Press release from Asheville City Schools
School and district administrators are monitoring student and staff attendance at all schools each day. Due to the high number of staff absences, Asheville City Schools is unable to maintain facilities operations or hold classes.
Therefore, all schools in our district will be closed tomorrow, Friday, January 14th.
On Friday, students will participate in at-home learning. For Asheville High School and SILSA students, End of Course testing that was scheduled to occur on Friday, January 14th will occur on the day students return to campus. Only essential staff should report to work. Please contact your direct supervisor if you have any questions or need additional support. Staff who are not considered essential workers should work from home and complete sign-in procedures as communicated by your principal.
The first day back for students will be Wednesday, January 19th, as Monday is a holiday, and Tuesday is an Optional Teacher Workday. The second semester for all middle and high school students will still begin on Wednesday, January 19th.
On Tuesday, January 18th, buildings will be open only to essential staff; all other staff who choose to work should do so remotely.
While At Home:
-
Students will be participating in remote instruction.
-
Pre-K Students: Specific information about remote instruction for Pre-K students will be coming directly from your child’s teacher.
-
Kindergarten – 5th Grade: Every child that is on campus today will take home instructional materials. If your child is currently at home, their teacher will be emailing instructions.
-
6th – 12th Grades: All middle and high school students will be assigned work through Canvas. Assignments will be posted by 9:00 a.m.. Montford North Star 6th and 7th Graders will be taking home laptops today.
Assigned work must be completed to be counted present for the day. However, students will have through Monday, January 24th to complete their assignments.
At this time, the School Nutrition Department is NOT able to provide meals.
Transitioning to at-home learning is never a decision we take lightly. During this time, the district will be able to sanitize each campus as well as allow adequate time for our students and staff to recover.
During this long weekend, parents, staff and students are reminded to monitor their health and wellbeing each day. If you are feeling sick and/or exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, please do not send your child to school on Wednesday.
As a reminder, if you think your child needs to be tested for COVID-19, please contact your child’s healthcare provider or review options for community testing. You can also request a free at-home COVID-19 test to be mailed to your home from NCDHHS and Labcorp here.
In the event of further changes, please know I’ll send another email, make a second phone call, alert local media outlets as well as post delay and cancellation notifications on our district website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Once again, all schools across the district will be closed tomorrow, Friday, January 14th. Students will participate in at-home learning. Only essential staff should report to school; all others should work from home.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.