Today, the Virtual PLUS+ Reopening Plan was submitted to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), as required before the start of school on Sept. 8.
Planning for the future in the midst of a pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges that ACPS has faced as a school division. Overnight, we joined educators across the country to navigate the uncharted waters of delivering teaching and learning in a virtual environment while ensuring that students had access to nutritious meals, the appropriate technology and internet connectivity, and the social, emotional and academic learning supports to endure during this difficult time in our history. What has been remarkable to witness during this time is the response from our team who has shown tremendous resilience, patience and grace to innovate and activate quickly to ensure that our families and staff remained connected and informed as we learned alongside each other in this new world.
The Virtual PLUS+ (Continuity of Learning 4.0) plan that our team and community has developed will be the road map for launching our school year this fall. It illustrates the talent and expertise that we have on our team and our dedicated families and partners at ACPS. It also speaks to our commitment to tackle racial inequities across the school division through our introduction of the Virtual PLUS+ model. Each of its components are deeply connected to the division’s newly adopted 2025 Strategic Plan: Equity for All.
What you will find is that the comprehensive Virtual PLUS+ model is a well-thought-out plan for social, emotional and academic learning and family support. It provides teaching and learning within virtual classrooms while providing additional support that students, staff and families will need to absorb the new content being taught, build relationships with teachers and staff, and stay connected to the school community. It features five key PLUS+ areas including social, emotional and academic supports; technology enhancements; child care options for our most vulnerable families; continuation of meal distribution; and a live multilingual phone helpline.
We are optimistic about our plan for the 2020-21 school year and are thankful for our Thought Partners, Cross Functional Planning Teams, staff, community partners, and most importantly, our families for their patience and advocacy throughout this planning process. We are confident that working together as a community we will prevail, and students will experience academic growth and feel connected to their school community, staff will feel supported with the resources and tools they need to be successful, and families will stay engaged as partners in this journey. One of the many bright spots during this period is that our team has come out stronger by working closely together, silos have been broken and our team is ready to welcome back students and staff for the new school year.
We are ready for the new school year!
Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr.
Superintendent
View the Full Virtual PLUS+ VDOE Submission
You can view the full Virtual PLUS+ Reopening Plan submitted to the Virginia Department of Education on the ACPS-at-Home website.
During today’s School Board meeting, Dr. Hutchings and various staff members delivered a presentation (PDF) with an update on various parts of the Virtual PLUS+ plan, including the results from our most recent survey. In addition, a copy of plan was shared with the School Board via a Board Brief.
View the Board Brief and memo from August 14, 2020.
Coming soon: Student Schedules and Back-to-School Forms
Individual student schedules are currently being worked on and will be mailed to families as soon as they are ready in the Virtual PLUS+ Student Information Packet.
You will also receive a Virtual PLUS+ Back-to-School Forms Packet with essential forms to complete and access codes for the Virtual PLUS+ Access parent portal.
Look out for both of these in the mail later this month!