The decision of how to reopen school is one that we take very seriously at St. HOPE. We miss our scholars and are eager to have them back on campus as soon as it is safe to do so. We have been working hard all summer to prepare for a safe and smooth opening to the new school year and have continued to monitor all of the updates from local and state officials as they pertain to COVID-19 and school reopening. The Sacramento County Office of Education in collaboration with the Sacramento County Health Department released updated guidance stating that schools in Sacramento County should open with a Distance Learning Model for August and September. This guidance is a result of county-wide data that illustrates an increase in the community spread of the coronavirus along with deficits in the current testing system. These deficits would hinder our ability to receive sufficient, timely test results in the event that we had a member of our community exhibiting symptoms. Therefore, we will be starting our 2020-2021 school year in an online/virtual teaching and learning environment.  While the start of this school year will be unlike any in the history of St. HOPE, we are confident that we will find a way to make it impactful and successful for each and every one of our scholars. What will continue to set us apart even during these unprecedented times is our collective commitment to our mission. We will find new and creative ways to overcome the challenges we face and we will continue to lead our scholars in making meaningful progress on their journey to and through college. Our methods will change as a result of the current situation, but our mission will not. We will continue to put our scholars first and hold ourselves accountable to providing them with an excellent education. We are looking forward to seeing all of our scholars virtually on August 5th.