Seven Arrows Elementary School, a kindergarten through sixth grade private school that focuses on education that fuses rigorous academics with world culture and the arts, has been granted a waiver to reopen next week.
This is the only school in Pacific Palisades to receive a waiver to date and one of only 29 schools to receive a waiver from the county. In March, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in all schools in California being shuttered.
Beginning next week, the kindergarten through second grades will begin in-person instruction for all students five days a week from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. The school has added classroom space at Aldersgate Historic Center in order to allow for social distancing.
The school will continue to conduct both distance learning, along with youth conditioning camps, for all other grades at Simon Meadow in Temescal Gateway Park.
“Seven Arrows has spent a great deal of time and resources to prepare for this point in time, and words cannot express our gratitude for being able to welcome our students back to campus,” said Head of School Margarita Pagliai. “We are so grateful to our faculty who have worked tirelessly to shape the most innovative distance learning curriculum, and at the same time, remained firmly committed to the waiver application processes and supporting a transition back to in-person learning.”
According to a November Seven Arrows press release, “The waiver comes after two visits to Seven Arrows from The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. During each inspection, the officials remarked that the school’s safety protocols go well beyond what is required. Seven Arrows’ safety protocols are rigorous and extensive and include health screenings every morning, mask-wearing, cohorting, physically distancing, handwashing, weekly PCR COVID-19 testing, along with a plan to conduct over 40 percent of instruction outdoors.”
Before being granted the waiver, Seven Arrows had installed portable handwashing stations, ventilation filters, plexiglass installations around the school, increased classroom space for proper physical distancing and making maximum use of its outdoor spaces designated for safe play. Additional cleaning staff was hired to sanitize the school and temperature checkpoint protocols were instituted.
Seven Arrows, which always has unique celebrations and teaching styles, will open for students next week at several locations in Pacific Palisades.
That was not true. A number of Pacific Palisades schools received waivers at the same time, including CCS, the Waldorf School and Corpus Christi, as well as Carlthorp in Santa Monica. See here:
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/school-waiver-applications.htm
Annine,
Seven Arrows is opening on Monday. Will Calvary, Corpus and Westside Waldorf also open on November 9? I’m happy to give them press, too.
Sue
I don’t know about Waldorf. And I’m sure you can reach out to CCS about their schedule directly. Thanks!!
Thanks. I’ll reach out to the other Palisades schools–one thing is certain the public schools aren’t going back.