Dear ACA II families,
Thank you for all of your hard work and cooperation during our first month of distance learning! Our students are starting to find their groove and demonstrate their Cheetah spirit! Our teachers and support staff are finding new and innovative ways to maintain the high level education that is a cornerstone of our school.
When we first announced that we would be distance learning to start the year, we promised to revisit that decision in mid September. Last week, ACA I & II staff met to discuss our options. Due to Contra Costa County’s continued placement in the Purple Tier of the state’s COVID-19 watchlist, we are still unable to open our school to on-campus learning after October Break. In the interest of student safety and academic consistency, we have decided to continue distance learning until after November break. All students will participate in distance learning for the rest of the first trimester, which ends on November 20th.
Our staff will re-evaluate the possibility of beginning on-campus learning with our proposed AM/PM hybrid model in early November and make an announcement to families by mid November. In accordance with the state’s new color tier system for counties, in order for our school to offer on-campus learning, our county must move down to the red tier or lower for at least 14 days. You can read more about the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-
Through this blueprint, the state is also offering waivers for elementary schools. The waivers are currently only available for schools/grades TK-6. ACA II is a K-8 school, so if we were to apply for a waiver, the Middle School students would not be included. Our ACA I & II combined staff has discussed the waiver option, but we would not want to open for on-campus learning and not be able to include our Middle School students. This would also be a hardship on families with students at multiple levels if some students were allowed to attend school on-campus and older students were not. Our staff will re-examine this option if the rules of the waivers change.
Our staff appreciates all the cooperation and understanding our families have shown this year. We know that distance learning has created a new set of challenges for all of us. We are so proud of how well our students have adapted and used the lifeskills of flexibility and problem solving over the first month of school. Way to go Cheetahs!
Sincerely,
ACA II Staff