Greetings to the Kurn Hattin Homes Family,
In times of difficulty, the Kurn Hattin community truly shows our nature of being a family and pulling together. The seriousness of the spread of COVID19 virus requires us to make some difficult decisions to protect the safety and well-being of our children, their families, and our staff and volunteers. While this global outbreak continues to evolve and impacts us now, and likely well into the future, the uncertainty gives us pause and forces us to consider options that would normally not be considered. We, as a caring family community, must act together and continue to be proactive in the defense of everyone in this community to keep us all safe.
With all of this in mind, we have made the following decisions for this year at this time:
- Regarding future externally-oriented meetings and trips (going off-campus or bringing people onto campus), we will cancel or postpone all such activities occurring until Spring Break. On the 15th of each month, cancellation decisions will be made for the following month depending upon the situation. While Kurn Hattin loves its volunteers and appreciates the work done by them, we ask that all regular or daily volunteers please refrain from coming to campus until further notice, both for your safety and that of the children and staff.
- Starting today, Kurn Hattin strongly discourages children from going home for visits. As of Monday, 3/16/20, until Spring Break, all children on campus will remain fully on campus with no back-and-forth travel option to home or other housing arrangements. If Kurn Hattin or a family decides that a child should go home for some reason, that child will need to remain home at least until the end of Spring Break. Additionally, family members and other guests may no longer visit campus and/or join children for meals or other visits. Day students will continue with their normal daily routines.
- A decision regarding going home for Spring Break and/or returning to campus from Break will be made as soon as possible as the COVID19 situation evolves. Please note: Any decision to close Kurn Hattin will require that all children return to their homes or other housing arrangements and remain there. A decision regarding whether the summer program will be in session will also be made as soon as possible.
- As a general rule, staff who would normally be working during a certain period of time will continue to be paid for those responsibilities regardless of their ability to do their jobs (e.g. no children being present). Alternative responsibilities may be required of such staff if their normal duties cannot be done.
We will continue to re-visit these determinations, and revisions may be made as needs require. The Kurn Hattin community is deeply valued and loved by us all. We would never want to take any action that harms this community, and while I know that the decisions we have made above may not be well received by some, I also know that not enacting these decisions could endanger our students, families, staff, and volunteers. These are unprecedented times, and in times of difficulty like these, the Kurn Hattin community truly shows our nature of pulling together for the good of all.
In the service of children,
Stephen B. Harrison,
Executive Director
Cancelled events at present:
March 19 – Select Choir to the recording studio in South Burlington, VT – 10:00AM-4:00PM
April 3 – Spring Get Acquainted Day, 10:00AM-Noon
April 8 – Kurn Hattin Jazz Invitational, 7:00PM – Higbie Auditorium