ALEXANDRIA, VA – On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Alexandria City School Board discussed plans for the second quarter of the 2020-21 school year. Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has recommended a ACPS is a phased-in reopening of buildings. It could begin with a small number of Students with Disabilities enrolled in the citywide program starting Nov. 5.
The latest ACPS Express included the following statement: “ACPS’ proposed plan takes into account its students’ needs, resources, staffing and facilities. Please be aware that we are focused on our own resources, student demographics and constraints, including our building capacity, while adhering to CDC guidelines and staffing implications, and therefore our plans may look slightly different from neighboring school divisions.”
Returning to school, however, may not mean going back to the familiar. Flexibility in the placement of students and teachers will be necessary to ensure success of the plan.
The outline of dates is below:
Nov. 5: Begin with Students with Disabilities in grades K-2 who are enrolled in the Citywide Special Education program who opt into in-person learning.
Nov. 17: Expand to include Students with Disabilities in grades 3-5 who are enrolled in the Citywide Special Education program who opt into in-person learning
Nov. 30: Expand to include Early Childhood Special Education students who opt into in-person learning (to be housed at the Early Childhood Center).
Nov. 30: Expand to include Students with Disabilities in grades K-5 who receive self-contained Language Arts and Math instruction who opt into in-person learning.
Dec. 2020: Expand to include Students with Disabilities in grades 6-8 who are enrolled in the Citywide Special Education program who opt into in-person learning.
Jan. 2021: Expand to include all remaining students in grades PreK-5 who opt into in-person learning.
Feb. 2021: Expand to include all remaining students in grades 6-8 who opt into in-person learning.
Plans for secondary students are in development. Note that the School Board is taking into consideration the challenges that students, teachers, and ACPS families are facing at this time.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the School Board will hold a Special Called Board Meeting to discuss any adjustments to the proposed phased-in reopening plan and then vote on the transition into in-person learning strategy. The agenda and a link to watch the meeting can be found at the School Board page on the ACPS website.
Is this return for one day per week per student?