Dear Parents and Guardians,

First and foremost, I hope this communication finds you and your family in good health. Clearly we all now find ourselves in unfamiliar circumstances. Thank you for all you and your children are doing to limit the spread of COVID-19. My thoughts are with you as we look forward to the day when we are all together, back on our beloved Trinity College School campus.

Prior to providing some important information for you regarding financial considerations for the remainder of this academic year, and the 2020-2021 academic year, I do want to acknowledge the efforts of our students and staff over the past month. Our faculty and staff have worked diligently to provide a robust program of academics, support services and co-curricular and student life offerings through our TCS Connect platform. Of course, no school had fully prepared for such an eventuality but, thankfully, our online learning systems (Edsby in the Senior School and Google Classroom in the Junior School) had been in use for several years, providing a familiar backbone from which to build our e-learning program. While our new online delivery system is not without some required and ongoing adjustments, our teachers and students have continued to teach and learn in a meaningful manner. Well done, Junior and Senior Bears! And, a tremendous thanks to our teachers and parents who have supported our students’ efforts.

Recognizing that this is a very challenging time for parents as well, I am very grateful that you have made time to pose questions, offer suggestions and, most recently, provide your thoughts by way of our parent survey. As reported in our newsletters, we have already made many adjustments to our program in response to your feedback and we continue to post answers to frequently asked questions on our dedicated webpage: www.tcs.on.ca/communityhealth/parents. As a parent myself of three kids, I am very much in touch with the many questions and concerns you probably have about your child’s education, your family’s future and your finances. As such, I aim to share more information about this academic year and the next academic year with you below. However, before I do, I must acknowledge that it’s not easy being a mom or dad at the best of times and you may find your child needs you more than ever right now. So you should be congratulated on being that uplifting voice and spirit that helps them maintain a positive outlook for the future!

Now, let me outline a collection of the steps TCS is taking, in light of the current market uncertainty, to lessen some of the financial burdens you may be facing this year and next.

Current Academic Year, 2019-2020
I have been in regular contact with our senior leadership team and the TCS Board of Governors to discuss provisions for all our families and employees. As a result of being mandated, by the provincial government, to close our campus and facilities until at least May 12th, there have been some very difficult conversations and outcomes here on campus. While we have been working hard to support our staff during this uncertain time, it became necessary to provide temporary layoff notices to many of our dedicated employees across many departments including, but not limited to, our culinary, housekeeping, property and health services departments.

In addition, all TCS employees – educational staff, operational staff and the senior administrative team – have accepted a salary reduction for the remainder of the academic year. As you can imagine, for many of our teachers and staff, the shift in work models and service provision and the delivery of an online platform has required, not a decrease, but in fact, an increase in the amount of work required, so I am most appreciative of their support and commitment from both a financial and workload perspective. We have great people here at TCS.

From a cost management perspective, the School has also worked to assess expenses, finding efficiencies wherever possible and indefinitely delaying all non-essential projects and initiatives.

With respect to considering refunds for current families, we have committed to a full review of operating costs at the end of June. Clearly, there are savings to be had with respect to several of our variable costs (i.e. food, transportation, electricity, etc.) and these will all be considered. However, in an effort to be completely transparent and allow parents to consider future plans with as much information as possible, I do want to emphasize that approximately 80% of our school costs are fixed and TCS does not qualify for significant federal or provincial subsidies. As such, we anticipate refunding parents the net savings the School will realize given the closure of campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We currently estimate that the amount will be the equivalent of approximately 5% of tuition fees (per student). This will take the form of a credit against next year’s fees for returning families and a cash refund for graduating or non-returning families.

Next Academic Year, 2020-2021
My goodness, the future is so uncertain, but let me assure you that TCS will be open for teaching and learning this fall. We are hopeful that the TCS campus will be open for our usual September start, but if not, a renewed online TCS Connect program will be delivered. In addition, I wish to outline some significant steps taken in an effort to help provide some clarity regarding your children’s education and some of your financial concerns:

• The School will be rolling back previously announced 2020-2021 tuition fees to match our current (2019-2020) rates. This means that both current and incoming families can budget for reduced tuition fees. Our Director of Admissions, Kathy LaBranche, will be in contact on Wednesday, April 29th, with more details regarding your child’s continued enrolment.
   
• With the support of the TCS Foundation, through our financial assistance program, we are looking to further help families who have recently realized a financial need regarding tuition fees for next year. If you wish to inquire about this option, please contact our Director of Admissions, Kathy LaBranche.
   
• We have waived the May 1st deadline for withdrawal from the School. This means that families have more time – until June 1st – to consider and plan for their child’s education.
   
• With no firm confirmation of when campus will re-open, we have committed to offering a “hybrid model” of instruction for the 2020-2021 academic year. This model would provide an alternate tuition structure in the event that the campus opening was delayed past September and/or international travel was restricted. In such an instance, families would be provided with an alternate and reduced fee structure that would account for their child’s participation in our renewed online TCS Connect program, rather than our on-campus program. Our Executive Director of Finance, Susan Wells, will be sending more information on this on Wednesday, May 6th.

I would like to thank you for your support and trust of Trinity College School in the past, present and future. Please know that while so much has changed in the past several weeks, one thing remains the same: the heart and strength of the TCS community. We are sincerely hopeful that some of the provisions outlined above will support your family as we plan for an uncertain future together. I encourage you to continue submitting your questions and sharing your thoughts; reach out to us personally or via info@tcs.on.ca. We commit to responding to you as quickly and clearly as possible.

I remain hopeful that we will see our students and their families back on campus before long. In the meantime, please take good care of one another.
 

Stuart Grainger
Headmaster