Asheville City Schools to continue at-home, remote instruction through winter holidays

Press release from Asheville City Schools:

At this time, Asheville City Schools has determined that we will continue with at-home, remote instruction for most students in Kindergarten – 12th Grade through the end of the second nine weeks and Winter Holidays.

Additionally, on Monday, November 30th, our elementary schools will begin bringing back small groups of about 40 students per building.  Students will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • Their beginning of year assessments
  • Their current engagement in the remote environment
  • Feedback from teachers
  • Student participation in the Exceptional Children’s program

We will then begin our large-scale, gradual transition from Plan C to Plan B, which is a blend of both in-person and remote learning, tentatively starting Monday, January 11th.

We believe it’s imperative to have a slower reopening that allows us to carefully plan and maintain safety protocols for all campuses; therefore, please know the second semester begins on Monday, January 4th and will be remote for all students for the first week.  We will begin with transitioning to in-person learning for just our Kindergarten – 5th Graders on Monday, January 11th.  This age group was determined based on scientific research, including this article from The Journal of Infectious Diseases.  It explains that although there is limited information on age and its impact on COVID-19 transmission, “susceptibility to infection for children ages 10 and under is estimated to be significantly lower,” which provides the safest possible learning environment for our students and staff.

Information about a return date for our secondary students will be announced following the Winter Holiday.

The district’s Plan B for elementary students will incorporate face-to-face instruction days and remote learning days at home, on an “A Week / B Week” schedule.  All students will utilize remote learning during the weeks they are not meeting in person.

Individual schools will be contacting families during the week of November 16th to confirm their children’s schedules in Week A or Week B.

Our community-based PODS will continue even after our district transitions to its “A Week / B Week” model.  Students currently in PODS will have the choice to continue in their current setting.

Additionally, please know that although our district is transitioning to Plan B, we will be providing a Virtual Academy option should your family wish to continue to utilize a 100% virtual learning model for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.  In order to support you in making this important decision, additional information about the Kindergarten – 5th Grade Virtual Academy as well as answers to Plan B Frequently Asked Questions will be released in the upcoming weeks.

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