INFORMATION ON CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
02/17/21
Dear Wilkinson Families,
We continue to be amazed by the love we've received from our families, teachers, and community. We could not have taught through this school year without such immense support and creativity in the face of a global pandemic. While this year was unlike any other at Wilkinson School, we are excited to welcome you to the 2021-22 school year.
The upcoming year won't quite be "normal" (whatever that means!) but it will be significantly more recognizable than this year. We are proud to bring back the following programs and announce important improvements:
- The HVAC system has been completely overhauled. This means, no classes will be sharing air and air inside classrooms will be filtered 12x per hour (this is 4x more than the CDC recommendations)
- Our school schedule will return to Monday-Thursday 8:15am-3:15pm with early dismissal for staff meetings on Fridays at 1:30pm (this is a change from previous years when early dismissal was on Wednesdays)
- After care will run from 3:15pm-6pm Monday-Thursday and from 1:30pm-6pm on Fridays
- Mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand washing will be strictly enforced inside classrooms and school building
Please note: We are now enrolling for TK-8th Grade! We have received a lot of interest in our programs this year, and as always, we are prioritizing current families and their students. We do request that you submit re-enrollment for your current students and applications for other grades as soon as you can so we can let new families know about admissions in a timely manner.
We are so excited about what the 2021-22 school year holds for our students and families. To allow planning of budgets and staffing for next year, re-enrollment agreements and deposits must be submitted by Friday, March 5th. The timeline and additional details for re-enrollment and financial assistance are listed below:
RE-ENROLLMENT NOW OPEN
Gradelink is now open for enrollment! You simply need need to:
Complete the Gradelink registration process for the 2021-22 school year, including choosing a tuition payment plan (1, 2, or 9 tuition payments) and after school options. Please SIGN IN and do not create a new account - it will populate your form and save you time. If you don’t remember your password, please use Gradelink’s password recovery tool on the page (it isn’t intuitive - you will find the password recovery on the third tab of the page).
Pay the per-student deposit ($2000, non-refundable)
Note: If you are receiving or applying for tuition assistance and this deposit is a hardship, please call the office to talk about your deposit
TUITION
We know that costs matter to each family and we are always working to keep costs and tuition as low as possible. To continue providing the unique Wilkinson School educational experience for all of our students, tuition for the 2021-22 school year will be $17,550.
Tuition discounts are as follows:
Early payment of tuition (in-full by June 15th): 2% discount
Sibling discounts:
1st sibling = 10% discount
2nd and additional siblings = 20% discount
TUITION ASSISTANCE
Wilkinson strives to be accessible to as much of the community as possible and we are pleased to continue being able to offer tuition assistance. Note that our pool of tuition assistance is limited. Priority consideration will be given to applications submitted by March 15 (we'll still consider applications received after March 15th case-by-case based on the remaining tuition assistance budget). Please make sure your 2020 tax return is completed by April 1st. We will not take previous years tax returns or extensions.
We are excited by what next year will bring for our community and we look forward to another year of growth and learning with all of you.
Thank you for all you do for your children and for the school - we wouldn't be here without you.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
02/02/21
Dear Wilkinson Families,
We have some exciting and important updates for you, but first we would like to give a huge thank you to Ms. Dunia, Operations Lead, and Mike Needels, Vice Chair of the Board, for securing our second federal PPP loan! It was an intensive application process, and we are so grateful for the hours they've put into ensuring we can expand our programs and adapt to this ever-changing year.
Welcome, Ms. Mattie!
With that, we are so excited to welcome our new Enrichment Teacher, Ms. Mattie, to Wilkinson School! Ms. Mattie has extensive experience working in childcare programs and education-centered nonprofits, and is looking forward to learning more about our educational philosophy from our incredible classroom teachers. She'll be bringing fun ideas, high energy, and an undeniable love for children to our classrooms and After Care program, and we know your students will enjoy their time with her!
Now Offering Classes 2 & 3 Extended Days & After Care!
Classes 2 & 3 now have an extended, on-campus end time of 3:00pm. From 2:00-3:00pm, Ms. Mattie will take the lead on assisting students with curriculum-specific projects in collaboration with Ms. Jessica and Ms. Tiffany. There will also be time for students to complete worksheets from the day and receive help if they need it.
Classes 2 & 3 now also have the option to participate in our After Care program from 3:00-4:30pm with Ms. Mattie. This program is free of charge for the remainder of the school year. We will, however, maintain our late pickup fee of $15 per 15 minutes past the 4:30pm pick up time, so please keep that in mind when making plans to pick up your student. Like always, payment is due at the time of pickup and is accepted through Venmo (@Wilkinson-Office). Please fill out this form if you plan to participate in After Care, and in the event you need to use it unexpectedly, be sure to email the Office so we know who to expect on campus.
We will be allowing both Classes 2 & 3 to participate in these programs. This means, Classes 2 & 3 will become a stable group where mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing will continue to be strictly enforced. The size of this stable group will not exceed 15 students (and will likely only be ~10 students). Please reach out to the Office with any questions!
Class 3 Schedule Update
We are still awaiting test results to determine the date of Ms. Tiffany's return to campus, but we are happy to tell you that in the event Ms. Tiffany cannot return to campus on Monday, February 8th, Class 3 students will still have the option to come to campus from 12-4:30pm starting Monday, February 8th. Ms. Mattie will be there to guide Class 3 students through their Distance Learning and assist with hands-on projects at school. If Ms. Tiffany is able to return, students will be expected to arrive on campus at their regular start time of 8am.
Please fill out this survey if your student would participate in the 12pm drop off, and fill out this After Care form if you intend to use the program.
Class 4 Update
Right now, we are planning to see Class 4 return to campus on March 1st. Please fill out this survey so we can determine the best way to meet the needs of your students as we plan our return!
Woo Welcome Update
We will bring back the all-school Woo Welcome once schedules are aligned and it can be done safely and effectively! We know this is an important part of our School, and rest assured it will not become a lost tradition.
As always, please reach out with any comments, questions, or concerns!
Forms
Class 2 & 3 After Care Sign up
Class 3 12pm Drop off Survey
Class 4 On-campus Survey
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
01/25/21
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Happy Monday! We want to thank you once again, we have some important and exciting updates regarding this school year and next.
Air Circulation, Isolation, and Filtration Update
We are so excited to announce that our air filtration/circulation renovation is well under way. After learning more about the intricacies of our school building than we ever dreamed, we are happy to say we are hopeful that by February 8th, none of the classrooms will share air and each class will have its air purified and filtered every few minutes. This is a monumental step toward our full-time return to campus. Special thanks to Mike Nielsen, Class 2 parent and Board Member, and Forrest Holleman, Class 4 parent, for seeing this project through.
Vaccination Update
We are also excited to tell you that our teachers and staff are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination. We are hoping to see them receive the vaccine shortly.
Indoor Return to Campus Update & 2021-2022 School Year Update
Two of the biggest hurdles to lengthening our school days and an indoor return to campus were the air filtration overhaul and vaccine rollout. These new updates have put us in a positive position for an indoor return to campus before the end of the 2020-2021 school year and have ensured that we will be operating indoors, on a full-time basis for the 2021-2022 school year - barring any cataclysmic event (like another global pandemic).
The one hurdle that remains in returning to campus for this school year is the county regulations. Last week, the county declared that no new classes would be allowed return to campus who were not already on campus until case rates drop to 25 cases per 100,000 people (we are currently at 55 per 100,000 people). We are in conversation with the Office of Education and are exploring whether we can get an exception to bring our Class 4 students back sooner. We will continue to update you with information as we receive it, and as usual, please reach out to the Office with any questions.
Introducing TK & Class Breakdowns for the 2021-22 School Year
After many requests, we are very excited to announce the opening of our Junior Kindergarten program! This has been many years in the making and we are so happy to see it come to fruition, even in light of a global pandemic. Please read on for more information and what this means for your students, and as always, please reach out to the Office with any and all questions.
Class 1:
TK/K students
Ms. Katie will be teaching Class 1 again next year. For current Kindergarten families whose students will be moving on to 1st grade, we expect that you will need some time to process. Ms. Katie will be available after school throughout the week to discuss your questions, concerns, and students' needs. Please feel free reach out to her through email to setup a meeting, or send a message to the Office with any other questions.
Class 2:
1st/2nd grade students
Ms. Jessica will be teaching Class 2 again next year. For current 2nd grade families whose students will be moving on to 3rd grade, we expect that you will have questions. Ms. Jessica will be available to discuss your questions, concerns, and students' needs and please reach out to her through email to setup a meeting. Please feel encouraged to send a message to the Office with any other questions.
Class 3:
3rd/4th grade students
Ms. Tiffany will be teaching Class 3 again next year. For current 4th grade families whose students will be moving on to 5th grade, we expect that you will have questions. Ms. Tiffany will be available to discuss your questions, concerns, and students' needs. Please reach out to her through email to setup a meeting, or send a message to the Office with any other questions.
Class 4:
5th-7th grade students
Ms. Kim will be teaching Class 4 again next year! She is a wonderful teacher and a joy to be around, and we are so happy she found Wilkinson School.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
01/14/21
Dear Wilkinson Families,
We are looking forward to seeing your students again and welcoming them back to campus on January 19th. Though we are happy to continue offering in-person learning, we are very aware that there are currently more COVID cases in San Mateo County than ever before. In order to keep our community and staff safe, we are implementing the following safety measures:
Mandatory Weekly COVID Testing & Additional Onsite Testing Opportunities
One member of every household is required to submit proof of a negative covid test to office@wilkinsonschool.org by each Thursday at 3:30pm, from January 28 forward. Without proof of a negative COVID test we will not be able to allow your student to return to campus on Monday. Beginning January 22, we will offer weekly onsite covid testing. While we can't provide medical advice, nor do we endorse any of the following, additional testing sites include but are not limited to:
Stanford University
Walgreens
CVS
Project Baseline
Virus Geeks
Mandatory Weekly Contact Tracing Questionnaire
Please fill out the weekly Contact Tracing Questionnaire (sent in the Weekly Wrap Up on Fridays) so we can do our part to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. We understand that this is asking for personal information from our families regarding their social activities, but we also know that collective support and action is how we can stop the spread. Please help us by answering the survey each week to the best of your ability.
Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine Period After Participating in Travel or High-Risk Activities
State guidelines still mandate a 14-day quarantine for individuals who travel or participate in high-risk activities. This 14-day quarantine begins the day after the high-risk activity or travel return date. We have attached a handy matrix to this email that we hope will help families determine if their child may return to on-campus learning.
Weekly Teacher Evaluations of Student Adherence to Safety Protocols
Teachers will resume evaluating students’ adherence to our classroom safety protocols using this form. Wilkinson Faculty are entitled to call a transition to Distance Learning if they feel that adherence to safety protocols is not up to the necessary standard of safety.
Drop Off & Pick Up Times
Class 1: Drop off: 8am Pick up: 1:45pm
Class 2: Drop off: 8am Pick up: 2pm
Class 3: Drop off: 9:30am Pick up: 12:30pm (pending changes)
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns, and you can find your student’s schedule in your Friday email sent by your classroom teacher.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
01/04/21
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Welcome back! We hope you had a restful, relaxing, and restorative Winter Break and that your students came back excited for their second semester - we're certainly happy to see them.
In 2020 we experienced a pandemic, national mourning, and collective trauma, but the year also showed us the power in standing up for one another and standing together as a community. It gave us opportunities to better ourselves and reflect on the world we want to leave our children, and helped us have difficult and important conversations with them and each other. These challenges and opportunities won’t end with the turn of the new year, and we feel so privileged to continue to educate and guide your children through this complicated world. Thank you.
We enter 2021 with cautious optimism that our own innovation and creativity (along with new vaccines!) will bring new beginnings and usher back old Wilkinson traditions where we can be together once again. In the meantime, we are so grateful for you - the Wilkinson community - in our collective effort to reimagine the school year. Welcome to 2021!
Warmly,
Isabel, Kristin, and Dunia
Updates
COVID-19 Case Response Chart
As the virus continues to spread, we have gained first hand experience in implementing our COVID-19 Response Plan. We also learned that the state, county, and CDC provide limited differentiation between different types of Contacts, and like many things this year, we found that finding solutions was more complicated than originally thought. That said, we have attached the COVID-19 Response Chart to this email, and please know that in the event we have to use it again, we will do our very best to explain which response method we are implementing and why. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions in the meantime!
COVID-19 Risk Matrix
State guidelines still mandate a 14-day quarantine for individuals who travel or participate in high-risk activities. We have attached a handy matrix to this email that we hope will help families determine if their child may return to on-campus learning when the time comes.
COVID-19 Testing on January 8th 9am-3pm
We strongly encourage all families and staff to participate in our COVID testing event this Friday, January 8th. Please be advised that sign up for this event will close at the end of the day on January 6. Please also note that the age limit has been removed and your students are also able to get tested at this time if you choose. Each individual will need their own appointment slot with a separate email provided, as well as their completed forms and ID.
Click Here to Schedule COVID Testing
Plan to Return to Campus on January 19th
All students will be using their Distance Learning schedule from January 4-15 to mitigate the risk of community spread during the holidays. If your family participates in any high risk activities, your student will have to quarantine for 14 days after the date of their activity and may not come to school until their quarantine is over. Please note: Our return to campus is contingent on compliance with state and county guidance and COVID case spread. We will continue to monitor all guidance and data, and will confirm the date of our return to campus on January 8th.
Information About Extended Days
We are so excited to welcome our new Class 4 teacher, Ms. Kim, to Wilkinson School! She brings so much enthusiasm and kindness to our staff, and also brings more bandwidth for us to focus on extending school days and implementing an after-care program. Stay tuned for more information on both of these topics.
As usual, please do not hesitate to reach out with any comments, questions, or concerns. Love and peace to you all!
12/01/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! We hope you had a restful week, and we are so happy to be seeing your students once again.
As you likely know, San Mateo County recently reentered the purple safety tier. This means that we once again have new state and county guidance, and we must reassess school operations and schedule decisions. While these new restrictions are not surprising, and we are grateful to have prepared with our winter transition to distance learning, we think this is the perfect time of year to check in with our families.
We are hosting a Community Forum this Thursday, December 3rd at 7pm where we will discuss important return-to-campus information, along with a broader glimpse of Wilkinson's operations during the pandemic. We would also love to hear from you! If there is anything you would like us to touch on, please fill out this form. You can use this Zoom link to enter the meeting, and we strongly encourage all of our families to attend - there is important information for everyone.
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
10/06/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
In light of rising COVID cases, new state and county restrictions, and on behalf of our community, we have updated our School's travel guidance. Governor Gavin Newsom, along with Governors Kate Brown (OR) and Jay Inslee (WA), issued a joint travel advisory to be observed by all people traveling from, traveling to, or returning to any of the three western sates. As it relates to California, the advisory states:
"Persons arriving in California from other states or countries, including returning California residents, should practice self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival. These persons should limit their interactions to their immediate household. This recommendation does not apply to individuals who cross state or country borders for essential travel. Californians are encouraged to stay home or in their region and avoid non-essential travel to other states or countries."
Governor Newsom went on to say, "California just surpassed a sobering threshold – one million COVID-19 cases – with no signs of the virus slowing down. Increased cases are adding pressure on our hospital systems and threatening the lives of seniors, essential workers and vulnerable Californians. Travel increases the risk of spreading COVID-19, and we must all collectively increase our efforts at this time to keep the virus at bay and save lives."
Wilkinson School faculty and staff will abide by this advisory and we are asking that our families do the same. We are extremely privileged to be learning in-person at any capacity, and it is imperative that we continue to do so safely. It is also important for us to look beyond ourselves and recognize that our school is an important part of the local community. Even as we are meeting in-person for school we must do our part to keep the coastside community safe. The actions we take as a school should always reflect the values that we teach our students.
Here is what Wilkinson School is asking of you:
Inform us of your travel plans
This information will only be shared with the front desk and your child’s teachers. This way we are aware of the risk to our community and can assist contact tracers should there be a need. Use this Google form to let us know your plans. This is mandatory for all Class 1 families to complete prior to returning to on-campus learning after Thanksgiving break.
Reconsider high-risk activities
If you participate in a high risk activity over the break, we are asking that you self-quarantine for two weeks upon your return. This means, do not return to school for 14 days. According to the CDC, high-risk activities include:
Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving
Participating or being a spectator at a crowded race
Attending crowded parades or sporting events
Attending indoor gatherings with people outside of your household
When congregating with people outside of your household in any capacity, please read and follow the CDC's social events and gatherings guidelines.
If you must travel out of state
Regardless of method of travel, we are asking the you self-quarantine for two weeks upon return. This means, do not return to school for 14 days. This is a tightening of the restriction communicated earlier in the week, and follows directly from the new travel advisory released this morning.
Plan in such a way that you are mindful of the impact your decisions will have on the school community and our ability to remain open. We've also attached a handy matrix for determining if your student can return to campus or not! As always, please reach out to the Office with any questions or concerns.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
10/06/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
We are writing to share some important news regarding COVID-19 testing in our community.
First, we want to reiterate that our testing events and partnership with PMH Labs is crucial to our Reopening Plan, and our testing days are currently open to Wilkinson families, friends, local preschools, and extended community members. We strongly encourage everyone to participate in these events to keep the coastside healthy, and provide reliable, transparent data to the County. It is because of these safety measures and your cooperation that we have been able to successfully bring our students back to campus - thank you.
One important aspect of our partnership is the agreement that PMH Labs will provide us with a summary of the test results. Last week, the report showed one positive test. Fortunately, this result did not require immediate action from the school, however, it is a humbling reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, and our community is not immune.
Thank you again for your patience, grace, and positive encouragement through the meetings, testing events, and many new safety measures. It really makes a difference!
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
09/25/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Thank you so much to those who attended our Community Forum last night. We greatly appreciate your supportive words and thoughtful questions. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, it is very encouraging to experience the beauty of working together - especially for a cause as worthy as our children. We cannot thank you, and our teachers, enough.
If you happened to miss the Forum last night, don't worry! You can find the recording here. We have also attached the Healthy Start Guide to this email, which includes a page that needs to be signed (electronically or physically) by both you and your student, and returned to the Office before Wednesday. Finally, as we begin to transition into our new schedule, you will notice the Woo Welcome meeting starts at 8:15 as of Monday. Be sure to log on then, and please reach out to us with any questions.
Have a happy and healthy weekend!
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
09/17/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
It is very important to us that we keep you updated on the latest County guidance, and if you haven't had the chance to review the state's Safety Tier System, you can do so here. This morning we received an email from the County Office of Education indicating that San Mateo County might be transitioned to the "red" safety level on September 22nd. This means that all San Mateo County schools may be able to return to in-person learning on October 6th. However, the County is not providing guidance for schools to follow on this path to reopening. This means two things:
1) We will likely have increased opportunities to be creative with our return to in-person learning.
2) We will likely have increased responsibility in maintaining both the health and safety of our School and the broader coastside community.
Thankfully, the framework laid out in our original reopening plan adapts well to this new information. While the ultimate goal for our School is safety, we are also very aware of the social-emotional and academic benefits of in-person learning. We will still be making a careful and deliberate transition to on-campus learning, beginning with modeling safe behaviors for your students. Our transitional start and collective adherence to safety protocols will ensure your students and our teachers are set up for success in this new year of learning.
We will also be hosting a Community Forum on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30pm where we will begin by explaining the details of our transition to campus. Families will then have the chance to join a breakout room with their fellow class parents and teacher to learn what they can specifically expect from in-person learning.
Finally, we will receive the turf for our outdoor classrooms next week, and will schedule a Parent Workday shortly thereafter (likely next weekend).
Thank you again for your patience and words of support as we continue on this roller coaster together!
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
09/04/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Happy Friday! This week we learned that San Mateo County approved our waiver! Huge thanks to our incredible staff and volunteers who helped gather application materials and submit the waiver application swiftly and carefully - we would not be approved without you.
Our first priority continues to be the safety of our students, faculty, and staff, and we have been meeting daily to review our reopening plan and discuss our return to campus. The County's waiver gives us the opportunity to bring students in Class 1-3 back to campus for outdoor learning, and we want to make sure that move is best for our community. You can expect another Parent Survey next week, Parent Workday announcement (we'll need more tents!), and an invitation to a class meeting prior to the return to campus. We also understand that many Class 1 families have been anxiously awaiting our waiver approval. Please know that we are collaborating with Ms. Katie to help transition your students to outdoor learning as safely and swiftly as possible.
We are very excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to making these decisions together.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School
07/30/20
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Thank you so much to those who attended our Community Forum last night! It was wonderful to see you all again, and we're really looking forward to the start of the semester. For those who couldn't join the meeting, we'd love to hear from you! Please take a look at the Forum recording and slide deck, and let us know if you have any feedback or need clarification.
We appreciate your thoughtful questions, insight, and suggestions; however, we recognize that we weren't able to respond to each and every question. Over the next few days, we will compile a complete list of questions and answers, so be on the lookout for an FAQ document next week. If anything comes up in the meantime, please let us know!
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
04/09/2020
Dear Wilkinson Families,
The San Mateo County Office of Education announced that, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, school campuses will continue to be closed through the end of the school year. Wilkinson School is complying with this guidance and will continue using online and home tools for our Emergency Learning Plan through the end of the school year. Please see the formal announcement from the County for more information.
Your children have been creative, funny, insightful, and inspiring during this strange time, and we are so thankful to have the tools to connect with them each week. However, we truly miss teaching and spending time with our students on campus, and we are sure they miss each other as well. Though we won't be able to end the school year the way we had planned, we will celebrate our wonderful students and community when we can all be together once again.
Please enjoy the rest of Spring Break, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
03/23/2020
Dear Wilkinson Families,
Today San Mateo County announced they are extending school closures through May 1st. This updated school closure order is separate from the shelter-in-place restrictions, which are still in effect. You can read the full school closure update here. While this is not the news we were hoping for, it is news we were preparing for. Our Emergency Learning program is just getting started, and we will continue to support the Wilkinson community in any way we can.
Please take a moment to congratulate yourselves for making it halfway through our first week of remote learning. Thank you all for sharing updates, links, and photos - we are doing this!
We are also thankful for your inspiring acts of kindness and community in the face of these restrictions. We know it's been messy, new, difficult, and exciting all at once and we are proud to be part of such a resilient community. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Warmly,
Wilkinson Office
03/13/2020
Dear Wilkinson Families,
We appreciate your continued patience and understanding as we navigate incoming information regarding COVID-19 together. The safety of our students and community is our highest priority, and we hope this message will provide some clarity in a seemingly chaotic time:
In accordance with the order from the San Mateo County Medical Officer, Wilkinson School will transition to our Emergency Learning Plan and close the school from March 16 through April 3.
Wilkinson closed from March 11 through March 13 to undergo a deep clean, as per county recommendation. Our incredible teachers also used this time to plan and prepare an Emergency Learning Plan to facilitate at-home, digital learning. At this time, no community member has yet tested positive for COVID-19 or is confirmed to have come in contact with someone who has.
We are mindful that these decisions have consequences for our families. We are working to follow directives of the San Mateo County Health Office while keeping our community safe and helping slow the overall spread of the novel coronavirus. The teachers are also assessing alternative schedules for future in-school teaching that could reduce exposure risk while providing help to students if we need to extend the implementation of our Emergency Learning Plan.
The Board is meeting Saturday morning to discuss the details of our Emergency Learning Plan and provide more information for families. You can expect an email from the school shortly after that meeting.
Please feel free to email the Office at office@wilkinsonschool.org with any questions or concerns. Our families are our main priority, and we hope to be a source of answers and support for the community.
Warmly,
Wilkinson School