Dear Concordia Community,

Because of the rising concern with COVID-19, and in support of regional, state, national, and international community efforts as well as a strong recommendation from the Allen County Board of Health to curb the spread of this virus, Concordia Lutheran High School will shift away from face-to-face instruction and move to home-based Remote Learning from March 16 through April 10. Please see details about how Remote Learning will operate at the bottom of this letter. For the immediate future, School offices will remain open during regular business hours. Concordia will continue to hold Spring Break from March 30 to April 3 and no classes on March 16 (Teacher Professional Development Day), April 10 (Good Friday), and April 13 (Easter Monday). A detailed Remote Learning schedule and plan will be shared with students and parents by the end of the day Monday, March 16 as teachers are gathering to make final preparations that day.

Please note that we do not currently have a confirmed case of COVID-19 within our student body or staff as of today. Please know that we are in constant talks with the Allen County Department of Health to report to you as information becomes available. 

With this shift, all extracurricular and co-curricular activities will be canceled or postponed, including Athletic Events, Athletic Practices, Choir Tour, Band Tour, JROTC National Drill Meet, etc. This cancellation or postponement of events will begin after school on Friday, March 13 and includes any events held by off-campus groups. As we plan out the rest of the year we will communicate an updated schedule for postponed events.

We understand the spiritual, emotional, and physical impact that this will have on our students, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that this process is a smooth as possible while remaining a good community partner in helping to slow the progress of this virus. 

The current plan is to return to school on Tuesday, April 14. Currently, there will not be any additional days added to the end of the school calendar as makeup days, given the opportunity to implement Remote Learning and Governor Holcomb’s declaration on March 12 regarding grace on the 180 school day mandate. The current plan is to end school before graduation on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

As more information becomes available, we will keep you updated through our Facebook page, school email, and our website. We ask you to be calm, prayerful and wise about your approach to this situation. Our students are watching. We are teaching them something by our actions and our words. 

God’s continued blessings on you and our community as we navigate this challenging situation.

 

In HIS Service,

 

CLHS Administration

Remote Learning is different than an eLearning Day. We utilize an eLearning Day when weather forces a school campus closure for a short period of time of 1-3 days. The No. 1 goal for our school community during a period of Remote Learning is to maintain and strengthen relationships through the interaction between our students and teachers. 

We expect and are planning for an extended period of time (4 weeks) of activities that promote academic learning for our school community. Remote Learning will use a modified time schedule, built upon our current A-E Daily schedule. Teachers will lead class activities that include individual student and group activity through a remote conference service such as Zoom, and strongly lean upon our OnCampus and Google Apps for Education platforms. Our school will move into “the cloud.” 

The school day will begin no sooner than 8:30 AM and will end before 1:00 PM. Class periods will be shortened. Homework will be limited, as we expect many of our high school students to have responsibility for younger siblings in their household during this extended time of school campus closure. Concordia will continue to emphasize the importance of relationships and being in a community of Christians during this difficult time. We will maintain Koinonia group meetings in our Remote Learning schedule. Devotions and prayer will be critical to our progress individually and in community. 

During stressful and pandemic events, sleep is vitally important to remain healthy and strengthen our immune system. Flexibility, grace, and understanding are needed in such a time as this! Our School Counselors and Study Center Teachers will be engaged with their students on a regular basis throughout the duration of Remote Learning.