Team Chesterfield families,
Please see the below update regarding 2021-22 School Year Learning Models.
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Email highlights
- Planning continues for the 2021-22 school year.
- In-person instruction is strongly encouraged for academic and social-emotional development. Necessary COVID-19 mitigation strategies will be in place to keep students and staff members healthy.
- Families who still are not comfortable returning their children to school have choices:
- Elementary school students may choose to attend a synchronous Virtual Academy; however, they likely will not have a teacher from their home school and will be in a virtual class with students from across the county.
- Middle school students may choose to attend a synchronous Virtual Academy; however, they likely will not have a teacher from their home school and will be in a virtual class with students from across the county. Middle school students may also choose to enroll in CCPSOnline, where asynchronous instruction is self-paced with support from licensed school division teachers.
- High school students may choose to enroll in CCPSOnline, where asynchronous instruction is self-paced with support from licensed school division teachers.
- A decision to enroll in the K-8 Virtual Academy for the 2021-22 school year must be made by June 1 in order to facilitate staffing assignments, distribute contracts and create bus routes in advance of a pre-Labor Day start.
Team Chesterfield families,
While there are two months remaining in the 2020-21 school year and school-based leaders are focused on finishing strong, school division leaders have been busy planning for a successful 2021-22 school year. (As a friendly reminder, the 2021-22 school year starts on Aug. 23. This pre-Labor Day start is allowed under changes made recently to state law.)
My leadership team and I continue to stress the importance of daily in-person attendance. We believe face-to-face instruction is best for students, given that students miss much more than academics when not in school. Unfortunately, our student growth measures do not indicate learning gains in reading and math that we might normally see, and results from a well-being study conducted across K-12 show that our students will need more than just academic support when they return to school.
We have created safe learning environments during this international pandemic, as evidenced by the extremely low incidents of in-school transmission. It remains our expectation that many of these mitigation strategies will remain in place for the start of the 2021-22 school year.
The School Board will receive a presentation on our 2021-22 school year plans during its April 13 work session. The staff presentation will be posted later this afternoon, and will be available by clicking on the appropriate meeting link.
Below is a brief overview of the presentation by school level. For a side-by-side comparison of options by school level, click on the document attached to this email. Information about registering for the Virtual Academy will be shared next week.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OPTIONS
Return to face-to-face learning at your child’s assigned school
- Students will work with a licensed teacher in a traditional classroom setting with appropriate COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place (masks, social distancing, etc.), depending on requirements/guidance provided at that time by the Governor’s Office, Virginia Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Attend a K-8 Virtual Academy
- Students will learn synchronously online from home or another place of their choosing. They will work with a licensed CCPS teacher who may not be a teacher from their home school and likely will be in a virtual classroom with students from other schools.
- The school day will follow the traditional school day schedule with core courses and resource classes, as well as tiered student supports.
- Specialized programs (such as CBG) may not be available.
- Families will decide whether to enroll in the Virtual Academy for just the first semester or the entire school year.
MIDDLE SCHOOL OPTIONS
Return to face-to-face learning at your child’s assigned school
- Students will work with a licensed teacher in a traditional classroom setting. with appropriate COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place (masks, social distancing, etc.), depending on requirements/guidance provided at that time by the Governor’s Office, Virginia Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- No concurrent teaching in general education classrooms. Students may not participate virtually. (Please note the only available virtual options for middle school students will be through the K-8 Virtual Academy or CCPSOnline.)
Attend a K-8 Virtual Academy
- Students will learn synchronously online from home or another place of their choosing. They will work with a licensed CCPS teacher who may not be a teacher from their home school and likely will be in a virtual classroom with students from other schools.
- The school day will follow the traditional school day schedule with core courses and resource classes, as well as tiered student supports. Specialized programs (such as CBG) may not be available.
- Students may participate in athletics and/or extracurricular activities at their home school.
- Families will decide whether to enroll in the Virtual Academy for just the first semester or the entire school year.
Enroll in CCPSOnline
- Students will learn asynchronously online from home or another place of their choosing. Student learning is self-paced and self-directed with a licensed teacher assigned who is available to assist students at prescheduled times.
- The program is built with flexibility in mind and offers all students the opportunity to take select middle school courses and high school credit courses online. Specialized programs, such as CBG and specialty centers, are not available. Honors courses are available, while AP and dual enrollment are dependent on enrollment. All courses are delivered through the Canvas learning management system.
- Students participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at their home school.
- Families will decide whether to enroll in CCPSOnline for the entire school year.
HIGH SCHOOL OPTIONS
Return to face-to-face learning at your child’s assigned school
- Students will work with a licensed teacher in a traditional classroom setting with appropriate COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place (masks, social distancing, etc.), depending on requirements/guidance provided at that time by the Governor’s Office, Virginia Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- No concurrent teaching in general education classrooms. Students may not participate virtually. (Please note the only available virtual options for high school students will be through CCPSOnline, which is an established program in the school division.)
Enroll in CCPSOnline
- Students will learn asynchronously online from home or another place of their choosing. Student learning is self-paced and self-directed with a licensed teacher assigned who is available to assist students at prescheduled times.
- The program is built with flexibility in mind and offers all students the opportunity to take select middle school courses and high school credit courses online. Specialized programs, such as CBG and specialty centers, are not available. Honors courses are available, while AP and dual enrollment are dependent on enrollment. All courses are delivered through the Canvas learning management system.
- Students participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at their home school.
- Families will decide whether to enroll in CCPSOnline for the entire school year.
Thank you,
Merv Daugherty
Superintendent
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