H

illel Day School sent out
a memo to the Hillel
community on Friday,
March 13, informing everyone
that one of their teachers in the
1-2 Learning Community had
tested presumptive positive for
the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“He is a beloved and valued
member of our school commu-
nity, a teacher whose dynamic
classroom is always filled with
positive energy,” read Hillel’
s
statement. “We wish him and
all those affected a speedy
recovery.”
The teacher, a resident of
Washtenaw County, tested
positive for the virus following
domestic travel and is at home
recovering. The affected teacher’
s
students and colleagues in the
school’
s 1-2 learning community
are in self-quarantine through
March 23.

“We recognize that this devel-
opment may cause anxiety for
you and your children,
” Naty
Katz, interim head of school, said
in a statement. “It is important
to remain calm as we move for-
ward together. We stand ready to
help you in any way possible. We
extend a refuah shleimah (prayer
of healing) to anyone affected.
”
Hillel was closed on March
13 and will remain closed until
further notice. Frankel Jewish
Academy (FJA) also announced
it would be closed, beginning on
Friday, March 13.
In addition, Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer has ordered all K-12
schools (public, private and
boarding) to close throughout
the state of Michigan beginning
Monday, March 16, until April 5.
“This is a necessary step to
protect our kids, our families
and our overall public health,”

Whitmer said in a statement. “I
am working with partners across
state government to ensure edu-
cators, parents and students have
the support they need during
this time, and to ensure our
children who rely on school for
meals have access to food.
“I know this will be a tough
time, but we’
re doing this to keep
the most people we can safe. I
urge everyone to make smart
choices during this time and to
do everything they can to protect
themselves and their families.”
Governors in Ohio, Kentucky
and Maryland have taken sim-
ilar steps in closing schools in
attempts to slow the spread of the
virus and protect the health of
children and families.
Before the first confirmed
cases of COVID-19 hit Michigan,
Farber Hebrew Day School, Hillel
and FJA had been preparing and
exploring strategies to provide
remote instruction via distance
learning technology to ensure
that their students’
educations
were not disrupted.
Every FJA student has a

MacBook laptop, which will
enable them to stay connected
to their teachers. According
to Shana Kantor, director of
advancement at FJA, faculty can
use FJA
’
s learning management
system, Schoology, as well as the
full Google Education Suite, to
create assignments and assess-
ments online.
All students at Hillel have a
Chromebook, allowing them to
continue their education while
out of school. According to
Hillel’
s statement, “
All ECC-4
instruction will be asynchronous,
meaning students don’
t have to be
online at the same time as their
classmates. Grades 5-8 students
will have synchronous activities,
such as hosting an online dis-
cussion or activity or a recorded
lesson during the school day.
”
Hillel teachers will be using
the applicable learning platforms,
Remini for ECC, Seesaw for K-4
and Google Hangout/Meet for
grades 5-8, to post assignments
for students. Teachers will also be
readily available to answer stu-
dent questions and concerns via
email, live chat or video call.
Temple Israel’
s Early Childhood
Center closed as well, beginning
Monday, March 16, and will
remain closed until April 20.
The Jewish Community Center
has closed all operations, includ-
ing the Pitt Child Development
Center and the Florine Mark
Sports and Fitness Complex,s
until March 29.
There have been 53 presump-
tive positive cases of COVID-19
in the state of Michigan as of
March 16. According to the
Michigan Department of Health
and Human Services (MDHHS),
the cases include both male and
female adults from Oakland,
Ingham, Kent, Montcalm, St.
Clair and Washtenaw counties.

12 | MARCH 19 • 2020

Special Coverage

Jewish Detroit responds to the coronavirus.

School’s Out

Hillel Day School teacher tests positive
for coronavirus; Whitmer shuts down
all schools in Michigan.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

Jews in the D

COURTESY OF HILLEL DAY SCHOOL

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