ASD Reopening Announcement
Updated: Sep 16, 2020
Anchorage, ALASKA September 16, 2020 14:00 AKST Today at 2:00pm Anchorage School District (ASD) announced it's plan for reopening schools:
Elementary (Pre-K - 6th Grade) - October 19th, 2020 | 5 Days / Week
Middle school - November 12-13th, 2020 | 5 Days / Week
High School - January 4th, 2021 | 5 Days / Week
Special Education services for Pre-K through 6th Grade will also resume. Classes will be limited to a 5.5 Hour day. Other programs and earlier reentry are also scheduled. School Start Times*
Elementary (Pre-K - 6th Grade) - Start time: 9:30 am
Middle school - Start time: 8:45 am
High School - Start time: 8:00 am
School start times were posting with a stated class time of 5.5 hours. There was no mention of the structure of the day. *Times and dates are subject to change. Masks will be required for all students. If children do not have a mask, one can be provided for them. Read up on ASD Safety Protocols here.
While the district plans to reopen, some parents voiced concerned over a report on that was also published today by NPR regarding children of color represent the largest number of COVID-19 and MIS-C fatalities. Anchorage has some of the largest diversity in the nation and many working minority families statistically depend on an in-school system to stay employed.
Other issues were concerns of the inconsistencies regarding the restart plan. The original restart plan included a "Medium-High Risk" model that alternated student attendance based on groups of students with last names A-L and M-Z. The new plan announced today completely skipped the lower risk column and a new official ASD model eliminated the original plan all together.
Many questions still linger as to ASD's plan if a positive COVID-19 case arises such as what happened recently with a positive case at Palmer High School. The Matanuska-Susitna School District (MSBSD) had confirmed cases of COVID-19 but not all of the schools affected closed. ASD Chief Operating Officer Tom Roth stated last week ASD was following how MSBSD is dealing with the pandemic.
Read the official email below: "Dear ASD Families,
As we are experiencing a decrease in a case counts across Anchorage since the spike of COVID-19 in July, ASD has begun its planning for the next phase of schooling if a transition to school becomes possible. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) support the return of students to in-school education if the health and mitigation conditions permit. We know our community is experiencing the pandemic differently; therefore, we are taking this time early on to address your needs and questions.
ASD has learned and will continue to learn a great deal about COVID-19. We are confident that while we cannot eliminate the virus, we can effectively mitigate its spread using the most up-to-date information and best practices from the medical and science experts from around the world. ASD commits to meeting daily to assess the safety concerns and present conditions in our schools and community.
The District’s plan is in concert with guidelines set forth by the CDC, AAP, the State of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage and others. Additionally, District leadership has consulted both local and state health officials and has incorporated their input into its planning. Please look to our website for the detailed information on the guidance resources.
While the rolling average case count has been and remains a key piece of information in determining whether school should be held in person or online, the CDC and AAP suggest it should not be the only factor in determining reopening of school buildings. Rather, this data point is a start for a holistic decision-making process which must consider a host of other factors that assist in understanding the nature of the community spread. Additionally, it helps to provide a more accurate threat assessment for our students and staff. These factors include, but are not limited to:
The specific nature of the community virus transmission
The District’s ability to mitigate virus spread through robust safety protocols
The District’s sanitization procedures
The District’s response plan when someone gets sick
ASD’s plan considers other risks for which the American Academy of Pediatrics has evidenced in regard to students’ wellbeing when school is not open for face-to-face classes:
The impact on social-emotional needs
The impact on behavioral and mental health
The absence or reduction of critical services (e.g. school lunch programs, special education services, after-school programs, mental health services)
Of note, ASD has revised its plan of utilizing a 50 percent, hybrid model in lieu of new Harvard research which suggests that hybrid models may actually increase the viral spread. Further analysis by the District also suggested that the hybrid model would be overly complicated for families, would create higher workloads for staff, and would present significant challenges for busing. As a result, the District’s revised plan includes one medium-risk plan in which students attend school five days a week for 5.5 hours each day. We are in the process of balancing our class sizes to keep the class counts as low as possible.
Re-Entry Plan Overview
The District will phase students back into school buildings gradually starting with elementary and high-needs students. Here is the basic framework of the plan:
Voluntary Reading Tutoring:
Will begin September 28 for Grades 1 & 2 students who opt in at selected schools based on equity of access and need
Elementary Schools:
In-person classes will resume on October 19 for Pre-K – Grade 6
All students will attend school five days a week for 5.5 hours each day (no alphabet-based cohorts)
The school day will begin at 9:30 a.m. for comprehensive elementary schools
Self-Contained Special Education Programs:
Programs will resume in school buildings on October 19 for Pre-K – Grade 12
Middle School*:
In-person classes will resume for first-year middle school students on November 12-13. (Grade 6 or 7 depending on the school)
November 12-13 will provide valuable transition time for first-year students
In-person classes resume for all other middle school students on November 16
Special and Alternative schools with middle / high school students will resume
November 16
All students will attend school five days a week for 5.5 hours each day
The school day will begin at 8:45 a.m. for comprehensive middle schools
* The four-week gap between Elementary and Middle School re-entry allows time to adjust to elementary school logistics and safety protocols, and will only occur if safety practices and viral conditions permit.
High School:
In-person classes will resume January 4, 2021
Coincides with the start of the second semester
High school will continue with the quarter model
All students will attend school five days a week for 5.5 hours each day
The school day will begin at 8 a.m. for comprehensive high schools
Special, Alternative, and Charter Schools:
Since charter and special/alternative schools often have a combination of elementary and secondary grade levels, specific re-entry dates may differ. A detailed list of schools and their re-entry dates will be forthcoming.
More Information to Follow
It is important to reiterate that this is an overview of the plan and that this plan not only impacts students and families, but teachers and administrators at each of our schools. The District understands there will be many questions about safely bringing students and educators back into buildings.
The District currently has working groups of administrators, teachers, and other staff members working through multiple topics including class size, staffing, substitute teachers, training on safety protocols and PPE requirements, COVID response procedures, busing, and food services. Training sessions will be provided prior to our return to address to our staff and parent needs.
New information will be forthcoming from the District and through school channels. The ASD website will be updated frequently with information pertaining to the school re-entry plan.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the education of EVERY ASD student.
~Anchorage School District"
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