Urgent Update for Upper School Families

Dear Hawbridge families,

With the new school year approaching, we would like to share important information with you about the months ahead. There is a lot packed into this lengthy post, so please read to the end, and know that there will be opportunities for additional information coming soon. 

As your Board and Executive Director, we make decisions that are guided by the school’s vision of Hawbridge as an enduring, intimate, and caring community where all students thrive. No matter the circumstances, our focus is always on creating the best learning environment possible for our students. 

In earlier communications, we shared with you the disappointing news that the new upper school building would not be completed until the spring semester and that, for the interim fall semester, upper school students (grades 8-12) would be learning in temporary portable classrooms located in the parking area behind the Saxapahaw Museum. This is still the plan, and while it is far from ideal, we believe it is the best solution given all the factors involved. 

Unfortunately, a recent development, beyond the control of the school, has made it necessary to revise our careful planning. The vendor we had contracted months ago to provide the portable classrooms informed us after much planning and coordination that they could not, in fact, provide the portable classrooms as anticipated. We have since found another vendor, but as a result, the new portable classrooms will not be in place and ready for students until October 1. 

What this means for you and your children is that upper school students will be doing some virtual learning along with in-person instruction as part of our now temporary hybrid plan, until we get all students back on campus by October 4. 

More details are below, as well as a link to an FAQ and information for a virtual Q&A session to address your questions and concerns. However,  before outlining details, we want to take a moment and acknowledge how deeply frustrating and disappointing this turn of events is for our entire community and to assure you that we will continue to do our best with the options available to us to create the most positive learning environment possible for our students. 

The temporary hybrid model will include six weeks of both remote and in-person learning. When students attend in person, they will receive a mixture of indoor and outdoor instruction that will be centrally located to Hawbridge in familiar settings, such as the current portable classrooms and the Saxapahaw Museum schoolhouse, as well as outdoor learning spaces around the school—an experience that should be very similar to our usual place-based approach to education and Hawbridge’s characteristic emphasis on outdoor learning. 

After the upheaval of this past academic year, we are committed to providing students with as much continuity and stability as we can during this transitional time. This schedule aims to maximize in-person learning where we think it is needed most. 

The interim schedule will be as follows: 

8th Grade

August 19-20: Virtual

Week of August 23: In-person

Week of August 30: Virtual 

Week of September 7: Virtual

Week of September 13: In-person

Week of September 20: Virtual

Week of September 27: Virtual

Week of October 4 and beyond: In-person in the portable classrooms until the new building is completed

 

9th Grade

August 19-20: Virtual

Week of August 23: Virtual

Week of August 30: In-person 

Week of September 7: Virtual

Week of September 13: Virtual

Week of September 20: In-person

Week of September 27: Virtual

Week of October 4 and beyond: In-person in the portable classrooms until the new building is completed

 

10th Grade

August 19-20: Virtual

Week of August 23: Virtual

Week of August 30: Virtual 

Week of September 7: In-person

Week of September 13: Virtual

Week of September 20: Virtual

Week of September 27: In-person

Week of October 4 and beyond: In-person in the portable classrooms until the new building is completed

11th and 12th Grades

Given the more complicated nature of their schedules, including off-campus learning, the eleventh and twelfth graders’ instruction will be entirely virtual until October 4, at which time they will meet in the new portable classrooms until the upper school building is completed.

IEPs

If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a Hawbridge faculty member from the Exceptional Children’s department will be in touch in August to discuss the plan for your child during these six weeks.

We realize that there are more questions about this new situation than we can address with a single email, and we are eager to hear your concerns. Please join us for a virtual Q&A this Thursday, July 29, at 6 p.m. Click here to register and submit questions in advance. You may also find answers to questions about the hybrid plan on the Hawbridge website’s FAQ page and follow the progress of the new building on our expansion page.

While we are saddened that everyone will not be together at the start of the school year as we had hoped, we also believe that we are in the home stretch of what has been an exhausting marathon to get to our new facilities. The new upper school building will be a truly outstanding place where students will learn and grow and thrive—and we are so close to getting there! Please hang in there with us during this final push, and know that we are here to help you however we can. 

 

Sincerely, 

The Hawbridge Board of Directors

The Hawbridge School Administration Team

 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.