Dear ASD Families,

ASD opens doors to students and families in just four days; our excitement to return to face to face instruction is palpable and fed by knowing we are in a different and better place than we were at the start of last year.

Opening into a Hybrid A/B model, we immediately begin the process of proving to Ministry and government officials that ASD and all Qatar’s schools are safe, healthy places for students to learn and grow. Prior to this week’s MOEHE announcement that schools would open the 2021-2022 school year at 50% capacity, ASD continued to advance proposals to allow us a fuller reopening of school at the earliest possible opportunity.

New and returning faculty and administration are meeting this week to confirm instructional plans and logistics for operating in the Hybrid model, especially as (approx) 200 of our 2300 students have indicated they will need to isolate at home before being cleared to attend campus. Maintenance projects and final cleaning is taking shape, and even the construction surrounding entrance gates 6 and 8 has finished on time, allowing for parent drop-off and pick-up to happen much as it did last year.

After more than a year of working inside this pandemic, new energies are being rightly devoted to our instructional program, to the kinds of learning and engagement we need to foster in ASD students. Our quest to become more equitable, diverse, inclusive, and socially just continues, focusing on honoring the inherent dignity of all of our students and staff. It is an exciting time to begin again, and our summer break has allowed us to re energize and refocus. We’re excited to return!

We will no sooner begin in the Hybrid A/B format than we push to a fuller reopening. ASD’s COVID-19 readiness, proven MOPH partnership in case management, larger than average classrooms, abundant outdoor spaces, fully staffed and highly skilled nursing staff, and comprehensive (100%) vaccination of staff will again be positioned in requests to MOEHE to move quickly from 50% capacity to allow more students to attend school. Specifically, ASD will also continue to make the case for an exception to the 15 students per class maximums and 1.5 meter distancing rules which limit our ability to utilize even the current 50% capacity limits.

Thank you to the 500+ families that attended the Zoom conversation yesterday. The presentation from the parent Zoom is shared below as well as a new request from our nursing department that families begin to share COVID-19 vaccination records with ASD. Click HERE to complete the form if your student is vaccinated.

Students will arrive on August 23 ready to begin another year in school, another year of learning and growing in environments that inspire and empower them. We can’t wait to start!

Sincerely,

Steve Razidlo

Director of the American School of Doha