Dear Berman Community,
I hope your family is having a relaxing and rejuvenating summer. Our team is busy preparing for the 2021-2022 school year and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to campus in the Fall. As always, the health and safety of our Berman community is our top priority. Last week, our Medical Task Force reconvened, including our newest members, Dr. Jenny Offer and Dr. Ron Reisler.
As you may have seen in the news, the Covid-19 Delta variant is causing an uptick in cases, including in our Greater Washington Jewish community. In consultation with our Medical Task Force, and in line with the latest CDC guidance, I’d like to share a couple of updates regarding our policies for the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
Masks
We will follow the latest CDC and AAP recommendation and begin our school year with universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to our campus, regardless of their vaccination status. We will reevaluate this approach after the Chagim, based on current guidelines and Covid-19 case rates in our community.
Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
As per the recommendation of our Medical Task Force, and in keeping with our commitment to safeguard the health of our Berman community, all students ages twelve and up are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by October 1, 2021.
Documentation of vaccination must be submitted no later than October 1. You can upload your vaccination card via the Parent Portal (www.bermanhebrewacademy.org/parent-portal). Students who turn 12 after the start of the school year will need to provide proof of vaccination within 45 days following their twelfth birthday.
At this time, we are only requiring the vaccine for students ages twelve and up. Should the vaccine be made available to our younger students, we will reevaluate with our Medical Task Force. I understand that there may be different opinions in our community about risk mitigation strategies. However, our strength, health, and success as a community comes through when we subscribe to the same practices and values. The steps we are taking above are the ones we believe will keep our community safe from COVID-19 variants, and allow us to have another successful school year.
We will continue to share additional updates as needed and as things evolve. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Dr. Yossi Kastan Head of School
