ACPS has notified families and staff that the Thanksgiving Break will be extended this year by two days. All ACPS schools and offices will be closed Nov. 22-26. The message to families from Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Jr. stated:
As we have returned to five days a week of in-person learning, we have celebrated having students and staff back in our schools. As a part of our return, Alexandria City Public Schools’ (ACPS) leadership and staff have continued to emphasize social, emotional, and academic learning (SEAL) supports to help manage this transition and address the many challenges our students have faced over the past year and a half.
ACPS understands how important it is to consider the individual well-being of everyone in our schools and the families in our community as we work to ensure that students can thrive in a safe and healthy learning environment. With this in mind, we are extending the Thanksgiving Break by two days so that everyone can have the gift of time to decompress and connect with the important people in our lives, while still being mindful of health and safety protocols. This means all ACPS schools and offices will be closed Nov. 22-26; this change will not impact the rest of the 2021-22 calendar nor result in days added at the end of the school year.
This decision was made upon careful consideration of the high levels of stress that our students, families and staff have expressed during the first few months of this school year. I realize that this change in schedule will impact families’ plans for that week and we want to notify families now so they can consider their arrangements. We will share resources online for families to support their students’ love of learning; more details will be shared as our Break Learning web page is published before the Thanksgiving Break.
The Office of School Nutrition Services is currently confirming the logistics for meal offerings during Nov. 22-26, and more details will be shared online and in the ACPS Express newsletter. Also, we will notify our community partners of this change, so they can communicate with parents about after-school care and activities. ACPS will continue to promote community resources and supports should families need additional assistance over the extended break.
In this time of gratitude, I want to express my deepest appreciation for the hard work and dedication of all of our staff at ACPS and thank our wonderful families for their support of our schools and students.
The November calendar is as follows::
- Nov. 2: No school for students; teacher workday
- Nov. 7: Daylight Saving Time ends
- Nov. 11-12: No school for elementary school students on Nov. 11. Parent-teacher conferences are being held for elementary school students. On Nov. 12., elementary students have early dismissal
- Nov. 22-26: ACPS schools closed for the week of Thanksgiving Break