal, 38% preferred Level 2 - hybrid to reduce density, and 3% preferred Level 3 - remote learning.
When asked that same question back in July before school started, 67% of parents reported a preference for Level 1, 28% for Level 2, and 5% for Level 3.

Faculty and Staff Responses

For the faculty and staff, 36% prefer Level 1, 56% prefer Level 2, and 8% prefer Level 3 as the model best suited to our current conditions.
In July, the faculty and staff's preferences were 48% for Level 1, 30% for Level 2, and 23% for Level 3.

Student Responses

On a 10-point scale, data from 397 students results in an average of 7.6 for their overall perception of safety.
When asked to what degree it is more or less challenging to be successful in the current Level 2 - hybrid cohort model, students report an average of 6.5 where 1 is much less difficult and 10 is much more difficult than normal circumstances.
When asked about their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression now compared to before the pandemic started, the student average is 4.9 where 1 would be much worse, 5 is about the same, and 10 is much better.