Thank you for your patience and trust in us and for your belief in our mission to honor the Lord while doing all we can to love our students and provide them excellent education. Our CHC families are the best! In recent weeks, you have helped us face so many unforeseen and difficult challenges while still finding time to celebrate Christ during Easter, laugh together during our “socially distanced movie nights,” observe Teacher Appreciation Week, and celebrate all of our students and their accomplishments. Again, we thank you.

Your children also have inspired us with their good and diligent work, and with their adaptability — which has prompted some instructional innovation I am pleased to share with you along with a financial update and our approach to preparing for the school year ahead.

CHC Connect

If there is any silver lining to be found in the midst of these past few months, it is in online education and the development of technology skills for students and CHC faculty and staff alike. We already are more nimble users of software and stronger thinkers and creators in digital learning environments. We have received parent feedback with smart ideas and recommendations for continued improvements. Couple all of that with our faculty’s rich expertise in curriculum development and our strong and clear vision for technology instruction and support, and it also becomes abundantly clear that the time has come for CHC Connect. 

As part of standard tuition, all students are automatically enrolled in this new, remote learning program, which provides students in PreK through 8th grade with the following: 

• Uninterrupted classroom learning. When CHC needs to close our physical campus out of concern for safety, students can meet with their teachers and classmates from home.
• Extended 1:1 iPad program for all kindergarten through eighth grade students to take devices home beginning Fall 2020.
• Access from their CHC-issued iPad or any desktop or mobile device to all of their course materials, assignments, digital tools, grades, and the enrichment activities we have and are preparing specially for an online learning environment.
• The ability to participate in live chapels, classes, small-group discussions, one-on-one instruction with their teachers, and other learning activities via video conferencing.
• The flexibility they need. CHC Connect is great for students on days they may not feel well enough to attend classes in person or when they have an off-campus appointment. Our school also is home to students who wish to remain enrolled and engaged with us as they pursue intensive training in areas of their individual giftedness, such as sports and music. 

Because of some requests we have received from CHC families, we have decided to accept a limited number of students to our CHC Connect program full time — meaning remote learning will be their primary platform for learning with access to our teachers, curriculum, classrooms, enrichment programs and student events. Currently enrolled families will receive priority for this consideration. If this is an option you would like to pursue, please complete the CHC Connect Interest Form.

From the start of this exciting, new program with so much potential, I want to make clear that we are committed to implementing CHC Connect wisely and with unwavering respect for our core calling and strength as an institution — which is the provision of excellent Christian education to students. Click here for CHC Connect program information.

Financial update

We are grateful to God for His provision and for the wise financial stewards who serve Him and CHC. Our finances are stable, we are debt-free and we have appropriate cash reserves to maintain excellent facilities and operations. However, our school will not escape the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate this, we recently: 

• Shifted our fundraising to provide tuition assistance for CHC families facing financial shortfalls. Your contributions to help them and our school are deeply appreciated.
• Offered our faculty and staff renewal employment letters without any increase in their compensation for the 2020-21 academic year. I am pleased to report that these wonderful people have accepted our offers, once again demonstrating their love for our school community and determination to remain true to our mission. 

We are confident in the quality — and continual advancement — of CHC, including our newest program, CHC Connect, which is included in the overall cost of tuition. Our tuition infrastructure supports fixed and variable costs including personnel and benefits, facilities, safety, technology and instructional materials, among others. Count on seeing more technology to support remote work and classroom instruction, even more rigorous approaches to facility hygiene and cleanliness, and some fixtures and equipment needed to help us achieve appropriate physical distancing as necessary. 

The year ahead

Your child’s safety is of utmost importance to us. We are working aggressively to solidify our COVID-19 preparedness and response. We’re enhancing sanitation protocols and diligently researching best practices, latest technologies, and top hygiene products and services. We invite parents of prospective students to contact us at admissions@chcc.org for more information. Over the coming weeks, we will provide detailed explanations of our policies and procedures. Until then, please know we expect to re-open in person in August and will be so happy to see our students back in their classrooms and on their playgrounds.  

We remain in service to Him, firmly committed to our school’s mission, and in prayer for our CHC families.