Following the latest news out of Italy, we held extensive meetings today with the TASIS Board of Directors, Administration Team, and academic leaders. After many hours of discussion, we have made the difficult but prudent decision to move to a distance learning model beginning on Monday, March 16. Please know that we have chosen to take this preemptive measure out of an abundance of caution. There are no known cases of coronavirus at TASIS, and no federal or local authorities have mandated that schools in Ticino must close down their campuses.
We are continuing to refine the details, but we felt it was important to send a communication as quickly as possible. Here are general details for how we plan to proceed in the coming weeks:
- We will have regular classes on campus this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We will continue with our daily temperature checks and other precautionary protocols.
- Classes will no longer be held on campus as of this Thursday, March 12, and we ask that all day students stay away from campus beginning that morning.
- All boarding students are asked to vacate the dormitories by 16:00 on Thursday, March 12. They must complete a leave request form in Reach (selecting the "spring holiday" option) and send confirmation of their flight to hs.travel.student@tasis.ch. We understand that this places an enormous burden on our families, but we feel that it is critical to be proactive and get students home as quickly as possible, as we fear that more and more nations will start instituting travel restrictions. As we've stated throughout our communications, we strongly recommend that all flights depart from Switzerland rather than from Italy. (Please note that we will work with individual boarding families as necessary.)
- Distance learning classes, which we have been diligently preparing to offer, will commence for all students on Monday, March 16, and will continue through at least Friday, April 3. We consider this a great opportunity for students to gain exposure to a distance learning environment—something they are very likely to encounter in the future. We will send specific details about how this will work within the next few days.
- We do understand that IB students may be particularly concerned about how this is going to impact their ability to prepare for their upcoming exams. Please know that IB Coordinator Howard Stickley will be meeting with all IB students in their IB Seminar classes on Monday and Tuesday, and he will be able to answer any questions they have.
- Please also note that AP Coordinator Kerry Venchus will coordinate with all AP students and teachers as needed.
- All school activities scheduled between March 12–April 3 (athletics, theater, travel, etc.) will either be canceled or postponed.
- In regard to the spring holiday (April 4–19), the Global Service Program trips to Nepal, Ethiopia, and Moldova have been canceled, and the trip to Verbier we wrote about on Monday has also been canceled.
- While our students are away, we will continue with our campus construction projects and will carry out a deep cleaning of all facilities. Barring unforeseen developments, we will be ready to commence with live classes on campus on Monday, April 20. We intend to reopen all dormitories on Saturday, April 18, at noon.
- Faculty and staff members will continue to have access to campus while we carry out our distance learning model, but teachers will also have the option to work from home. For those who choose to work on campus, we will continue to institute mandatory daily temperature checks and will closely follow the Federal Office of Public Health's recommendations for the workplace.
I cannot thank all of you enough for your tremendous patience and flexibility throughout this unprecedented ordeal. The TASIS spirit remains strong, and we will get through this! We are hopeful that we will be able to return to a traditional learning model after the spring holiday, but we will, of course, reassess this as the time approaches and provide updates as needed. In the meantime, please direct any urgent questions to the TASIS leaders listed below. Questions related to boarding - High School: Dean of Students KC McKee
- Middle School: Dean of Student Affairs MJ Breton
Questions related to academics Thank you once again for your continued support of and trust in TASIS during these challenging times. The safety and well-being of our community will always be our top priority. Sincerely, Christopher Nikoloff TASIS Headmaster |