Dear Upper School Parents,

I hope this note finds you well. I am writing to provide you an update on our distance learning preparation as well as provide further resources for your review. This past Friday, our entire faculty and staff engaged in a day of professional development in preparation for our launch of Virtual Haverford on Wednesday, March 18. This work will continue into Monday and Tuesday.

More resources will be available on the Upper School Continuity of Learning webpage, which can be found here, or at haverford.org/preparedness, which provides access to all School preparedness communications that have been sent to parents.

Virtual Haverford

Classes will be held on Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19
Classes: 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Office Hours: 1-3 p.m. (by appointment)

On Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19, we will do a pilot of Virtual Haverford. The goal of these days is to ensure that we are able to connect with each other, to make sure the boys understand our goals and expectations and complete some work together.

We have designed a schedule that balances consistent meeting time while acknowledging screen time concerns. Wednesday will begin with an advisory period where boys and their advisors can check in, catch-up and review expectations regarding our distance learning program. After that, every class will meet according to the schedule below. As you see, classes will meet between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. Lessons will be delivered in a variety of formats, including face-to-face interactions as well as online activities.

The afternoon will consist of Office Hours, which will allow boys to make appointments with teachers to discuss questions or receive extra help. Teachers and advisors will talk to the boys about how the Office Hours process will work in their classes. This is also a time where boys and families can connect with advisors and other support services.

Engagement, Attendance, and Connectivity

Engagement is a vital part of being successful in a distance learning program. In our “Continuity of Learning” site, students and families will see expectations we believe will help create successful learning conditions. Please read over them and discuss them with your son before Wednesday. You can access this site at any time from haverford.org/preparedness, which also includes an archive of communications around COVID-19.

Attendance will be taken for every commitment and tracked through our learning management system, Canvas. Given the circumstances, there may be times where attendance may be difficult. Please communicate any attendance issues to attendance@haverfordschool.org.

Faculty and staff have been running connectivity tests over the past week to make sure boys are able to connect virtually. Some of these are still in process, but our goal by the end of this week is to have a clear sense of any families that may have connectivity issues.

Families who have informed us that they need computers may pick them up from 10 a.m.-noon and from 2-4 p.m. on Monday in the technology office (Room 223) in Wilson Hall. If you need a laptop and have not already informed us of that fact, please notify your Division Head immediately.

Parent Conferences

We are working to find time in our schedule in the coming week to hold Virtual Parent Conferences. Our goal is to complete them by the end of the week; though given the circumstances, we may have to delay further. For those concerned about course sign-up and placement, we have adjusted our scheduling process to account for these delays to allow plenty of time for the appropriate conversations.

We Are All In This Together

We are all living through this unprecedented event together. In addition to concerns regarding school, we will continue to provide care and support to our families, friends and communities. In all of this, please make sure to take care of yourselves. Know that the faculty and staff at The Haverford School are working hard to continue the education process and provide some continuity in the boys’ lives.

If you have questions or feedback, please communicate with your son’s advisor or the Upper School office at usoffice@haverford.org.

Sincerely,

K. Patrick Andrén
Head of Upper School

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450 Lancaster Ave
Haverford, PA | 19041 US

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