{"id":17110,"date":"2020-12-14T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T19:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/?p=17110"},"modified":"2020-12-14T17:09:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T22:09:12","slug":"important-updates-on-in-person-learning-plans-and-weather-alerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/?p=17110","title":{"rendered":"Important Updates on In-Person Learning Plans and Weather Alerts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/cms\/lib\/VA01918616\/Centricity\/Domain\/1527\/ACPS-Express-20201214-spanish.pdf\">en espa\u00f1ol (PDF)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/cms\/lib\/VA01918616\/Centricity\/Domain\/1527\/ACPS-Express-20201214-amharic.pdf\">\u12a0\u121b\u122d\u129b (PDF)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/cms\/lib\/VA01918616\/Centricity\/Domain\/1527\/ACPS-Express-20201214-arabic.pdf\">\u0628\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629 (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS has extended the deadline for the Family Choice Form until Friday, Dec. 18.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have not yet heard from everyone and we need to hear from all our families to be able to refine our transition plan to reopen our school buildings for in-person learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You now have until Friday, Dec. 18 to share your choice for either hybrid learning or 100% virtual learning for each of your children enrolled in ACPS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We also have important updates that may impact your choice for virtual or hybrid learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Please watch the following message from Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. regarding the new decision to use concurrent teaching when in-person learning starts in late January. Learn what concurrent teaching is, what it means for you, and how you can complete or update your Family Choice Form.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/GsmK7g5Qc6U\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17111\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1442\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM.jpg 1442w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM-260x144.jpg 260w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM-800x444.jpg 800w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM-180x100.jpg 180w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-14-at-11.03.47-AM-768x426.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1442px) 100vw, 1442px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Have questions about the Family Choice Form, hybrid learning or concurrent teaching?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How many days will my child attend school in person if we choose hybrid learning?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For families who choose hybrid, their children will attend school in person two days a week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What is concurrent teaching?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our plan is for teachers to teach a group of students in-person in their classroom, and also virtually at the same time. This is called \u201cconcurrent\u201d teaching. The teacher will either be in the classroom or at home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Can my child stay with their current teacher?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This concurrent teaching set-up gives us the ability for the majority of our students to remain with their current teacher. This is for students who will be 100% virtual and for students who go to school in-person two days a week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What are the benefits of concurrent teaching?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows for flexibility in case we need to move back to being 100% virtual at any point. It also allows the majority of students to remain with their current teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why are we extending the Family Choice Form deadline to Dec. 18?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have not yet heard from everyone and we need to hear from all our families to be able to refine our plans to reopen our school buildings for in-person learning. We also want to give families the opportunity to change their decision if they want to, following this new information about concurrent teaching and the ability for the majority of students to remain with their current teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Do I need to complete the Family Choice Form for each of my children separately?<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. You need to complete the Family Choice Form for each of your children. This means that you can make separate decisions on hybrid or virtual for each child.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How can I get help completing this form?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please call the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/virtualplushelpline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virtual PLUS+ Helpline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if you need assistance with accessing PowerSchool or completing the form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Can I change my response on the form?<br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have until Dec. 18 to change your final response to the Family Choice Form. After that, we will use the response you submitted when refining our planning for each classroom and school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>You can find the <\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/3491\"><b><i>answers to additional questions<\/i><\/b><\/a><b><i> and video clips on key topics on the ACPS website.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to Complete the Family Choice Form<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have a few options for completing or updating the form:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Complete the Family Choice Form in PowerSchool Parent Access.<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/3550\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See the instructions for completing the form<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. NOTE: You must use a PowerSchool Parent Access account to complete the form. You cannot access the form through a student\u2019s PowerSchool account. If you need help with setting up or accessing a parent account, see the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/parentaccess\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PowerSchool Parent Access webpage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>OR<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Call the Virtual PLUS+ Helpline, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for help in completing the Family Choice Form:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">English: 703-844-1763<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spanish: 703-844-3424<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amharic: 703-927-6866<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arabic: 703-927-7095<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>OR<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Call your <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/ourschools\"><b>school front office<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please watch this video to see how to complete the Family Choice Form in PowerSchool Parent Access:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/485976167\/726fd5afc4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17084\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1622\" height=\"856\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM.jpg 1622w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM-260x137.jpg 260w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM-800x422.jpg 800w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM-189x100.jpg 189w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM-768x405.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-01-at-4.58.06-PM-1536x811.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1622px) 100vw, 1622px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/3553\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See more information on completing the Family Choice Form<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"weather\" name=\"weather\"><\/a>Be Ready for Weather Alerts \u2014 Update Your Contact Information Today!<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the weather turning cold, please make sure you have provided your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/2990\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">school registrar<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with current cell phone numbers and email addresses so that you automatically receive our weather alerts by text message and email. Now is a good time to make sure we have everything we need to keep you updated!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the case that we need to close all school buildings due to power outages or bad weather conditions, there will be no food distribution, transportation out of district, or Virtual PLUS+ child care programs that day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our weather notifications are shared in four languages in the following ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/emergency\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (information is always posted here first)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Text messages and emails to ACPS parents\/guardians<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/acpsk12\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ACPSk12\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/m.acps.k12.va.us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS mobile app<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/acpstv\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS-TV<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> local cable channel 71<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS emergency hotline: 703-866-5300<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">local radio and TV stations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a style=\"font-size: 1.4rem;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alexandriava.gov\/eNews\">City of Alexandria\u2019s eNews<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 We strongly encourage community members and staff to subscribe to this platform.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ACPS Express SPECIAL EDITION 12\/14\/2020: Important Updates on In-Person Learning Plans and Weather Alerts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acps","category-coronavirus"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-23 16:30:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17110"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17118,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17110\/revisions\/17118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}