ACS Students in Grades 6-12 Return to Five Days a Week
\r\nALLIANCE, OHIO – (Oct. 12, 2020) – After much consideration, Alliance City Schools will bring students in grades 6-12 back to five day weeks beginning Wednesday, Nov. 4.
\r\nSince the beginning of the school year, secondary students at ACS have attended school on alternating days to limit the possible exposure to COVID-19. With all the precautions in place at ACS to combat the spread of COVID-19, the ACS administration and the administrative teams at Alliance High School and Alliance Middle School are confident bringing the students back to five days a week is the best decision.
\r\nThe district has seen great success with the safety measures at the elementary education level. Students in preschool through fifth grade have attended school five days a week since the beginning of the school year. The athletic teams at AMS and AHS have been taking part in contact sports since the beginning of the year with great success due to the precautions taken by the ACS teams and the opposing teams. As of October 12, ACS has had zero positive COVID-19 cases.
\r\nThe decision was made after great consideration to the students’ emotional, academic and health needs and after discussions with the Alliance Health Department. Without the consistent schedule at the secondary level, building administration and teachers noticed students had a harder time focusing during class and taking part in activities and assignments during their remote days.
\r\n“We were amongst the most conservative districts in Stark County in how we developed and implemented our original restart plan. However, now that we have seen that our neighboring districts have had success in having students in school everyday, we feel we can safely accommodate all students who want in-person schooling. We have carefully analyzed our systems and structures, adjusted them where needed, and are ready to refocus on our students’ mental and emotional well-being and return to a more consistent schedule of teaching and learning,” said Superintendent Rob Gress. “Our students and staff have done a fantastic job abiding by the guidelines in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have had zero cases so far and we will work hard to keep our numbers low.”
\r\nACS recognizes this change is coming at a time when case numbers in Ohio are on the rise, but the district administration feels they are in a place where they can continue to adapt and adjust if needed. ACS has a plan for incase a class, grade, building or even the district needs to temporarily move to remote learning, and they ask that parents have a plan in place for their students incase that were to happen.
\r\nThe academic calendar has been adjusted to allow Monday, Nov. 2 to be the first day of the second nine weeks, which was previously scheduled for Oct. 26. The official end date for the first nine weeks has been moved from Oct. 23 to Oct. 30. The early release day previously scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23 has been moved to Friday, Oct. 30.
\r\nTo allow for more adjustment time and preparation for the teachers and staff at AMS and AHS, students at the secondary level will now have Monday, Nov. 2 off along with the previously scheduled day off on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Students at the elementary level will still have school on Monday, Nov. 2.
\r\nFamilies who do not want their child to return to five days a week will continue to have the opportunity to take part in digital learning. A commitment form will be sent out on Wednesday, Oct. 14 through the district’s ParentSquare app for parents to select if they would like to have their students switch from in-person to digital or from digital to in-person. The commitment form must be completed by Friday, Oct. 16.
\r\nAlliance City Schools has a COVID-19 dashboard set up on their website to show if or when positive cases are reported. The dashboard can be found at https://www.alliancecityschools.org/page/covid-19-case-reporting.
\r\nFor more information about the Alliance City School District, visit www.alliancecityschools.org.