Dear Students and Families,
September is here! In Andover, the air is a little crisper and our maple leaves are starting to turn. These physical signals are inspiring enthusiasm and excitement for the start of a new school year.
Students, thank you for getting started with your online Canvas Orientation program. Great job! Keep it up! Please note, this asynchronous programming is required for ALL STUDENTS. Please remember that you, ALL STUDENTS, will have required synchronous Orientation programming next Tuesday (9/8) and Wednesday (9/9). Each day will start with required programming at 10 AM and 11 AM; students will then attend required smaller sessions on those days via Qualtrics sign-ups. Please plan accordingly (more details below).
I write today to update you on another shift we have made in the past week to our support structures in response to the circumstances created by COVID conditions, specifically possible changes in residential status over the course of the year that require us to house students in a distinct process each term and the potential of unexpected campus closure per health and safety needs.
In the Dean of Students office, this year we will shift from cluster deans (based on geography of dormitory neighborhoods) to class deans (based on grade of students).
Goals:
- to establish consistent, steady support for every student and family throughout the year.
- to secure a support system that aligns itself with the way that we are principally organized for the entire school year
Rationale:
In a remote-first year when a student’s boarding/day/remote status and boarding location will/may shift unpredictably, the one constant in a student’s experience is their grade level. For this reason, we created the role of the Advisor Point Person and will re-organize the structure in the Dean of Students office by grade level (class) deans. With such a high degree of variability and unpredictability this year, we believe this shift will provide consistency and cohesion for our students and families, and the campus adults in the year ahead.
We hope this will create an opportunity to build on the structures of advising groups by grade, Empathy Balance and Inclusion meetings by grade, College Counseling work by grade, and class advisors. We believe this is a change that will serve us all well as we try to establish consistency and create greater predictability in a context of uncertainty and change.
This is the structure we are planning on for 2020-21:
