Nearly a year after moving to Distance Learning for Spring of 2020, Shorecrest continues to receive praise for its commitment to campus safety during the coronavirus pandemic. In recognition of institutional excellence in marketing and communications, Shorecrest's
Health and Safety Statement was a winning entry in the 2020 CASE District III awards, receiving a
silver award in the category of Communications Pivot. Winners were announced during a live, virtual Awards Presentation on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
The CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District III award programs recognized the very best in advancement across the Southeast. Everyone having to work in educational advancement had to pivot in some way during 2020 in order to adapt and respond to the unfolding pandemic. In recognition of these unique and extreme efforts, CASE created special “Pivot” award categories to recognize the most creative and successful ways that members adjusted.
As Shorecrest community members know well, the outstanding faculty and prepared staff pivoted roughly 1000 students in the PK-12 program to a virtual, "Distance Learning" campus on March 17, after just a 3-day weekend of strategizing.
Necessary communications with parents were multifaceted. A detailed Health & Safety Statement was published to disclose campus safety and hygiene procedures amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The intent of this document was to inform families how the campus would remain safe using three themes -
Protect, Distance, and
Disinfect. The Shorecrest Board of Trustees and Administration were committed to returning to school in-person, on-campus for the 2020-2021 school year, while ensuring that students would return to a healthy, safe and vibrant school environment. The School continues to update this document for families as COVID-related policies change.
Shorecrest.org/health, an easy-to-find web page, was created to house all updates and COVID-related information in one place. Event cancellations were listed here, as well as resources for talking to children about COVID-19, video updates from school leadership, social media feeds, and health-related communications to families that were copied to emails and text alerts.
Staff members Rachel Barrett, Director of Marketing and Communications; Raffi Darrow, Web Developer and Communications Manager; and Stacy Alexander, Director of Alumni and Community Engagement, comprised the core team responsible for the project. All work was completed entirely in-house on a tight timeline utilizing zero additional budgetary expenses.
Data for the Health & Safety Statement and
www.shorecrest.org/health came from CDC, WHO, and Shorecrest's Health and Safety Task Force - a team of medical professionals and school leadership who established policy recommendations to ensure a safe campus and community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
A dozen or so independent schools asked to use Shorecrest's comprehensive Health & Safety Statement as a resource for their own plans. In addition, the National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS) recognized Shorecrest’s Flexible Learning Program.
During COVID-19, Shorecrest quickly adapted and emerged as a model for independent schools nationwide.
