Category Archives: Deputy Superintendent

Homework Policy Update

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Matthew Haas, Ed.D.Greetings ACPS Students, Parents, Teachers, and School Administrators:

I hope that you have had a great start to the school year and that you are enjoying the many learning opportunities that ACPS and your school offers. We could not make these opportunities available and successful without you!

You likely are aware that during last school year, we had a committee working on revising our homework policy (Policy IKB) based on concerns raised by the ACPS School Health Advisory Board about student stress and sleep needs. Continue reading →

March 1 is “My Choice ACPS” Day for Students

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Matthew Haas, Ed.D.Dear Colleagues:

What do Post-It Notes and Gmail have in common? Both products were invented during a time that 3M and Google set aside for employees to follow their passions during the workday. On their ‘time off,’ employees of 3M developed many of their 22,000 patents, and Googlers came up with other lucrative products such as AdSense and Hangouts.

On March 1, the day when schools will be closed for the presidential primaries, we’ve declared a My Choice ACPS day for all students. We’re encouraging students, while they are at home, to choose a challenge or problem to solve, an idea to explore, or a dream to turn into reality as part of an independent learning experience for that day.

Continue reading →

Assistant Superintendent Matt Haas Responds to Questions About the Paris Terrorist Attacks

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Matthew Haas, Ed.D.Dear Colleagues,

We’ve had a couple of questions about how or whether schools should acknowledge the terrorist attacks in Paris this weekend. Of course, we are all saddened by this horrible incident, the lives that were lost, and the negative impact it will have on our world, especially our children. Continue reading →

Classified Staff Performance Competencies Review

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Matthew Haas, Ed.D.Dear Classified and Support Staff,

A few years ago, we updated our Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA), and more recently, we revised our Administrator Performance Appraisal (APA). As a part of our continuous improvement work, we are now focusing on our performance competency and appraisal model for classified staff. Continue reading →

Recent Court Decision That Impacts Student Information

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Matthew Haas, Ed.D.Greetings Albemarle County Educators:

I want to make you aware of a recent Circuit Court decision that impacts student information in school divisions across the Commonwealth, including our own. The following is a message from the Virginia Superintendent of Instruction, Steve Staples, regarding the court decision described in this article: Judge Rules Against VDOE, In Favor Of Loudoun Parent Seeking Student Progress Data.

Before you read on, I want to assure you that Albemarle County Public Schools has no plan to use Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) student growth data for teacher evaluation. Keep reading »