COVID Letter

Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences

19 June 2020

Dear TSAS Families,

We are grateful for your patience, resilience, and partnership with TSAS as we all process thedrastic changes that have occurred in the world since this past Spring Break week. We recognize that you are eager to learn about what your family can expect from our school next year in light of the pandemic. Please know that we are taking into consideration your survey feedback, guidance from local, state and federal government agencies, and the most up-to-date research we can access. As we reaffirm our school values and assess the risks of various decisions, we want to share with you our compass points:

• Care for the health, safety, and well-being of the students, faculty, and staff is the number one priority of our school community.
• Providing a high-quality educational experience that is accessible and equitable to all is the most important function of our school community.
• TSAS culture is the secret sauce that makes us special, and we are committed to ensuring that the unique reasons your family chose TSAS remain viable and relevant regardless of the changes that must take place.

With these guiding principles in place, we have a few decisions we want to share with you so that you can begin making plans for your family.

The TSAS school calendar for School Year 2020-21 will follow a traditional ​trimester ​calendar with the usual fall, winter and spring breaks, the observance of various holidays, and with teacher professional development days embedded in the calendar as well. We will start a bit later and finish a bit later than we have in the past few years, but we have worked to minimize the disruption of a completely overhauled calendar cycle.​​ The first day of school will be August 20th. ​​The calendar is attached at the end of this letter and is available at tsas.org/calendar​.

The latest research from epidemiologists and the accepted guidance from the Oklahoma State Department of Education all point to the following three fundamental precautions to diminish the spread of the COVID-19 virus: 1) social distancing practices, 2) wearing a mask, 3) regular hand-washing and sanitizing of high-touch surfaces. In order to set the conditions for a safe and healthy environment for our high quality education and our unique culture to flourish, we will be adhering to these guidelines with fidelity. Your survey responses indicated your willingness and ability to collaborate with expectations for a face mask policy. At this time, we want to announce that ​any time an individual is in the building and is in the presence of at least one other individual at TSAS, a face mask is required. Individuals who refuse to wear a mask will be required to leave the building.​ More guidelines will be announced over the summer, so please keep an active eye out for further information from TSAS.

Your responses to the family survey helped us to decide on a socially distant approach to in-person learning. With your input, as well as the creativity and cooperation from TSAS teachers, we are developing a ​hybrid model of reduced class sizes for in-person learning and online-directed learning​. In order to maintain smaller cohorts of individuals in the building, we are going to do a Group 1/Group 2 daily rotation. This diagram illustrates the model:

When scheduling, we will keep siblings on the same schedule so as not to place undue burden on transportation and child care.

​Please email ​info@tsas.org​ with the subject line: “sibling schedule” if your student carpools, or has special arrangements with students who are not technically siblings by June 26.

For students who are unable to return to in-person instruction, TSAS will offer a full-online option. ​These students will take all classes through a digital platform and will have supplemental, meaningful opportunities to stay connected with TSAS teachers and to remain involved with our school community. ​More information and group assignments will be communicated between now and August 15. Again, please keep an eye out for further information.

We are working to secure the funds for purchasing the technology needed to create a seamless flow between the in-person days and the online days. Please know that we will make sure every student has access to the technology needed to complete assignments, actively engage in class,and maintain relationships even when we are working on-line. We will share with you plans for procuring technology when it is ready for your family to access.

You and your student have chosen TSAS as your school Home, and we are honored to work with and serve your family. As we enter the 20th Anniversary of Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, we are grateful for the work that has been done to make this community special, and we are excited for the opportunities ahead to be creative and nimble in the face of challenges. We have always believed that relationship and partnership is the foundation for problem solving and forward progress. Staying in touch with us, providing us feedback for how we can best serve your family,and your flexibility for potential necessary pivots will keep us all on the path for success this year. The guidance for the Coronavirus is constantly evolving, and we want to keep you up-to-date on developments and decisions: flexibility will be key for all members of this community. More information will roll-out over the summer concerning health and safety, teaching and learning, and school culture. Please stay in touch: we want to make this process smooth, and open communication will be essential.Thank you for your support.

Thank you for choosing TSAS. Thank you for ensuring that TSAS is HOME, even when the world seems full of uncertainty.

—Dr. Ellen McCoy, Executive Director

—Dr. Liesa Smith, High School Principal

—Mr. Dan Hahn, Middle School Principal

2020-2021 TSAS Calendar

Preparing for Next Year

High school students have the opportunity to choose their classes for next year starting now. From May 6th to May 17th, students will meet with counselors to review their choices.

If you wish to take a class that requires teacher permission, print a permission form here and have it signed by your teacher before choosing your classes.

1. Go to the grade book and log in with your @TSAS.org email address
   
2. Choose Academics ➔ Course Registration at the top
3. Choose "Click here" at the bottom
4. Required courses for your House and year will be at the top. You will be automatically enrolled in these. If you have taken one of them previously, you will not be re-enrolled in it. Check out the graduation requirements for each House at the links below:
   
   • Liberal Arts
   • Fine Arts
   • Career & College
   • STEM

   If you receive the following message, you must email Ms. Randle with your chosen House in order to pick your classes:
   Sorry, to register for classes, please contact your school to properly set your academic track.

5. Find descriptions for all of our courses in the Course Catalog.
6. Make your elective choices, and number them by priority. You will not be guaranteed to get all of them, but we will work to get you into your top choices.
7. Save your work!!

The course registration process only indicates a student's preference for a particular course, and does not automatically enroll them. Our counselors will be working behind the scenes to ensure that all students are

1. on track to graduate according to their house requirements and
2. planning a well-balanced schedule for the coming school year.

If you have questions about courses and graduation requirements, email Ms. Randle

If you are having technical difficulties (password, website access), email Stallings