Families and school system employees will have an additional four days to decide how they wish to proceed in light of the Board of Education’s approval of a hybrid instructional model that is set to begin next month, Superintendent George Arlotto announced today.
The deadlines for families to indicate which of three models in which they wish to enroll their child and for employees to indicate their intentions regarding applying for leave, accommodations, and teaching in a hybrid model have been moved from Thursday, October 15, to 5 p.m. on Monday, October 19. Families should go to www.aacps.org/oct2020familyreopening and employees should go to www.aacps.org/oct2020employeereopening to submit their responses.
“This is a complex issue and I realize these decisions are very difficult ones for our families and our employees,” Dr. Arlotto said. “We are continuing to add more information and answers to frequently asked questions to our websites and I want our families and employees to have the time necessary to process that information.”
Under a plan approved by the Board of Education on October 7, students in ECI and prekindergarten through second grade will begin hybrid classes on Monday, November 16, attending on either Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday and engaging in virtual learning on other days. All students and teachers will work virtually on Wednesdays to allow for a thorough cleaning of school buildings.
On Monday, November 30, students in grades 3 through 5 will return in a hybrid format, operating under the same guidelines as students in ECI and prekindergarten through second grade.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools will continue to work with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health and closely monitor health data to make further decisions, including those that impact middle school and high school students. The current timeline has a goal of beginning to bring those students into buildings beginning in mid-December.
Families have the option of whether to have students take part in the hybrid format or remain as virtual learners for either the semester or the full year. Families who do not provide a response will have their students enrolled as virtual learners for the remainder of the school year (the Virtual Full-Year Model).
Only families of students in ECI, prekindergarten, or grades 1 through 5 need to submit their preferences at this time. Families of middle school and high school students will have that opportunity at a later date.
Families who have made a choice and wish to change that choice can do so by logging back into the survey using the confirmation number they received on their first submission along with their student’s date of birth and student ID number.
Under the plan approved by the Board, the school system will also continue to increase the number of students taking part in in-person learning at its developmental centers and specialty sites. Teachers will return to their classrooms and begin teaching virtually on Monday, November 2.