As of now, our decision is to resume classes remotely beginning on Monday, March 23, 2020 for the two weeks following spring break.  Our plan is to follow our current academic schedule as best we can with students remaining off campus for at least two weeks following spring break. The earliest students would return to campus is Sunday, April 5, with classes resuming on campus on Monday, April 6.

It is our feeling that teaching classes remotely, however imperfect that may be compared to teaching in person, will be the best course of action. OSSM students have a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation and significant academic ambitions. Remaining intellectually active and engaged with guidance from our faculty without significant interruption, albeit from a distance, I believe, will prepare students for college and their future academic endeavors*.  More importantly, keeping students at their homes and not prematurely returning them to campus will keep both the students and the community safe.

I ask for the patience of students and parents as we work through all this. (Some of our faculty may not be familiar with teaching online. This week and next week we will be working with individual faculty to set up a system comfortable for the teacher and beneficial to the student. The instruction may take various forms depending on the technology and level of internet bandwidth available.)

This is an evolving situation and things may change. This post represents our current thinking and decision on the matter. Please check our social media outlets as well as your email for updates.

I welcome your comments and input. You can email me at president@ossm.edu. Please understand that because of the volume of communications I am receiving I may not be as prompt in responding as I would like.

I am grateful for all the expressions of support and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Frank Wang