We are a small school and have done a great job keeping COVID-19 cases low in our school community. SPA students have already proven that the precautions the SPA Faculty & Staff has mandated us to take are adequate and well worth staying in a hybrid learning model. Our head of school, Bryn Roberts, said: "Despite this success inside the confines of SPA's campuses [we will go to distance learning]." Students have sacrificed so much to stay in a hybrid model. We are going to distance learning because of county cases, not school cases. We are being punished for a number(county cases) that is out of our control. We have a big focus on community at our school, and we lose meaningful peer-to-peer connection and camaraderie that makes SPA unique among competitive schools. Mental health issues will only be compounded with the shift back into distance learning. Students who are currently enrolled in distance learning or going into distance learning next cycle, do not ignore this! Even if this doesn't affect you right now, your peers want the option to stay in school because it works better for them. Let the amazing faculty and staff shape our hearts and minds in the classroom!