School Reopening Options

A Video Overview of CHPS's Reopening Plan for 2020-2021

  

 

A Letter from Dr. William Sroufe

 

official letterhead

 

CHPS Families,

For the past several weeks, our division team has been requesting your input regarding the reopening of our schools this fall.  Based on feedback from our families and our staff, guidance from the Virginia Department of Education, and the Center for Disease Control guidelines, we have drafted a plan moving forward.  This Back to School Plan will be adjusted as needed based on current information from our Governor and the CDC and will be presented to our school board on July 28th for approval.

We would like for you to review the overview summary of our Back To School Plan for the  2020 - 2021 school year. You will note that we are asking each family to choose between 2 learning settings: either a virtual academy with 100% online instruction or the traditional school setting with adjusted school hours and transportation restrictions.  

The traditional school choice will allow for all our students to attend every day - each week if we can operate under our school building capacity.  This plan is dependent on how many families choose the virtual academy and how many students want to attend in-person.  Our goal is to serve every child, in-person, all week, if possible.

If we are unable to accommodate all the requests for the traditional school setting due to the social distancing guidelines and the Governor’s Order, we will offer an alternating day schedule in the traditional setting.  In this back-up plan, students would attend school every-other day and participate in virtual learning on the days they are not physically at school.  We will schedule siblings to attend on the same school days if we use the alternating day schedule.

In addition, there will be restrictions on transportation. We will not be able to accommodate all students on a school bus as in the past.  We will ask that you consider this restriction as you decide whether or not you can provide transportation and if your child will need to attend our virtual academy.

Initially, we will begin with a five hour school day with a later start time to accommodate transportation adjustments. Definite school start times and student schedules will be finalized later in July.  In addition, when we return to school, we will limit movement throughout the school including mixing of student groups. Initially, students will be assigned to a learning zone and will remain in their learning zone throughout the day. Teachers and other school staff will also be assigned to a learning zone and will rotate between classrooms within this zone of the school.  

At the forefront on our decision is the safety of our students and our staff.  By limiting travel within the school, minimizing mixing of student groups in learning zones, using personal protective equipment, and following strict cleaning procedures, we will protect our school community.  Once again, our plan is evolving based on the continued guidance of our Governor, the CDC, and the Virginia Department of Education.

Please take time to review the overview information.

Moving forward, we need your help. To finalize our Back-to-School plans, we need parents to log into the PowerSchool parent portal and indicate the re-enrollment decision for the 2020-2021 school year.  Please keep in mind that enrollment adjustments may be made for the spring semester based on updated information from the Governor and CDC. Families can use the student Chromebooks to log into their parent portal if needed.

If you do not have access to the parent portal, information will be shared with families during the week of July 6th. Please check your mail and email for Parent Portal setup directions. If you do not receive Parent Portal login information, please contact the school.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s principal or school counselor. We appreciate your continued support and patience as we navigate through these unprecedented times.

Remember…you are not stuck at home...you are safe at home…. 

 

 

Dr. William Sroufe, Superintendent

Colonial Heights Public Schools

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