A July 20 letter to Catholic school parents and families stresses preparations being made in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for returning to classrooms this fall, and the community effort it will take after last spring’s closings and shift to online learning due to the novel coronavirus.

“Over the last five months we have learned that with a careful approach to health and safety, we can mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” writes Bishop Andrew Cozzens, vicar for education, and Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education. “Our success requires all of us to be rowing together in the same direction.”

A Catholic Schools Task Force of experts in finance, communications, law, public health and mental health began to work in June on what is needed to safely return to in-person learning, the letter states.

“At the beginning of July, the Task Force published a series of required health and safety protocols for Catholic schools,” and each school is implementing those procedures, according to the letter.

“As these comprehensive plans are developed and implemented, they will remain flexible enough to respond to the changing impact of COVID-19 on the local community,” Bishop Cozzens and Slattery write.

Every family is encouraged to remain informed and vigilant about COVID-19, including the risks for children and adolescents, the letter says. It will be important to keep children who are sick home from school, to avoid unnecessary opportunities for exposure outside of school, to practice social distancing when out in the broader community, and to work with schools to meet the goals of the protocols for health and safety for all concerned, they write.

“This expression of solidarity shows our love for neighbor, which is a powerful lesson for our children and adolescents,” Bishop Cozzens and Slattery note.

In the coming weeks, parents will make important education decisions for their children based on “a multitude of considerations,” they acknowledge.

“We thank you for continuing to partner with us to cultivate educational excellence,” they write. “Enrollments for the 2020-21 school year are looking strong. In the weeks ahead, we encourage you to watch for communications from your Catholic schools to learn about specific actions in place to keep our Catholic school children, employees and community healthy.

“Be assured of our prayers for you and gratitude for your support of Catholic education.”