A Totally New, Yet Classically GUS, Start to School

It was a start of school unlike any other and yet, just like every other.

Weeks of planning, furniture rearranging, and policy making, led to an early opening of school in late August. Starting before Labor Day? Totally new. The feeling when we were back on campus? Classically GUS. For teachers and students alike, online or in-person, the return to school has been a happy one. 

Coming back two weeks early, amidst debate in local towns about the best way to return, wasn’t about trail-blazing or setting ourselves apart, it was simply because we could. Our spacious campus, small class size, classrooms big enough to offer six feet of social distancing, and a place-based curriculum that connects content to our surroundings are just some of the reasons our decision to return was easier than for most. Reunited with peers and teachers, our classrooms, inside and out, have a buzz of positive energy. This energy makes all the work that went into making a return possible, and all the work that continues to be done by teachers and administrators to keep it going, worth it. 

Not surprisingly, our GUS community has been essential to our successful reopening. Teachers who are willing to do all they can to teach and keep kids safe. Parents honoring our protocols, filling out the screening app every day, and thinking about the greater community when making choices around travel and social gatherings. Children, so happy to be back at school, smiling under masks, becoming excellent hand-washers and honoring social distancing guidelines. Never before has the web of community meant more. 

Motivated not only by health and safety, but also moved by the political and social tensions that have grown across our country and our world, we stand more solidly in our principles. Collaboration and creativity remain strongly embedded in the GUS experience, for teachers and for students. These changes have brought ingenuity and growth to our program, while at the same time, encouraged us to return to our roots. Embracing technology while also getting outside and spending more time in nature, focusing our curriculum on the skills and content students need for success, while also paying close attention to the social emotional lives of our students, all of this has pushed our program forward, while also staying true to who we have always been. Furthermore, the faculty’s desire to also take on work around diversity, equity, and inclusion during this time just further demonstrates the commitment GUS has to do all it can to live its mission. 

We don’t know what lies ahead, but we know we will make decisions that are right for school. We will think about not only what we can do, but what we want to do. We will stay true to our school values, to our philosophy of teaching, and to doing the very best we can for our school community. It’s complicated and complex, but also simple. By staying true to who we are, we learn and grow and evolve. Grounded by our commitment to our community, we trust and go forward, together.

Trust and Go Forward,

Gretchen Forsyth
Head of School