August 8, 2020

Dear Patriot Nation:

The welfare and safety of our Carrollwood Day School community during this time remains our primary concern. As Tampa Bay and Florida continue to be impacted by COVID-19, we believe one of our greatest responsibilities is to communicate transparently and often with you, our school community.

As you know, this school year is going to begin under conditions that are unprecedented. Every facet of our school experience is being redefined by our dedicated effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our school community. Our faculty returned last week from summer break and have been working tirelessly with our administration to prepare for a safe and welcoming opening for this unique school year. Not only are the teachers becoming familiar with new health and safety policies and procedures that will impact their teaching methods and the social dynamics within their classrooms, they are also developing strategies and skills to concurrently teach to students who will be attending class virtually.

As you may have heard, yesterday there was a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 at the ECC. Out of an abundance of caution for our community and due to the unique circumstances of that situation, an immediate decision was made to close the ECC for two weeks. However, in consideration of the substantial preparations that must be in place to assure a seamless and secure opening of our school year, I have decided to move the opening date for our entire school to Monday, August 24, 2020.

Calendar Changes

Please watch your email for updates on revised schedules for ECC & Elementary "Meet Your Teacher" visits and the Middle School & Upper School Orientations. These events will be moved to August 19 - 21, 2020.

Used Uniform Pick-Up

Tuesday, August 11 & Wednesday, August 12
Used Uniform Pick-Up will still be held on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Parents should plan to come at the time they reserved on SignUp.com.

While I am confident that we have the highest safety measures in place, we will use this extra time to allow our teachers and staff to continue educating themselves on our protocols and procedures and refining their strategies for effectively teaching and supporting their students in this new environment.

I appreciate that this is disappointing news and will place a burden on some of our families. However, our greatest priority always must be the safety of our students, faculty/staff and community members. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and your family, especially as we face this challenging situation together. Thank you for your support of CDS.

Sincerely,

Ryan Kelly, Ed.D.
Head of School