In the late spring, when it became clear that our world would not be rendered Covid-free in time for the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year, we made an important strategic decision as a community. We decided that if the government were to permit it, we would do everything we reasonably could to operate school in person, safely, every day, for as many families and faculty/staff members as would be prepared to return to campus. We knew that our school’s unique academic/communal/Jewish mission is best actualized in person, and that it was worth significant investments of all types in order to ensure that our students and families could benefit from this.

Over the summer, we set out to transform our campuses for pandemic-era learning. We measured each classroom and marked the floor with indicators for desk locations, spaced at least six feet apart. We built walls to transform our communal spaces in the Upper School into classrooms, and we rented modular buildings — now sitting in the parking lot — to add classroom capacity to the Lower School campus. We lined the hallways with decals to remind ourselves of the protocols and added stations to every classroom that included disposable masks, gloves, antiviral wipes, and cleaning solution.

Through the first four months of the school year, what has perhaps been most striking is that school feels like … school. It is different in certain obvious ways, and yet also comfortably familiar: students, smiling beneath their masks, greet their friends each day and focus on their learning, as ever. The hallways between classes are as vibrant as always — only now, with everyone walking purposefully, in the same direction, without stopping at lockers. Students still study in groups — but now over Zoom or Google Drive, rather than sitting together in the student lounge. Our memorable Friday Special Programs in the High School continued through the fall, only now with the speakers (including Representative Nita Lowey, speaking to our students to mark her retirement after 32 years in Congress) “Zooming in” from hundreds of miles away rather than appearing in person. Holiday celebrations and Shavruach, the annual Upper School spirit week, have been as festive as ever. Even the cherished tradition of fifth-grade/kindergarten buddies has endured, albeit with the buddies meeting outdoors and appropriately distanced.

This year, we have also had the pleasure of welcoming 202 new students to our school, K–12. It is a tricky time to begin a new school — playdates with friends are much more difficult to arrange, there are no communal Shabbat dinners, and we can see only half of people’s faces! At the same time, the school has perhaps never been a more joyful place — the air is palpable with a sense of appreciation for what we are able to create together as a community, even under difficult circumstances. We are pleased to share a taste of the experience through the pages of this magazine.

In a year in which so much is different, The Leffell School has endeavored to demonstrate that through focus on a consistent mission and set of core values, the elements of schooling that matter the most can be just as strong as ever — providing students and their families with a much-needed sense of grounding, familiarity, and comfort.