• June 12, 2020

    Dear T/E Families,

    I bring you the very best wishes from the T/E School District for a wonderful summer break.  I thank you once again for your patience and kind support of the schools and staff as we all navigated an unthinkable set of circumstances related to the closure of schools on March 13.  I hope to provide a few short updates as we head into vacation.

    Distance Learning Survey

    Due to widespread power outages in our community, we extended the deadline for our distance learning survey through noon today. Over 2,900 parents completed the survey, in addition to over 700 students and almost 300 teachers. Hundreds of parents also shared additional feedback through our distance learning inbox. The inbox, distancelearning@tesd.net, will continue to be open over the summer for anyone who would still like to share their thoughts. We look forward to reviewing the survey results in addition to the ideas, comments and suggestions shared through the inbox. The survey results will be posted on the TESD website by the end of June and will be used to help evaluate and plan for next school year.

    TESD Pandemic Planning

    We continue to work on a plan to reopen on our first day of school, Monday, August 31, 2020.  Governor Wolf has indicated that schools will be permitted to create a reopening plan as long as health and safety procedures that meet federal and state guidelines are followed. 

    As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s guidelines, schools are required to have a pandemic coordinator to oversee the process of reopening the District.  Chris Groppe, our current Director of Individualized Student Services, will serve in this role. Part of his responsibilities include presenting the Board with a reopening plan for students that has been developed with opportunities for input from District employees and other stakeholders.  While Dr. Groppe serves as pandemic coordinator, Nicole Roy will serve as Acting Director of Special Education.  Ms. Roy has been working as a Supervisor of Special Education in T/E since 2004.

    As there is much yet to be determined with our reopening plan, you can expect periodic updates and opportunities to provide further input throughout the summer.  In the short run, as long as Chester County remains on the trajectory from “yellow” to “green,” you will see our schools reopening for limited services and activities in July.

    District Equity Work

    The T/E School District remains committed to valuing and supporting all students as important members of our school community.  Over the past two years in particular, TESD has been actively working to develop and implement racial equity measures in our schools. We have created a webpage to help share the progress on our equity work. Please continue to check this page for updates as we share new information and plans for continued growth and education.

    Support Efforts

    During the school closure, our staff worked tirelessly to distribute a total of 14,890 meals to families in need.  In addition, our community sent $16,000 worth of food and supply donations to the District to assist our families.  This does not include the generous contributions to community organizations T&E Care and FLITE, who have widened our network of support with their ongoing efforts. If you or anyone you know in the community remains in need, please reach out to Dr. Oscar Torres or Jeanne Braun.

    For many of us, the path to summer was a long one.  I hope you and your family can enjoy together the slow, but steady reopening of our state. 

    Best wishes,

    Dr. Richard Gusick
    Superintendent of Schools