We hope you are all having a great summer and have found some time to relax and reconnect with friends and family in the sunshine. We are so excited to kick off the new school year with all of you during our very first Virtual Infusion on Monday, August 3! We’re reaching out today with some details about Infusion, as well as a quick reminder about tomorrow’s optional Town Hall. 

Infusion Highlights

The annual tradition where our entire team comes together to celebrate and get fired up for the year ahead will look a bit different this year. Nevertheless, we have a fantastic line-up of speakers, panelists, and much more! Here are some highlights and important things to know for Monday morning: 

• Infusion begins 8:30 AM, Monday, August 3, and will end at 12 PM to allow for a break before regional afternoon sessions, if applicable.
• The morning will feature a Fireside Chat with Bill Kurtz and former Secretaries of Education under President Obama, Arne Duncan & John King, a student panel, and much more!
• Due to restrictions of a Teams Live event, where only one person can be on the screen at a time, we will use Zoom that allows for a panel and the Fireside Chat 
• For extra security, the Zoom link and password will be added to the Infusion Outlook calendar invite on Sunday, August 2, and will be shared via Teams again on Monday morning.
• Check out the landing page to view the full agenda and more details on infusion.
• If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Kaitlin Glenn or Stefanie Gilary. 

Staff Gifts 

This year, Infusion originally intended to bring us out of the conference rooms and into our school communities. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has forced us into our homes and has largely reduced the community interactions we were seeking.  Nevertheless, the need to connect has never been greater, and our school neighborhoods need us. Our communities of color remain disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and the economic downturn. 

Thanks to a community-specific grant and savings from hosting Infusion remotely, we were able to support a handful of local businesses owned by people of color. At the same time, we have given each staff member a very small “return to school” gift.  It is a small investment, and for DSST, it needs to be just the beginning of supporting our communities and small businesses owned by people of color. We are excited to take this small step. These restaurants were selected based on us having a previous connection, being open and able to provide a large quantity of gift cards this summer. If you have additional business recommendations you would like us to support, please share them in this form. We need your wisdom and input here!

Each staff member will receive $40 in total to use at 2-3 businesses close to their school. Within the gift bag, you’ll find the unique stories of each business, as well as two school-branded masks. Please check with your School Director or Front Office Manager about when and where you pick up your gift bag!

Optional Town Hall

We know there have been quite a few updates since we left for the summer. Please feel free to join our optional Town Hall tomorrow at 10 AM with questions you may have about our return to school. This is an opportunity for returning staff to check in and ask questions.  For new teachers, we know this conflicts with NTT and want to assure you that you are not missing new content.  As always, please keep in mind that we cannot guarantee all questions will be answered, as time is limited and the situation continues to develop, but we will do our best! 

We look forward to connecting with you all on Monday, August 3, for an unforgettable Infusion!