Dear Families,

I hope you are enjoying a restful and restorative Spring Break! Clearly, concerns about the Coronavirus are growing, and I wanted to give you an update as it pertains to Providence. We are following the guidance of local, state, and federal health agencies, and we’re monitoring the situation closely (hourly, honestly), considering potential ways to keep our students healthy. 

At this point, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bell County, and local school districts have not announced plans to close campuses. We are planning to return to campus on Tuesday, March 17, but we realize that the situation may change quickly, at any point. For that reason, we’ve asked our teachers to begin thinking through contingency lesson plans where students would do all of their learning at home. If/when plans change, we’ll let you know as soon as we can.

Please note the following:

• I hope it goes without saying that we want students to stay home if they are feeling sick. Furthermore, we will work with students to make up absences and to learn from home. 
• First Baptist Church of Belton has let us know that they are making sure to thoroughly and aggressively clean the facility. 
• We have canceled our field trip for 10th and 11th graders scheduled for Monday. 
• We continue to ask all our students and teachers to wash/sanitize hands hourly and also before eating. 
• In the unlikely event you have traveled in the past two weeks to a “high risk” region — Europe (excluding Great Britain), China, Korea, or Iran — it’s critical that you self-quarantine for at least two weeks and avoid the school campus. This goes for students, parents, or anyone else who may be visiting the school (i.e. relatives and friends who are picking up children from school).

We don’t know exactly what will happen, but we’ll simply do the best we can. In the face of something unprecedented, we rest in the knowledge that we are living in a Big story, and God is the author. We know from Scripture that the path won’t always be easy; we also know that His peace is greater than the threats we face — and that includes the Coronavirus. “Be strong and courageous!” is a theme of our Scripture reading for this year, and we have confidence in that the “Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV)

Again, we hope you are having a great week, and we’ll keep you updated!

Bret Billman