APS At Home Learning Activities
March 20, 2020
Keep Learning Alive
At-Home Learning Activities
Dr. Berman announces learning opportunities for APS students and families while schools across Massachusetts are closed.
What do At-Home Learning Activities provide for our students?
We are completely committed to helping our students through this difficult time period that may feel stressful and isolating. We know they are missing their teachers, friends and after school activities, as much as we are missing them. In collaboration with our teachers, the district launched the At-Home Learning Activities page this week. We encourage you to visit often as the pages will be updated periodically.
Information is changing daily, sometimes even hourly. As our second week approaches, we hope to offer clarity for our families. The best information we have to date is the guidance from the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). To guide schools, MA DESE has advised all state superintendents regarding time-on-learning requirements and how to proceed with learning during school closures. These expectations from the DESE Commissioner focus on equity and access for all students.
- Students’ participation in at-home learning activities are optional and voluntary. Learning activities during the closure should be viewed as enriching for students, but not expected. DESE has communicated that the three weeks of closure are non-school days for students.
- Since all at-home learning is optional and voluntary, all educators will pause ongoing, long-term or new assignments and projects at this time.
- AP coursework and Capstone projects are also optional and voluntary. AP made an announcement on Friday, March 20.
- For AHS students only: Missing or incomplete assignments prior to March 13 may be submitted to teachers during the closure period for grading.
- Students have the option of visiting their teachers’ existing Google Classrooms and Google Sites and/or the APS At-Home Learning Activities webpage, however both are entirely optional and voluntary. If and when the school year resumes, students will not be held accountable if they do not participate in Google Classrooms/Sites activities.
- Families should anticipate communication from their teachers during this time. The goal of communication with students is to help them maintain a sense of normalcy and connection.
- The MA DESE commissioner has communicated that MCAS dates will be impacted by the closure. Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced a waiver process that will allow states to bypass all testing requirements included in the Every Student Succeeds Act for the current academic year. However, we are still awaiting guidance from MA DESE on MCAS testing and we will communicate that information as soon as we hear it.
If any of the above guidance changes, or the closure extends beyond April 6th, we will update you on any changes to the above information. This is a unique time for our families and us. The learning activities are tremendously creative. They will engage our students during this difficult time and help them stay connected to teachers and learning. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out. We will help in every way we can.
Andover Food Services update
Andover Food Services has announced it will continue serving families in need into the third week of the closure. For more information on drop-off locations or pick-up times at the high school; click here.
Town of Andover Coronavirus Information
The Town of Andover’s daily updates provides information on the Coronavirus, make sure to check the page for public health and town announcements.
About APS
Email: nicole.kieser@andoverma.us
Website: aps1.net
Location: 36r Bartlet Street, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: 978-247-7016
Twitter: @AndoverPS