Happy Thanksgiving! Following Governor Northam’s announcement that November 24 will be a half-day for state employees, the Albemarle County School Board has granted the same for ACPS employees. Now, in addition to closing for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday, November 25 and 26, the board has approved a half-day of leave on Wednesday, November 24, for all 12-month employees. All school division offices will close for the Thanksgiving holiday at 12 noon on November 24.
Beginning today, employees are being asked to share their opinions on our calendar committee’s first draft of the 2022-23 school calendar: Click here to take our employee survey.
The state department of education requires school divisions to provide either 180 instructional days or 990 clock hours of instruction per year. The draft calendar for 2022-23 reduces the number of instructional days to 175; however, it still delivers more than 990 clock hours of instruction. The reduction in instructional days will provide teachers with more workdays, more professional development opportunities, and additional time to meet the individual learning needs of students. Continue reading
Yesterday evening, the school board approved changes to this year’s school calendar in response to the impact the pandemic has had on employee workload. Five full teacher workdays were added to the calendar, including two days previously on the calendar as half-days. Also, two days originally designated as half-days for students were changed to full days of instruction. The revised 2021-22 School Year Calendar includes the following changes: Continue reading
Many of you may have heard that Albemarle County Public Schools is facing a very serious bus driver shortage. Our Transportation team has been working diligently this year to keep our transportation services consistent and timely. We have taken several steps that we would like all staff to be aware of, including consolidating our bus routes, enforcing walk zones, and actively monitoring bus ridership.
Thanks to the following changes, we are able to continue to provide transportation service without severely altering bell schedules or limiting our service even further. We remain grateful to you for your support and understanding. Continue reading
This post has been updated to reflect that installation of intercom systems at school entrances is still underway.
Welcome to the 2021-22 school year! We wanted to take this opportunity to share a new visitor management practice with you. Effective immediately, visitors to our schools will need to sign in through a new visitor management system, called ScholarChip, located in the front office of each school building. Continue reading
Beginning Monday, August 9, all ACPS employees, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a face mask when inside a school or school division office. Previously, masks were not required in schools or offices if a person was fully vaccinated and students were not present. This new requirement is based on updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recently recommended that masks be worn by anyone inside a school, regardless of vaccination status, in communities where there is substantial or high transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Continue reading
Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas said today the school division has begun its planning to offer five days per week of in-person instruction at all school sites for students in all grades next school year. He also said the division will offer an all-virtual school for elementary, middle and high school students. The all-virtual school will have its own principal and teaching staff and provide synchronous instruction to students. Continue reading
The school division and Albemarle County local government are engaging professional consultants to review their human resources structure for serving employees. The ultimate outcome will be separate human resources departments for each organization—departments that will be more closely aligned with each organization’s specific strategic and operational needs. These improvements are expected to take place by July 2022. Continue reading
In advance of the winter weather forecast for our area this Sunday and Monday, we want to make sure you are aware of the various scheduling options we will consider and how to find out about school schedule changes. Teachers and staff are encouraged to take home any materials they may need in case we close schools to students, in which case all learning will occur virtually.
The most complete resource for information is our Closings, Delays & Early Dismissals web page, which explains our inclement weather decision-making process and details our scheduling options, our decision and communication timelines, all of the ways you can find out about schedule changes, and more. Continue reading
Dear Colleagues:
As I reported to you earlier this month, two of the public health measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were increasing following the holiday period, placing us in a higher risk category for the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in our county. It was on this basis that I determined that the safest course for our students, families and staff was to revert to all-virtual instruction.
I also said we would continue to work with the health department and closely monitor these public health measures and report back to you today on our plans for next week. Continue reading