April 8, 2020
IMPORTANT UPDATES – EXTENDED SCHOOL CLOSURE AND FAQ
Dear Achievement Prep Families:
We hope that you and your loved ones are all well during this unprecedented time for our country. We hope you are all taking this virus very seriously and practicing social distancing.
Update re: Extended School Closure:
On Monday, the Mayor held a virtual Education Town Hall for school leaders and educators. With the continued concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the District, schools will be closed longer than April 27th. The formal announcement is forthcoming. Charter and DCPS leaders have been in collaboration, working to have a united front in DC.
An exact date for school reopening was not confirmed during the meeting with the Mayor as this is dependent on health conditions across the region. There is a possibility that the date will coincide with the recently requested 45-day extension of the public health emergency to June 8th, but that is not yet confirmed.
We recognize this open-ended date can raise concerns for you and our scholars. Please know the priority for us at Achievement Prep and for the District of Columbia is that all of us are safe and healthy. We also want to make sure that our scholars continue learning.
Right now we are working on two plans: (i) if we reopen at some point this school year; and (ii) if we do not reopen before Summer break. We will communicate with you as soon as we have more information on school status.
What this means for you and your scholars:
We’ve provided you with new learning materials through April 24th. We distributed these materials in hard copy on Monday and Tuesday of this week and the materials are available electronically here.
We realize some of you were unable to make the distribution times on Monday and Tuesday. We will have one final opportunity to pick up hard copies of the materials on THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH FROM 2pm to 5pm. Please make every effort to come to the school during this time should you need a hard copy of the learning materials. As you know the city is in a stay at home state and we want to make sure we are all safe.
We know you have many questions about all of this, including how this will impact scholar learning, what happens in terms of grades and how learning materials will be collected and reviewed by teachers. We want to answer as many of these questions as we can directly. We will hold a series of virtual meetings with families on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Information about these meetings is below:
| Meeting date and time | Video access info. | Phone access info. |
| Monday, April 13th at 9 am | https://zoom.us/j/575684444?pwd=OVZCL0pVeFl6bTFhaS8zR3Z4TDh4UT09
Password: 908908 |
301-715-8592
Webinar ID: 575 684 444 |
| Monday, April 13th at 3 pm | https://zoom.us/j/117566337?pwd=QUJHemhTZFV4Q2hRZFdEdmViOVVpZz09
Password: 908908 |
301-715-8592
Webinar ID: 117 566 337 908908 |
| Tuesday, April 14th at 1pm | https://zoom.us/j/187694909?pwd=NmtHeThLbTRmalFsRHN2ZC92aFJpZz09
Password: 908908 |
301-715-8592 Webinar ID:187 694 909 Password: 908908 |
| Tuesday, April 14th at 6pm | https://zoom.us/j/666084090?pwd=a0tIS2JmVlBvRVNHdnhGSFBPNE5WQT09
Password: 908908 |
301-715-8592
Webinar ID: 666 084 090 Password: 908908 |
Quarter 3 grades:
During this distance learning period, when much of our instructional support (including virtual tutoring and learning support) is being offered online, we know that scholars will have different levels of access to technology and workspaces for learning — so much is out of their control. Therefore, teachers will grade scholar work without penalizing them for assignments that they were not able to access or complete. Teachers will offer many varied opportunities for scholars to display mastery and engagement, and any distance learning work completed and turned in can only benefit a scholar’s academic status.
Assignments and activities that scholars engage in during learning at home period will be used to improve a scholar’s quarter 3 grades. For each week of distance learning, teachers will grade scholar work. These grades will be averaged into a scholar’s quarter 3 grade and used only to improve a scholar’s overall standing. Scholars who do not complete distance learning work by specified timeline will not be penalized and will receive the quarter 3 grade they earned as of March 13th, prior to the closure.
For more information, please review the Grading FAQ for Families and Scholars.
Teaching and tutoring support:
We want to make sure scholars are continuing to learn during this unprecedented time. We also recognize that you, as parents, are not the teacher and we are the experts in teaching and learning. We want to be as accessible to you as possible and make your already heavy load a little lighter.
Each of your scholar teachers hold daily virtual tutoring and learning support hours from 9am – 11 and 2pm – 4pm. You and your scholar can access teachers during these hours by video or phone by clicking here or visiting our website at www.achievementprep.org/remotelearning.
Please be sure to take advantage of this virtual support. These are meant for you, as family members to ask questions, or scholars can log on directly and get support from their teachers and peers.
We miss you!
We miss our scholars and our families. During this distance learning period, we will be calling you and our scholars daily simply to check in and say hello. Many staff members are setting up informal gatherings of scholars so they can see one another as well. You matter greatly to us and we want to make sure our community remains strong during this time. Please look for these daily calls as our staff members are anxious to talk to our scholars each day!
We thank you in advance for your continued support during this time. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need anything. You can call the school directly (calls are forwarded to Ms. Tyree for MS and Ms. Chambers for ES) or you can email us at:
Elementary campus: esremote@achievementprep.org, 202-562-1307
Middle School campus: msremote@achievementprep.org, 202-562-1214
Please be safe and be sure to practice social distancing.
In partnership,
Ms. Wright
Founder and CEO
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.