COVID Closure Staff Update for Friday, May 22

- News and Announcements

Day 45 — Learning From Home Experience

As we round out the week, I have the immense pleasure of paying tribute to our 2020 ACPS Principal of the Year, PreeAnn Johnson. She is the epitome of vision, integrity and passion. An ACPS employee of 35 years, the James K. Polk Elementary School principal is such an asset to ACPS and our school community. Her depth of professional knowledge and experience is invaluable, especially during these unprecedented times. Anyone who knows Ms. Johnson thinks first of her genuine heart, love of children, and her contagious enthusiasm for life. She unconditionally loves her students and staff. It is evident that Ms. Johnson was clearly destined to be an educator. We are so glad she chose to bring those talents to ACPS.

Today, we will be sharing a draft of our Continuity of Learning Plan 3.0 with the School Board. The plan focuses on summer learning for all students through engagement and enrichment. Details and information about the summer learning plans will be shared over the next couple of weeks in ACPS Express and on the ACPS-at-Home website. As you know, learning loss and summer loss are real. Since we’ve closed our school doors on March 13, our staff has worked diligently and effectively with providing our students with continuity of learning, both synchronously and asynchronously. Summer learning for all students in ACPS is imperative during this global pandemic.

Finally, we will be presenting a draft of our strategic plan, Equity for All 2025, to the School Board later this afternoon. The strategic planning process started in June 2019 and we’ve been working with our strategic planning committee consisting of both internal and external stakeholders with the guidance of our consultant, FourPoint. We want to hear your feedback regarding our efforts to provide equity for all over the next five years. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be encouraging our students, staff, families and community to review the draft strategic plan and provide feedback. Your voice is important to us and truly valued!

Please enjoy the long weekend.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay informed!

Sincerely,

Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr.
Superintendent of Schools

Meet Our 2020 Principal of the Year, PreeAnn Johnson

For PreeAnn Johnson, receiving news she had been named ACPS Principal of the Year during this pandemic moved her to tears.

Staff from James K. Polk Elementary School with arms full of flowers, turned up at her home at the same time Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. congratulated her during a Zoom call.

Dr. Hutchings described the employee of 35 years as an “idol” and one of the most valuable members of the ACPS staff.

“We are so grateful to have your presence here,” he told her.

Through tears, Johnson responded, “Words can’t describe at a time like this. I miss you all, I love you all, I appreciate you.”

“Thank you for making my day during this horrible pandemic.”

Watch as Johnson receives the news:

Johnson has been an exceptional leader for ten years at Polk, where her warm personality shines through every single day. She is a principal who leads from her generous heart and sees the potential in all her students who, in turn, love and respect her.

As a mentor to her staff, she is second to none. She draws on the values instilled in her by her parents, Gloria and Du Pree, and believes in building strong, honest relationships with all those around her. She possesses a wealth of teaching knowledge and expertise gained by her decades as an educator.

Polk PTA president, Carolyn Meza, paid tribute.

“Ms Johnson is an absolutely amazing principal! We are so happy she is being recognized for her hard work and accomplishments. She is always willing to engage with our membership and answer all questions about programming, security and anything else!”

“The kids adore her, and she’s such a good sport. No matter what crazy idea we come up with, she’s game. We’ve made her into a human ice cream sundae as a school wide prize for reaching our fundraising goal. She leads a morning dance party in conjunction with our walk to school event. She gets into costume every year for our book fair, and creates inspiring and fun videos for the kids.”

“She’s passionate about parent involvement, and is great about helping us find new ways to reach parents, and involve more families in our amazing community. She is active in helping plan and execute our school events, and it’s a joy to work with her. We are delighted she’s being named Principal of the Year.”

Revised Employee Annual Evaluations

Per ACPS policy, each year employee evaluations are conducted for all professional and support staff. Elements of these evaluations traditionally take place face to face, but given the current closure of ACPS buildings, adjustments have been made to produce an evaluation assessment that is fair and equitable for all.

Read the Evaluation FAQs to better understand why this revised form and standard is a fair, equitable and reasonable solution to completing the annual evaluation requirement.

Benefits Open Enrollment Until the End of May

If you are looking to switch health care providers, May is the month to do it.

This year, Open Enrollment begins on May 1 and ends on May 31, 2020. During this time, employees may review and change their benefits elections using Employee Self Service (ESS). Instructions for logging into and using ESS are available on Canvas under ACPS Human Resources. 

Due to COVID-19 and the closure of ACPS buildings, open enrollment meetings will not be held at schools and Central Office. However, all information will be available on the ACPS website and in Canvas, including opportunities for virtual open enrollment meetings.

The same as last year, ACPS offers three medical plans:

  1. UnitedHealthcare POS (Point of Service Plan)
  2. Kaiser HMO
  3. UnitedHealthcare QHP (Qualified Health Plan) with Health Savings Account. This plan has a tax-free Health Savings Account (HSA) for employees to save pre-tax money to pay for eligible health expenses. 

See the Benefits webpage and Employee Self Service (ESS) for more information. If you have questions, contact HRBenefits@acps.k12.va.us.

Your Questions Answered

In the last video Q&A, Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. answered questions about graduation for the Class of 2020, as well as some concerns about spring sports and summer training.

  • Will there be any kind of graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020?
  • Will there be speakers?
  • If the ceremony is virtual, how will I get my diploma?
  • What else is ACPS doing to help the Class of 2020 have a memorable graduation?
  • What happened to the spring season for sports?
  • Will it still be possible for student-athletes to train this summer?
  • When and how should we turn in our uniforms and equipment?

Watch the Q&A video or see answers to these questions in the updated FAQ.

Give Your Feedback on the Draft 2025 Strategic Plan

Last April, ACPS began to look at its priorities for the next five years. This week, after a year of assessing our data, analyzing our priorities and assessing where we need to go as a school division, we have a draft of our roadmap for the next five years to share with you. The 2020-25 Strategic Plan “Equity for All 2025” is bold, courageous and aims to tackle our equity issues head-on.

Developing a successful strategic plan takes community involvement, as our schools are your schools, too. We have engaged our staff, our students, our families and our community representatives in drafting this plan.

The plan’s vision is: Empowering all students to thrive in a diverse and ever-changing world. 

The plan has five core values. We want ACPS to be Welcoming, Empowering, Equity-Focused, Innovative and Results-Driven.

And the plan has five goals, each with equity at their heart. 

  • Systemic Alignment
  • Instructional Excellence
  • Student Accessibility and Support
  • Strategic Resource Allocation
  • Family and Community Engagement

Each of the five goals for the 2025 Strategic Plan has a number of measures that will help us track and report progress in achieving the goal. In addition to measures, each goal also has a number of strategies and highlighted actions, which outline the steps that ACPS will take to achieve the goal. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) define the key overall outcomes that an organization is trying to achieve. They answer the question of what success looks like and how will we know if we are progressing toward the intended outcome. As an educational organization, within ACPS all KPIs are student outcomes. 

You can view the draft 2025 Strategic Plan on the ACPS website. In the next couple of weeks it will be reviewed by the School Board and this is your opportunity to submit feedback. Information on how to give feedback to the School Board can be found on the School Board Meetings webpage. If you are an ACPS staff member, please submit your feedback via the staff feedback form. 

Finally we want to say thank you to all those — and particularly those on the Strategic Planning Committee — who contributed their time over the course of many evenings to help build this plan.

Post High School Options: New ACPS Webpage Offers Resources for Juniors and Seniors

During the current closure, high school students, and seniors in particular, may understandably have a lot of uncertainty about their future plans. While the college and career landscape continues to shift, ACPS wants to reassure families that our school counselors, teachers, support staff, and community partners are here to help every student navigate their next steps to achieve their goals.

The College and Career Planning for Juniors and Seniors During COVID-19 webpage provides general resources for students and families. The new page provides information for our current seniors regarding changing college deposit deadlines and strategies for selecting a four-year school if you are unable to visit. We also recommend that students touch base with their school counselor, their college and career counselor at T.C. Williams High School, their AVID teacher, or the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria (SFA).

Further, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling maintains a regularly-updated list of those four-year colleges that still have space and financial aid available. Additionally, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has updated their placement guidelines due to the inability to do testing for students enrolling for this fall. Military recruitment continues, and career and employment services are still available to students who are moving into the world of work.

For students in the Class of 2021 and beyond, we know that many of you are already considering your next steps after high school. There are a number of planning resources available to you also, from the career tools in the Naviance college and career platform to sample planning documents from the Virginia Department of Education. Additionally, there are a number of programs and resources to help students on the pathway to college, such as the SFA’s Guide to Applying and Paying for College (PDF), Pathway to the Baccalaureate through NOVA, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), and Peer Forward.

ACPS believes in supporting students beyond high school graduation. The school division and the Alexandria community remain committed to helping you launch into the next part of your journey. Know that we are here to help support you in meeting your life goals.

Pandemic-EBT Card Eligibility

William Ramsay Elementary School and Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology families and any other families who already receive Free or Reduced Price Meals (FARM) will automatically receive a Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) card, which can be used to purchase food during the pandemic. These families DO NOT need to apply to receive the credit. For families who already have a P-EBT card, the credit will be automatically added to your card within two weeks. For families who DO NOT currently have an P-EBT card, one will be mailed to you in 4-6 weeks.

Only those families who DO NOT currently receive FARM need to apply. If approved, you will receive a P-EBT card in the mail in the next four to six weeks.

See more information about how to apply.

Important Food Distribution Changes for Memorial Day Weekend

All food distribution sites will be closed on Memorial Day: Monday, May 25.

On Friday, May 22:

  • At school sites we will be providing 4 days of meals, for Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
  • At pop-up sites we will be providing 2 days of meals, for Friday and Saturday.

All meals consist of breakfast, lunch and snack.

Food distribution sites will reopen on Wednesday, May 27.

See a list of all food distribution sites on the ACPS-at-Home website.

NO ACPS INSIDER ON MONDAY, MAY 25

ACPS Insider is taking a day off for the Memorial Day Holiday on May 25. We will return on Wednesday, May 27.

Temperature Screening at ACPS Buildings

Anyone requiring access to an ACPS facility or school will be required to undergo a temperature check to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Testing stations will be established at seven locations, at or close to ACPS meal distribution sites and locations where major summer construction will take place. Screening will take no more than three minutes to complete and will involve the use of a clinical forehead thermometer.

All those with a temperature of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower (per Alexandria Health Department guidelines) will be given a dated wristband and be cleared to work as long as they are in possession of appropriate personal protection equipment consisting of masks and gloves.

Should an individual record an elevated temperature, that person will be informed that they are unable to report to work at an ACPS site and will be advised to call his or her supervisor.

Find out more about this measure in this Board Brief.

WANT TO HELP?

Please consider donating through ACT For Alexandria and the COVID-19 Response Fund if you are able. 

Community members who would like to volunteer should reach out to www.volunteeralexandria.org or 703-836-2176 to register for any additional potential volunteer opportunities.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Continuity of School Support and Academic Advisement

School Student Support Team staff, including school counselors, school nurses, school psychologists, and school social workers will be available during school hours throughout the closure. Monday — Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. staff will be connecting with students and their families. The Department of Student Services, Alternative Programs and Equity staff members are also available during this time and can be contacted by voicemail and at student_services@acps.k12.va.us.

Emergency Supports

If there is a crisis or emergency during the time of the closure, students and families can access the supports below:

We know that this is a challenging time. ACPS will continue to share information through the ACPS website, social media, and email. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s school counselor or school social worker with any questions.

HEALTH REMINDERS

Don’t Feel Well?
Contact your primary health care physician.

Have questions, concerns or feedback? Contact us or contact your direct supervisor.

HR Questions? Contact hr@acps.k12.va.us.

Stay Healthy!
Wash your hands regularly. Regular soap is OK.