Hybrid School Reopening Information
Academy Periods and New Schedule Starting April 19th
Students and Families,
We are excited to start our Academy periods on April 19th, when we return from Spring Break. All students are now scheduled with an Academy period. We were able to schedule 95% of all students with a teacher they have for a regular class, and based on their choice or in-person or remote Academy periods.
Students’ assignments are visible in Aeries. All students will see a class listed for either 8th period (Block B - even numbered periods) or 9th period (Block A - odd numbered periods). Here is a link to the new schedule: AHS/MacGregor Hybrid Schedule.
For students attending an in-person academy period, we recommend that you bring materials that you will need for the academic portions of the period, including a personal computer. All students have access to the AUSD wifi network. It is still possible to check-out chromebooks from the library if needed. Also, some classrooms already have computers available for students to use, so if you need a computer you may want to wait until after the first Academy period before checking one out.
Instructions for Students Coming to Campus
Pre-Screening Before Arrival
Before coming on to campus, all students and staff must complete the questionnaire at www.screener19.com. We recommend that all students complete the questionnaire on their phone so they may show the screen for the completed questionnaire when arriving on campus. Students will either need to show the confirmation screen on their personal devices, have their status confirmed by a staff member, or be checked-in by an Administrator before they may enter the buildings.
On-campus Rules and Expectations
At all times, everyone on campus should keep 6ft of space between themselves and everyone else. (For reference, the red and white tiles on the floor of the main building are 1ft on a side.)
Masks must be worn at all times. Masks must fully cover both the mouth and nose. Surgical-style masks will be available on campus as needed, but all students should bring a mask that feels comfortable to them.
Students and staff should not eat or drink in class, as this would require removing masks.
Entering and Leaving Campus
Students should plan to arrive no more than 15 minutes before the start of their Academy periods. After being cleared to enter campus, students should go straight to their Academy classroom and not linger in the halls. All students should wait outside the building until they are ready to go to their classroom.
There will be two entrances to campus. One on Key Route Blvd (Front of School) and another on Thousand Oaks Blvd (Gym Lobby). Students should plan to enter at the entrance closest to their assigned classroom.
Key Route: 104, 109A, 132, 18, 20, 201, 202, 203, 207, 301, 302, 306, 308, 309, M1, M2, MPR
Thousand Oaks: 109B, 210, 211, 216, 218, 219, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316
Students should use hand sanitizer or wash their hands when entering their classroom.
At the end of the period students should leave their classrooms and immediately exit outside the buildings. We do not want students gathering in the hallways.
At no time should students visit classrooms other than the one they are assigned to.
Bathrooms and passes to leave class
Teachers will be given single-use paper passes for students to use during the period to leave class. Passes will be printed on different color pieces of paper depending on the classroom location, in order to quickly visually identify where a student is coming from in the hallway.
All bathrooms will have a maximum student limit posted on the door. If a student enters a bathroom and sees it is already at capacity, they must exit the bathroom and wait outside.
Students may leave class to go to the bathroom during their Academy period with permission of their teachers.Students are expected to keep their masks on in the bathroom, including if they are the only person in the bathroom at that time.
Consequences
Students not meeting our health and safety expectations will receive verbal warnings and parent contact.
If a student repeatedly does not demonstrate safe behavior they will be moved to a remote Academy period.
AUSD COVID Safety Pamphlet "Four Things"
The District is providing the following pamphlets to emphasize best-practice health behaviors as students return to campus.
Latest Update From the District Office
Latest Information From Albany High School
The AUSD School Board recently approved plans for a limited hybrid reopening of AUSD secondary schools. The target date for reopening is March 29th, pending Alameda County moving into the “Red” tier in California’s COVID tracking system. Any student who wishes to remain exclusively remote will be allowed to under these plans.
Under these plans, AHS will be modifying its schedule and adding in-person time dedicated to Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and academic support and intervention. For this time, called the Academy period, students will be assigned to a cohort with approximately 16 other students and one of their teachers in a classroom. Students remaining exclusively remote will still be assigned to Academy periods that will be conducted similarly to current academic classes. The AHS student body will then be assigned to one of two groups, alternating which group is on campus which days. Initially, this will be limited to students coming on campus twice a week for one hour each. Students remaining exclusively remote will have the same schedule as their peers electing in-person instruction. In order to maintain safe cohort sizes and not require changing students’ schedules, all academic instruction will continue to be delivered through remote learning. (AHS/MacGregor Hybrid Schedule)
As the pandemic situation improves, we will be continually reevaluating these plans and modifying them when appropriate to increase the amount of in-person instruction that can be provided safely and equitably.
Please follow these steps to indicate your preferences for hybrid schooling. This process must be completed separately for each student, even if they are from the same household. All responses should be provided by the end of the day on February 26th so we may begin scheduling students and teachers. If we do not receive a response from you we will assume you are not interested in in-person activities.
Log into the Aeries Parent Portal using the following link: https://albanyusd.asp.aeries.net/student/LoginParent.aspx
Parents/Guardians who have completed the data confirmation previously will need to navigate to the Authorizations tab of the data confirmation process. Please go to Student Info > Data Confirmation and select the Authorizations tab.
Parents/Guardians who have logged in previously and not completed the annual data confirmation process will automatically be directed to the data confirmation page, and will need to complete all items. Follow the instructions on each page to complete the process. The Authorizations tab is part of the data confirmation process.
Parents/Guardians who have not logged in previously already have an account and have received login information through an automated email message. Please refer to the FAQ for questions regarding logging in. If you do not have an Aeries account, contact your student’s Assistant Principal or Counselor, or any of the school’s secretaries. Once you have accessed your account, you will need to complete the data confirmation process. The Authorizations tab is part of the data confirmation process.
The first option listed in the Authorizations tab will be the selection of In-Person or Remote Learning. Please read the options listed and select your preference for In-person Learning or Remote Learning for your student.
If you have any other questions, please contact your student’s Assistant Principal or the AHS/MacGregor Principal. As well as email, you may also contact the AHS Main Office at (510) 558-2500.
FAQ’s and AHS Reopening Town Hall
In order to help everyone make an informed decision about the hybrid reopening options, we have put together a list of some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that we have seen recently. This document will also be updated as any new questions come up. From the district’s COVID website there is also a Hybrid Reopening Plans: Background and Rationale document summarizing the discussions about reopening and how the plans were formed and approved by the School Board
In addition to the information session hosted by Leadership intended for students, we will also be holding a town hall meeting for parents and families on Thursday, February 25th from 7pm-8pm through Zoom to answer any remaining questions. Here is a link to the meeting: AHS/MacGregor Reopening Town Hall
We realize that this process is happening quickly as a result of our goal of meeting the March 29th reopening date. By the time we reopen, the school campus will have been closed for more than a year, and while we are excited to welcome back our students we also need time in the weeks ahead to be sure we are ready for their return.