The Shadow
LOW MOOR — Alleghany County school officials have released plans for closing out the current academic year, as well as prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, which begins in August.
Public schools in Virginia are closed for the remainder of the academic year under order from Gov. Ralph Northam.
Northam announced the closure March 23 in an effort to contain the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus in Virginia.
Alleghany County School Superintendent Gene Kotulka issued a news release Monday outlining plans that have been developed by his staff.
Frequently Asked Questions Secondary Instruction
1. What are the learning expectations for my middle school and high school child for the remainder of the school year?
Students will continue with their virtual learning via ECHO at Alleghany High School and via Google Classroom at Clifton Middle School.
Virtual learning will continue until May 12 for seniors and May 20 for grades 6-11.
Students and parents are reminded that instruction is continuing. Student participation is expected. Students and parents need to be aware that failure to not complete assignments may result in educational learning gaps, which may negatively impact student coursework when traditional instruction resumes in the 2020-2021 school year or when transitioning to post-secondary ventures.
2. Will the online lessons, or packets, be graded?
There will be incentives for completing virtual learning materials in the final quarter of the semester.
What is important to focus on at this time is that students keep on learning so that they are prepared to advance to the next grade level, the new courses they will take next year, and/or with post-secondary plans.
3. What if my student is having technology issues with his/her Chromebook?
See the updated information on the Alleghany County Public Schools website under “Virtual Learning Technical Support” or call the Alleghany County School Board Office at 863-1800.
4. Where can I get WiFi access?
Kajeet bus service is available at Clifton Middle School.
So that Internet services are available for students in the Callaghan and Sharon areas, both elementary school’s wireless networks have been modified in order to allow for stronger WiFi signals to reach the buildings’ parking lots.
Only school-issued Chromebooks will connect but connection is automatic. At Sharon Elementary, please park in the front row closest to the building.
At Callaghan Elementary, please park against the sidewalk at the front of the school.
Other information regarding WiFi access is outlined on the Alleghany County Public Schools website under “Virtual Learning Technical Support.”
5. What should I do if my child still has personal belongings at Clifton Middle School and/or Alleghany High School?
Once lockers have been cleared of personal belongings and it is safe for schools to schedule a day for students to pick up items, parents will be notified.
6. How do students access their online lessons?
Alleghany High School and Clifton Middle School students who are in need of technical support should use the following technical support phone numbers:
— 863-1700 (AHS Students-Echo Support).
— 960-2640 (AHS Students- Google/G-suite, Connection-related issues).
— 960-2641 (CMS Students- All problems)
— 960-2642 (CMS Students- ll problems)
Technical support is available Monday through Friday during regular school hours.
7. Are school buildings open?
No, buildings are closed but appointments may be made through the Alleghany County Public Schools School Board Office if access is deemed required.
8. What about summer school?
There will be one session from July 6 to July 29.
— AHS: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with breakfast and lunch provided.
— CMS: 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with breakfast and lunch provided.
Students who may be required to attend summer school will be contacted soon.
The final determination for summer school attendees will not be made until mid-May.
9. What about events such as graduation, prom, senior academic awards, etc?
All options are being considered; however, with the current Coronavirus pandemic, any definite plans at this time would be premature. Check social media, the schools’ websites, and the division website for updates.
Currently, the plan is to hold a graduation ceremony in some capacity, if at all possible.
10. What about field trips?
All field trips have been cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year. Alleghany High School and Clifton Middle School administrations are currently working on refunds for the cancelled trips.
11. What about scheduling classes for next year?
Alleghany High School and Clifton Middle School counselors are currently reaching out to students for scheduling.
Alleghany High School and Clifton Middle School counselors are emailing their students with schedules and communicating with them via email and phone calls.
12. What about SOL testing and Career and Technical Education testing?
All Virginia end-of-course testing for currently enrolled students has been waived by the federal government and Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) for the remainder of this school year.
Other testing organizations have also provided guidance listed below:
— SAT: The College Board is canceling the May 2 SAT and SAT Subject Test administration.
Makeup exams for the March 14 administration (scheduled for March 28) are also canceled.
For more information, visit: https://pages.collegeboard.org/natural-disasters
— ACT: ACT has rescheduled the April 4 national ACT test date to June 13.
ACT will communicate directly with all students currently registered for the April 4 test.
All students registered for the April 4 test date will receive an email from ACT in the next few days informing them of the postponement and instructions for next steps.
For additional information visit: http://www.act.org/
— AP: AP Central has been updated with information about flexible testing options for schools experiencing substantial disruption or closure and guidance for schools that plan to maintain AP instruction while students are at home.
An update can be found here:
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update.
AP Central has also prepared a one-page overview of how AP teachers can use the free, daily online practice in AP Classroom to check student understanding of each topic and skill in the AP course and ensure that students are well prepared for exam day
13. How do students turn in work that is not online?
For Clifton Middle School and Alleghany High School, please bring the work to the Alleghany County Public School’s School Board Office labeled with the student name, what school he/she attends, and whom the teacher is.
14. What about athletics and activities?
All athletics and activities have been cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year.
The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is looking into the possibility of extending the spring season into the summer, but no decisions have been made at this time.
If the VHSL extends the season, there will be no championship games played.
The VHSL will recognize no district, region, or state championship games if the spring season is extended.
15. What if my child needs remediation in the 2020-2021 school year?
Both schools have a remediation plan to address educational challenges/gaps in learning that may occur due to the early closure of schools.
With that being said, please encourage your child to complete all coursework to prevent challenges/gaps from occurring.
Administration is working with teachers to identify students who are choosing to not complete assignments.
These students may be placed into remedial programs to compensate for educational opportunities not taken advantage of this spring 2020 semester.
16. What about students in regards to behind the wheel and/or licenses?
Students will need to contact the Alleghany County School Board Office at 863-1800 in order to schedule a time to come in and pick up their license.
Students that are scheduled for behind the wheel will be rescheduled or can request a refund by calling the School Board Office.
17. What about report cards?
Report cards will be distributed at the end of the school year through USPS mail.
18. Are there additional resources available for learning?
Yes, there is a link on the Alleghany County Public Schools website entitled “Parent Instructional Ideas.”
Elementary Instruction
1. What are the expectations for my elementary school child for the remainder of the school year?
Alleghany County Public Schools will be putting together an instructional packet containing resources and activities for the remaining school year term covering the months of April and May.
It is expected that your child utilizes the materials provided in the packets over the next eight weeks to enrich, remediate, and provide practice as needed.
2. Will the packets be graded?
Instructional packet materials will not be utilized for grading purposes, but students will work through their packets and progress will be communicated each week with their teacher.
3. What about report cards?
Report cards will be distributed at the end of the school year through USPS mail.
4. What if students do not complete the packet or demonstrate grade level mastery?
Packet completion will not dictate a student being retained. Retention determination will be on an individual basis and take into consideration the progress for the entire year.
5. What should I do if my child still has personal belongings at their school?
A date in the near future will be communicated when this will be allowed at each building. Stay in contact with teachers and monitor social media for further information.
6. How will we receive the instructional packets?
On Wednesday, April 1, a “drive-through” style distribution will be available at your child’s school to pick up the packets between the hours of noon and 6 p.m.
If you are unable to pick up the packet this day, call the school during hours listed above on April 1 or communicate this with your teacher.
7. How do I return an instructional packet at the end of school?
The date/time frame for return will be communicated at a later time through the child’s teacher and/or school.
8. What other resources are available that my child may use during this closure?
A list of educational resources are posted on the Alleghany County Public Schools website under “Parent Instructional Ideas.”
9. Will packet information be posted online?
Packets will be posted online on the Alleghany County Public School Website (www.alleghany.k12.va.us) under COVID-19 info, then Instruction under specific elementary school.
10. How will my student communicate with their teacher?
Students/parents may contact their teacher through their usual preferred method. Teachers will make direct contact with their students a minimum of once per week.
11. What about SOL testing?
All spring SOL tests have been cancelled for this school year.
There are discussions ongoing at the state level about possible opportunities for students to test for baseline info in the fall without scores counting towards 19-20 accreditation; however, that will be looked at in the future for Virginia school divisions.
12.Are school buildings open?
All school buildings are currently closed. Information will be communicated once they are open to the public.
13. What about end of the year forms?
Non-resident forms and Summer School/Remediation forms will be included in the packets with identified students.
14. What about summer school?
Summer school is now tentatively set for July 6- July 29, but that is subject to change based on recommendations from the governor, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. Any changes will be communicated as necessary.
15. What will happen with material not covered in the previous grade?
This first 5-10 days of the school year will be used to cover the remaining SOLs from the previous year, focusing on Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.
At this time, Alleghany County Public Schools is also considering possible calendar changes to account for missed instructional time.
16. What about new students entering Junior Kindergarten/Kindergarten for the 2020-2021 school year and screenings?
Screenings for the spring have been cancelled division wide and will be held at a date to be determined. This will be communicated through School Messenger, social media, and the Alleghany County Public School’s website.
Special Education/504
It is a challenge to provide services exactly as they are written in IEPs while schools are closed due to the Coronavirus.
Consequently, Alleghany County Public Schools will continue to provide services and supports to students under the following guidelines (this does not preclude consideration of individual student needs):
1. How will my child’s special education services be provided?
Case managers, related service providers and therapists will continue contacting students/parents at the same frequency that is in the IEP unless the parent refuses the contact in writing or an addendum is done to change the IEP for the duration of the closure.
2. How will my child receive individualized support/services?
— Elementary and middle school students will continue to receive work for continuity of instruction and enrichment. Special education services for these students will be to provide the support and instruction necessary for students to have equity of access to the instruction being provided.
— High School students will be working on course completion for course credit or graduation, as will other high school students.
Case managers, related service providers, general education teachers of the student, building administration, and therapists will determine on an individual student basis whether an IEP addendum needs to be completed to address a change in what is needed for that student due to the coverage of new material for course completion or graduation.
— Self-contained classes at all levels will continue to receive instructional packets specific to each student’s individual needs.
Can my child receive virtual speech or occupational therapy services while schools are closed?
— These requests can be considered on an individual student basis. However, parents need to understand that our therapists are not trained in virtual service provision.
They are trained to provide face to face services. In cases where virtual speech or occupational therapy services are provided during the school year, it is a requirement that an adult employee be with the student(s) during the therapy session.
Typically, this person also is trained in the provision of virtual services.
— Several of our service providers do not have internet access that will allow them to make virtual contact with students. Additionally, not all students have sufficient internet access to receive virtual services in the home.
4. What about physical therapy?
Physical therapy cannot functionally be provided while schools are closed and no face to face services can be provided.
The physical therapists will continue to contact parents/students and provide support on an individual student basis unless an addendum to the IEP is completed or the parent refuses the phone calls from the therapists.
5. Will my child receive extended school year services?
As with other services, normal service delivery is not functionally possible. Individual service that may be necessary during the school closure will be considered on a case by case basis. As long as schools remain closed, no face to face service provision will be possible.
6. Will my child receive compensatory services?
It is not possible to determine if a child is in need of compensatory services at this time.
The division will continue to provide services based on the needs of individual students to the best of our ability.
When schools are reopened and regular services can resume, individual student needs and whether or not an IEP needs to be changed to reflect new or changed needs of the individual student will be considered at that time.
7. What about my child’s IEP meeting?
Annual review meetings will continue to be held by the annual review date of the IEP.
These meetings will be virtual or over the phone as arranged by the case manager. If a parent is unable to participate in this meeting or does not wish to participate in a meeting that is not face to face, the school team members will hold the meeting either virtually or by phone to meet Federal timeline requirements.
The parent will receive a copy of documents developed in the meeting. Parent input for consideration is welcomed and requested. Signatures for consent can be obtained when we are again able to meet face to face. If a parent desires another meeting at that time, this request can be accommodated.
8. What about my child’s eligibility assessment and determination?
— For those students for whom consent had been received and the division has the assessment data needed to make a determination, a meeting will be held within the timeline under the same conditions as IEP meetings.
— For those students for whom consent had been received and the division has not been able to complete the assessment data needed to make a determination, the case manager will be in touch with the parent to request suspension of the timeline until the division has access to the child and assessments can be completed. The timeline will resume when school is reopened.
— If a parent refuses consent to extend a timeline, the team will meet either virtually or by phone and consider the data available to make the determination of the student’s eligibility for special education services.
If the student has not previously been eligible for special education services, it may be the case that the division cannot determine the student to be eligible with insufficient data. If this occurs, the division, with the parent’s consent, can conduct a new evaluation process when school resumes and then revisit whether or not the student meets the state determined criteria for eligibility for special education services.
9. What about service for my child who was in a private day placement?
Alleghany County Public Schools has been working closely with the private day schools in our geographic area since the closure was put in place. The private schools are following the same method of service delivery as the public schools at this time.
504 Plans
504 case managers will continue to work with general education teachers and building administrators to provide the accommodations individual students need to have equity of access to the educational materials and services being provided.
Should a student need additional or different accommodations due to the circumstances, the 504 plan can be changed to meet the student’s needs and the parents will receive prior written notice of the changes along with a copy of the new plan. Parent input is both welcomed and requested.
Technology Assistance
It has become necessary for Alleghany County Public Schools to implement its Virtual Learning Plan, details specific to the reason behind the decision is available on the district’s website (www.alleghany.k12.va.us).
In addition, the district -as necessary- will provide information via our division’s rapid notification system. You can opt-in to receive the district’s text messages by texting the letter Y to the number 67587.
1. How do you connect to Virtual Learning?
Using their school-provided Chromebook, a high school or a middle school student can access virtual instruction by:
— Connecting their Chromebook to their home’s Wi-Fi network.
— Logging in to their school-provided Google account (middle school) or Echo account (high school).
— Accessing their teacher’s virtual classroom. Each teacher has created their own virtual classroom space.
— In every virtual classroom, lessons and instructions for completion will be provided.
2. What if I don’t have a Wi-Fi network or my Internet connection is slow?
If a student’s home does not offer a Wi-Fi network, every effort has been made to confirm the fact in advance. If a home’s Internet service or Wi-Fi service is not supportive of virtual learning, lessons will be pre-loaded onto the student’s Chromebook. Other supplementary material may be provided too.
3. Is free Wi-Fi available?
Kajeet bus service is available at Clifton Middle School.
So that Internet services are available for students in the Callaghan and Sharon areas, both elementary schools’ wireless networks have been modified in order to allow for stronger WiFi signals to reach the buildings’ parking lots. Only school-issued Chromebooks will connect but connection is automatic.
At Sharon Elementary, please park in the front row closest to the building. At Callaghan Elementary, please park against the sidewalk at the front of the school. Other information regarding WiFi access is outlined on the Alleghany County Public Schools website under “Virtual Learning Technical Support.”
4. Are other Wi-Fi options available?
The Alleghany Highlands Regional Library provides free Wi-Fi service.
Service is available 24 hours per day. Park in the adjacent parking lot and please dispose of trash in available bins. Service will extend to the parking lot. The library is located at 406 West Riverside Street in Covington.
5. Is content filtered? During this period of Virtual Learning, your student should not be permitted to use their Chromebook while unsupervised.
In order to minimize the possibility that important lesson information could become blocked by our content filtering system, we have relaxed our normal filtering operations.
While much harmful content will remain blocked, the chance of encountering unintended content will increase.
Please remain confident that adult material, hate-related content, and social media will remain inaccessible. If you have filtering-related questions, contact the Department of Information Technology at 863-1812.
6. How do I receive Technical Support?
Alleghany High School and Clifton Middle School students who are in need of technical support should use the following technical support phone numbers.
— 863-1700 (AHS Students- Echo Support)
— 960-2640 (AHS Students- Google/G-suite, Connection-related issues)
— 960-2641 (CMS Students- All problems)
— 960-2642 (CMS Students- All problems)
Technical support is available Monday through Friday during regular school hours.
7. How do I Connect a Chromebook to Wi-Fi?
— Step 1: Click on the bottom right corner where the clock is displayed
— Step 2: Click on the toggle network connection (shaped like a triangle or slice of pizza)
— Step 3: Click on home network connection
— Step 4: Enter password if needed- if password is correct it will successfully connect to your network
— If you have trouble connecting, please contact your school’s TTRT.
Transpoartation/Facilities
Alleghany County Schools puts the safety and well being of all our staff and students at the forefront of our cleaning and disinfecting processes.
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to help prevent the transmission, our custodial staff immediately began a vigorous cleaning and disinfecting regiment in all school buildings and facilities.
Specific guidelines issued by both the CDC and Virginia Department of Health have been diligently implemented and followed.
These guidelines include but are not limited to frequently touched surfaces and objects in classrooms, hallways, bathrooms, offices, locker rooms, libraries, cafeterias, and any other area students or staff may occupy.
EPA-registered cleaning and disinfecting products approved for use against the virus are used in all ACPS locations.
To further support this effort, we have purchased electrostatic handheld sprayers for a touchless and complete disinfecting application.
Alleghany County Public Schools extended the enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures used in all schools to all buses and vehicles.
The same CDC approved disinfecting products used in our schools have been used on all ACPS vehicles. Providing safe, secure, and healthy transportation is a top priority for ACPS.
The cleaning and disinfecting is ongoing and will continue as long as required.
Meal Deliveries
See the Alleghany County Public Schools website for the meal delivery routes and schedule.
