Impact: What Transitioning to the “New” Normal Means in Education

Stratford School Unveils Its Plan for Fall 2021

At Stratford, we are excited to welcome students back for the upcoming school year with safety in mind and plans for a flexible learning environment — with robust educational excellence back on campus and Stratford’s Online Academy.

As we reflect on what has been a monumental 2020/21 school year, we are pleased to have been able to offer options, both in-school and fully online, for our families. We have learned, adjusted and enhanced every aspect of our educational program to ensure students received the best possible learning experience whether at school or at home.

In preparation for our full return to an in-person schedule, in which our students and teachers may reunite in our classrooms, joyfully interacting with each other, we are also planning for a fully-aligned, standalone online school — Stratford’s Online Academy. With Candi Scheuders, recently named Head of School for our Grade K-5 Online Academy, and a dedicated, well-trained faculty and staff, we will build upon our past best educational practices that infuse our goals for rigor, richness, continuity and connection. Stratford’s Online Academy will include both familiar curriculum as well as some enhancements:

Daily live instruction
Stratford curriculum, programming and progression: Saxon Math, Core Knowledge Humanities and Science, Spanish, Computer Science, STEAM emphasis, Music, P.E., opportunities for artistic expression, lesson pacing and calendar aligned with Stratford students’ on-campus experience.
Familiar learning management and student information platforms featuring Schoology and PowerSchool.
Class for Zoom, a communication platform that allows for higher levels of virtual engagement.
Adaptive learning programs, including iReady and MATHia, to personalize each student’s experience.
A unique set of engaging and fun rituals and traditions that will engender a sense of belonging within classrooms and across the Stratford Online Academy community.

It is in our spirit of always improving that we approach the upcoming school year. Although we cannot predict how the school year will play out, we are prepared to engage, nurture and inspire our students, just as nimbly and with a focus on providing in-depth learning environments for our students from preschool through eighth grade.

As partners in education, we encourage parents to help prepare for a successful return to school, regardless of how their children go back to learning this fall, there are ways they can help ease the transition for their children.

Early in the school year, reach out to your child’s teacher and introduce yourself and your family. Share family stories, values, your family’s living situation this fall, your child’s feelings about the return to school. Will you be working from home this year? Is there a quiet space for your child to work this school year, or is that always going to be a challenge?
Given that you were almost certainly your young child’s second teacher last school year, share what you learned about how he/she learns. What excited your child, what was motivating or challenging? Ask your child’s teacher how you can help reinforce social and emotional learning goals he/she is promoting in the classroom.
In the best schools, teachers and parents partner and support each other, and that has never been more important than now. You and your child’s teacher can learn from each other and that amplification of learning benefits your child.

Onward with Optimism!

As we plan for the start of a new school year, we are still driven by the mission and vision that attracted us to teaching in the first place, and we are reinvigorated by the creativity and inventiveness unleashed in response to extraordinarily challenging circumstances. We will begin the school year grateful for the opportunity to teach and to learn as we move onward to an excellent future!

To learn more about Stratford School or to schedule a personalized tour go to stratfordschools.com/schedule-a-tour!

By Jeanne Huybrechts, Chief Academic Officer, Stratford School