We know from public health officials that the priority with COVID-19 is not simply keeping ourselves safe, given the increasing level of community transmission in the Bay Area, it’s also about our important role in mitigating the spread of the virus to safeguard our healthcare system’s capacity and protect the most vulnerable and at-risk among us. Accordingly, with the full support of the CAIS Board of Trustees, we are joining with school districts and independent schools across the Bay Area in an extended closure for students beginning Monday, March 16 to help stem community transmission. This decision was also reached in recognition that the behavior of this virus suggests that CAIS would no doubt be experiencing higher levels of absenteeism shortly. In such a case we would be unable to maintain both an in-school and a distance learning program simultaneously; we