Dear UASP families,

 

We hope you are doing well, staying healthy, and keeping safe during this time. We, the UASP Board of Directors, have held frequent meetings throughout the summer in an effort to determine the best way to move forward and keep UASP both viable and true to our mission of serving Underwood families while ensuring the physical and emotional health of the students.

 

It is with regret that we write today to inform our families that UASP will not be opening in September. With demand from our families being low, many staff unable to return, and the projected financial losses for the year, we feel the best decision is to pause re-opening. We will reassess our ability to operate later in the fall, with the possibility of opening in some capacity in the new year. 

 

As a reminder, the UASP Board is comprised of both parents and members of the Underwood Community. We understand the needs of our families for this coming year and wish we were able to operate and provide care while simultaneously ensuring the financial health of UASP and our ability to continue to operate going forward. Although our board members have differing opinions on hybrid vs remote learning, we have unanimously decided that in order to keep UASP viable for the long-term, we must pause our re-opening efforts and continue to assess over the next several months. 

 

Please know that although there have been a number of discussions with Newton Public Schools over the past few months, we were only informed last week that we would be allowed to operate in the school building during the 12:30-3PM timeframe. However, given the short notice to plan for staffing, our program was unable to safely reopen for the beginning of the school year. We know that families may need support in finding alternate care and our director, Katie Keith, would be happy to speak to any families seeking alternate care options. 

 

Please feel free to reach out with any specific questions or concerns. We appreciate your patience and support as we work to reopen when the time is right and when we can do so in a safe and financially responsible manner. As always, our utmost concern is for the wellbeing of our children and their families. We will closely watch how the school year unfolds, how other programs handle this transition, and will keep our families updated on our plans. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

UASP Board of Directors