The Progress Report
Huntsville City Schools News & Updates -- Jan. 16, 2021
Traditional Students Resume In-person Instruction Five Days per Week following MLK Holiday
As a reminder, schools and offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 18 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
With the strong health protocols remaining in place and after closely monitoring COVID-19 data across the district following the Winter Holidays, HCS shared plans on Tuesday, Jan. 12 to welcome students back to campuses five days per week following the MLK holiday.
Health protocols include requiring students and staff members to wear masks at all times, practicing social distancing to the greatest extent possible, encouraging frequent hand washing and sanitizing, adhering to directional signage, and prohibiting visitors in school buildings.
Students who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 should remain home from school and seek medical treatment. Symptoms include new cough, new loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever or chills, muscle or body aches, headaches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue.
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Calendar Dates
View the complete HCS Calendar for a complete listing of district-level dates and events.
- Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (schools & offices closed)
- Feb. 15: Presidents Day (schools & offices closed)
- March 29 - April 2: Spring Break for students & teachers
- May 27-28: Graduation Exercises
- May 28: End of Second Semester
District Introduces Mental Health Services Coordinator
Letricia Ogutu recently joined Huntsville City Schools as the Mental Health Services Coordinator, a new position the district created to provide a variety of supports and interventions for students, their families, and school faculty & staff. As the Mental Health Services Coordinator, Ms. Ogutu will support schools with developing frontline interventions that promote health and wellness to all students.
Alabama State Board of Education Passes Resolution for NCTHS
Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama State Board of Education passed a resolution recognizing New Century Technology High School (NCTHS) in Huntsville City Schools (HCS) as a 2020 National Blue Ribbon School. The board approved the resolution during Thursday’s state school board meeting. Dr. Wayne Reynolds, state school board member who represents district eight, noted the announcement of the U.S. Space Command coming to Huntsville in offering the resolution.
Pre-K Application Window
- Approach to play and learning
- Emotional and social development
- Health and physical development
- Language development and communication
- Cognitive development
Magnet and M2M Application Windows Postponed
January is School Board Recognition Month
HCS Names District Teachers of the Year
Huntsville City Schools (HCS) has announced its district Teacher of the Year winners for the elementary and secondary levels. The winners received a surprise visit to their classrooms from Superintendent Christie Finley and members of her administration.
Angela Smith, who teaches third grade at Lakewood Elementary School, received the HCS Elementary Teacher of the Year award. Smith entered teaching in 2017 as a sixth-grade math teacher. She earned her B.S. in elementary education from Athens State University.
Kierstan Bell, who teaches eight-grade social studies at Hampton Cove Middle School, received the HCS Secondary Teacher of the Year award. Bell is the school’s sponsor for the National Junior Honor Society. She earned her B.AS. in social studies education from Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania and her AAS in intelligence operations studies from Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Both winners will be in contention for the state teacher of the year.
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Seven Teachers Attain National Board Certified Teacher Status
Huntsville City Schools (HCS) is proud to announce seven educators have recently completed the rigorous process of becoming National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs).
National Board Certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. It is the most respected professional certification available in K-12 education.
The following educators are the newest National Board Certified Teachers in Huntsville City Schools:
-Molly Johnson, Farley Elementary
-Christie O’Connor, Weatherly Elementary
-Lorinda Otto, Huntsville High School
-Renee Redfield, Huntsville High School
-Lori Rhonemus, Goldsmith Schiffman Elementary
-Kristin Robinson, Mountain Gap Middle School
-Ashleigh Yocom, Challenger Elementary
HCS now has more than 50 National Board Certified Teachers across the district. Additionally, more than 40 educators are in the process of working toward NBCT status. View video.
Magnet Program Information Overview
Huntsville City Schools offers a variety of Magnet Programs which provide specialized pathways of learning along with focused themes that attract a diverse population of students throughout the district. Our magnet programs offer a variety of themes and unique courses for students that aren't offered in the typical classroom setting. The magnet application dates are still on hold for the following programs:
· Academy for Academics and Arts (PK-8)
· Academy for Science & Foreign Language (PK-8)
· Academy for Gifted and Talented at Williams Middle School (6-8)
· College Academy at Jemison High School (9-12)
· Columbia High IB Programme (9-12)
· Performing and Creative Arts at Lee High School (9-12)
· New Century Technology High School (9-12)
New dates will be posted on the district web page www.huntsvillecityschools.org/magnet, the district calendar, and the school calendars as soon as new information becomes available. If you applied during from October 15- November 30, 2020 your application is on hold as well and the process will resume once we are back up and running. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Health Reminders
As we enter cold and flu season as well as continue in a COVID-19 pandemic, here are a few practical reminders to help mitigate the risk of illness.
- DO wear your mask at all times when on school campus and in public places.
- DO wash your hands often and/or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- DO cover your cough or sneeze by coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your elbow.
- DO practice social distancing to the greatest extent possible, even if 6 feet of spacing cannot be maintained.
- DO NOT come to work, school, or extracurricular events if you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or another contagious illness. Symptoms of COVID-19 include the following: new loss of taste or smell, new onset cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue, muscle or body aches, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
- If you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the last 14 days, DO NOT come to work, school, or extracurricular events.
- If you have been tested for COVID-19 and are awaiting results, DO NOT come to work, school, or extracurricular events.
- If you have tested positive for COVID-19 with or without symptoms, then you need to remain home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms, be fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever reducing medication, and have improvement of symptoms.
- REMINDER a clearance note from a health care provider is required to return to work or school if a person is exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
- ADPH exclusionary periods will be followed for suspected COVID-19 and other contagious illnesses.
- For more information about specific guidelines for COVID-19 in schools, please visit https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/covid19/assets/cov-school-toolkit-101420.pdf
Job Alert: HCS is Now Hiring Substitute Teachers and Other Positions
Testing Information
- ASLDE requires students to take State-level assessments in-person in a proctored environment. Some assessments may be online but must still occur in a proctored setting.
- ALL HVA students will be required to come to school to take the ALSDE mandated assessments.
- ASLDE requires students to take State-level assessments in-person in a proctored environment.
- Some ALSDE mandated assessments may be online but must still occur in a proctored setting (both traditional and HVA students) at a school site.
- The ALSDE mandated assessments for the 2020-21 school year include the following:
- ACCESS for ELLs & Alternate ACCESS for ELLs (Grade K-12 EL Students)
- January 19 – March 19, 2021
- PreACT Test (Grade 10)
- Feb 10, 2021
- ACT WorkKeys (Grade 12)
- Feb. 1 – March 5, 2021 – Accommodation Window Feb. 25-March 5, 2021
- ACT with Writing (Grade 11)
- March 9, 2021 – ACT Writing with Accommodations March 9-12 and March 15-18, 2021
- ACAP Alternate (Grade 2-8, 10, 11)
- March 1 – April 9, 2021
- ACAP (Grades 2-8)
- March 29 – April 30, 2021
- Actual Window due to Spring Break April 5-30, 2021
- (Spring Break for HCS – March 29 – April 2, 2021)
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Huntsville City Schools
Website: huntsvillecityschools.org
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Twitter: @hsvk12