Blog

The Villa of Hope School has been focusing on a reopening plan to be submitted to the Department of Health (DOH) and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) on our before July 31, 2020. Our school, like many others like us, along with local school districts have reviewed the guidance from CDC, DOH, and NYSED. In addition, we have been meeting as a leadership team, and talking to key stakeholders to develop a plan that is healthy and safe, to ensure wellness for students, families and staff as we continue to experience the many challenges associated with the Coronavirus.

The plan has been shared with our staff, our students and families, and with the districts in which we serve as part of our Day School Program. We have also communicated clearly and openly in partnership with our Residential Program Directors and Managers during this planning process.

I have attached the Villa of Hope Reopening Plan, along with our Fall Schedule. We are anxious to hear from Governor Cuomo the week of August 3, 2020 with his executive order regarding the reopening of schools throughout New York State. His decision will weigh heavily on the submission of the reopening plans from all NYS school districts and private and parochial schools. We have had the opportunity to work closely with our cohort 853 schools to compare plans and discuss appropriate and effective ways to meet the guidelines in each of our learning environments. Our hope is to open on September 9 with this hybrid model for reopening, with the commitment to assessing the health and safety of our school regularly. We will look at alternative  options to change direction if needed, and may include a full reopening plan later in the fall and/or returning to virtual learning during the late fall and early winter months that have typically been the months we typically experience as the height of flu season.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions and/or concerns.

Graduation Day is almost here, and despite the COVID 19 pandemic, will be a commencement to remember! Our Villa of Hope School staff and supporters have been honoring our seniors all month long in June. We will confer diplomas on June 25, 2020, pronounce the Class of 2020 graduates, and WISH them the best as they begin their new journey. We are so proud of our graduates, the future is bright for you, and we are here to celebrate all that you have accomplished.

Villa of Hope School in partnership with the Rochester Broadway Theatre League (RBTL) will be planning and organizing this fall to align teaching and learning with two Broadway musicals coming to Rochester in early 2021.

We are thrilled to know that Dear Evan Hansen has been rescheduled for January; and then Hamilton arrives. We thank RBTL for their generosity, commitment, and dedication to bring the arts to life in our schools and our community.

Full STEAM ahead!

Thank you to our WBL team, Ms. Harding and Mr. Fromm, along with our Summer team that includes Ms. Stahl, Mr. Oldenburg, and Mr. Shepard. In preparation for our remote Summer WBL program they have been innovative in creating a distance experience in Human Ecology, Horticulture, and Technology/Manufacturing. Each will be presenting, facilitating and supporting special projects this summer to enhance the WBL program with opportunities to earn a salary through engagement.  Many of our students participating this summer have WBL hours already, and some will be earning hours for the first time.

Our students will have the opportunity to engage in WBL this fall during the first quarter…we hope you will JOIN US!

The Villa of Hope School will be conducting  our Summer ESY Program remotely through Distance Learning. We have been assessing our effectiveness to stay connected, to support our students and families, and how best to deliver quality instruction while finishing up the 2019-2020 school year remotely. A new schedule, individualized for each student, will be released on July 6, 2020 as we begin our summer session through August 15, 2020.

Thank you to all who supported the Virtual Gala on Saturday. Your support is valued and appreciated. We at school can continue to connect, support and engage our students. You have our commitment to continue to find ways to improve what we do to meet the needs of students and their families in our community. Thank You Again!

The Villa of Hope School will be celebrating our seniors during the month of June. Our staff have “adopted” a senior and will shower them with special thoughts and treats. The Senior Picnic is scheduled for June 11, 2020; our seniors will receive their cap and gown.

Graduation Day is June 25, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. We will honor our Class of 2020 seniors in a bus loop graduation ceremony. Mrs. Ward and many staff will be present to confer the diplomas using the preventative measures to ensure a healthy and safe graduation. We will be social distancing and wearing masks, but know that this will be a special memory for our seniors to take with them as they begin this new journey.

Congratulations Seniors!

The Governor last week presented an executive order keeping school closed through the summer months. He will be making a decision regarding the re-opening of school for the fall over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, the Villa of Hope School will be scheduling our students for summer classes that will include content area courses; Summer WBL programs in Human Ecology, Horticulture, and Technology; along with some new and special area elective courses. These classes will be presented via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

We are so proud of our students, thank you to our families for your support!

Thank you to our staff, they have done amazing things to keep our students connected and supported during these difficult times.

Our students are doing a terrific job logging into their Zoom/Microsoft Teams Classrooms each day. We continue to support our students the PBIS way.

Distance Learning has changed the way school looks and sounds…but we are connecting and supporting our students and families using the fundamentals of PBIS. We are so proud of our students and thank our families for their support.

Due to the COVID 19 Pandemic the Governor of NYS has ordered all schools to remain closed for the remainder of the school year. We will continue to stay connected and support our students and families through Distance/Remote learning.

The Governor will make a decision by the end of the month regarding our Summer ESY program.

Our hearts go out to our Senior Class, Class of 2020. We believe in the power of social distancing and keeping each other healthy and safe, and will do our best to provide a celebration for our seniors and their families as soon as we are able.

Stay healthy and safe!