05/28/20 Community Update from the Board

Community Update from the Board 05/28/20

Good Afternoon La Tierra Families, 

It is with tremendous pride and also a bit of sadness that we say goodbye to our families for the 2019-2020 school year. As we close out the year, the board would like to thank our teachers, directors, students and parents for all of your hard work as you quickly adjusted to the closure of all Arizona schools this spring. Our staff and directors embraced the challenge of creating an entirely new teaching model in a very short amount of time. And our students and families responded with remarkable adaptability and optimism. As a parent, who has felt overwhelmed at times during the past two and a half months, I am truly grateful to our staff for their grace, understanding, creativity, resourcefulness, and compassion.  

In this time of uncertainty, I want you to know that La Tierra Community School has begun working on a plan to reopen the school when it is recommended and safe for our students, staff, and parents.

Here is what we know:

  • Governor Ducey discontinued the order “Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected” on May 15th.
  • Superintendent Hoffman has announced that the Arizona Department of Education will have guidelines for schools by the end of May.
  • La Tierra is in the beginning stages of developing options and specific plans for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year which will address health and safety needs as well as our educational delivery system. 
  • Our intended outcomes for the reopening process are:
  1. Collaboratively research best practices to guide us in reopening the school while upholding our vision and mission. 
  2. Develop and implement a plan that will provide a safe, efficient, and equitable return to school and work.
  3. Provide public education that serves the needs of the whole child, supporting academic, social, and emotional development.
  4. Develop an evaluation plan to determine the effectiveness of the reopening efforts.

We will be contacting each family as soon as we receive more detailed guidelines for reopening and are able to customize them for our school’s needs. Throughout this process we will strive to accommodate your student’s needs to the greatest extent possible.

We look forward to seeing you all in the fall and wish you a happy and healthy summer.

Thank you for choosing to be part of the La Tierra community for the 2019-20 school year!

With Gratitude, 

Sierra Wilson

LTCS Governing Board President