Angleton ISD campus and district administrators have reviewed the data related to the first nine-week grading period, looking specifically at the progress of online learners. They have found that some students are finding it harder to be successful in the Online Learning model for various reasons.

Also, as more and more students transition back to On-Campus Learning, the district has had to make multiple shifts in classes and with teachers, moving them to accommodate the increase of on-campus learners. This more frequent transitioning has caused both online and on-campus students to move to classes with a different teacher after weeks of instruction with a previous teacher, which causes a disruption for students academically and procedurally.

Starting Monday, November 9, students will not be allowed to move from Online Learning to On-Campus Learning until the start of the second semester in January. Parents will need to make a decision and contact their child’s principal by November 6 if they want to move their child to On-Campus Learning; otherwise, their child will have to wait until January 5 to attend school in person. (This may not include situations where a student has been temporarily moved from On-Campus Learning to Online Learning for quarantine issues related to COVID-19.)

Angleton High School has initiated its plan to move away from the A/B schedule for On-Campus Learning students. The plan will have students in different grade levels transitioning back to campus on different days starting next week:

• On Wednesday, October 7, students who are 9th grade On-Campus Learners will report to school Wednesday and the rest of the week and will start coming to school regularly Monday-Friday.
• On Friday, October 9, students who are 10th Grade On-Campus Learners will report to school Friday and will start coming to school regularly Monday-Friday the following week.
• On Monday, October 12, students who are 11th and 12th Grade On-Campus Learners will start reporting to school regularly Monday-Friday.
• Online Learners will be able to switch to On-Campus Learning at the beginning of the next grading cycle starting on October 19, which is different from AISD procedures to allow for a more seamless shift from the end of the first grading period to the start of the second grading period. Online Learners who would like to change to On-Campus Learning must reach out to their counselor.

Students can continue to do Online Learning to learn remotely if they choose. Online Learners will be required to complete their daily Google attendance forms and submit all assignments by 11:59 pm each day.

Dual credit classes will continue to be held online. Dual credit students who are On-Campus Learners will continue to report to their assigned area at the high school. If students have been working from home on some of their dual credit classes, they may continue to do so.

It will be critically important for all students to continue to follow the district and campus COVID-19 procedures. The school doors will open at 7:30 am. When students report to campus, they must wear a face covering and follow the dress code. It is also very important for students to arrive with a fully charged AISD-issued Chromebook. Students will also be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, and AHS personnel will take their temperature at the student-assigned entrance doors.

Students will continue to have breakfast in the classroom and will continue to report to 1st period when they arrive. On Wednesday, October 7, AHS will begin serving lunch in the cafeteria. All students will be required to sign in so the campus can keep track of where individuals sit each day. Campus personnel will walk students through this procedure during lunch. Also, the campus will be closed for lunch. No students will be able to leave campus for lunch, and food deliveries will not be accepted.

Parents and students need to be aware that if a student is in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, the student will be quarantined for 14 days from all school activities. Close contact will be determined regardless of whether or not face coverings are worn.

Parents can contact the high school if they have any questions.

We are asking our A-Team family to give us input on the start of the 2020-2021 school year so we can learn what’s most important to our stakeholders as we continue to manage the impacts of COVID-19 on Angleton ISD.

We would like you to participate in a Thoughtexchange by clicking one of the two links below to join the exchange, share your thoughts, and rate the thoughts that others have shared. Your participation is confidential, so no one will know who shared or rated which thoughts. (Comments submitted in other languages will be automatically translated by Google Translate.)

Then, we will have a Facebook Live event on Thursday, September 24 at 5:30 pm where we will address the most prominent questions, comments and concerns as an overview of the Thoughtexchange. We will close the exchange after the Facebook Live event, and we will post a summary of the results on our district website for your review.

 

What is Thoughtexchange?

Thoughtexchange is an online platform that allows participants to share ideas through a unique, two-way process. It replaces the methods used in traditional surveys with a naturally collaborative platform that allows participants to engage in a completely confidential exchange where they can share their ideas in response to an open-ended question.

We are using Thoughtexchange so everyone has a chance to share his or her perspectives and understand what’s most important to the group.

 

How does Thoughtexchange work?

Once participants have shared their own ideas, they are asked to rate the thoughts that others have provided on a scale of one to five stars based on how much they agree with the idea or how important they think it is. In the final step, participants can view how the thoughts in the exchange have been rated by the group.

Unlike a traditional survey, the forum is kept open for a while after the initial exchange is launched, and participants are encouraged to keep coming back to share additional thoughts, read and rate what others contribute, and view direct responses from the exchange leader.

 

Why are we doing this Thoughtexchange?

This process will help us look at the challenges we have faced and continue to face related to the COVID-19 crisis, and it will allow us the opportunity for true, meaningful engagement and growth. An exchange will help us learn from one another, discover important insights, and make informed decisions moving forward.

 

Thoughtexchange

• Open Now (will stay open through Facebook Live event and a little after it)
• Traditional Link: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/333717956
• Scrolling Link: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/scroll/333717956

 

Facebook Live Event

Thursday, September 24 at 5:30 pm

We want to make parents aware of some changes in our communications and procedures regarding COVID-19.

We will no longer send letters home or contact parents/guardians about other students who are sent home with symptoms of COVID-19. We will continue to communicate with parents/guardians if there is a positive COVID-19 case on a campus.

Parents/Guardians will receive an individual phone call or text if their child has been in a room or in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Parents/Guardians will receive a letter if there is an individual on the campus who has tested positive for COVID-19 but the individual has not been in the same room as their child.

AISD administrators have been tracing cases or possible cases where someone has symptoms. In situations where an individual has symptoms, AISD administrators have found that most symptoms are ultimately not related to COVID-19. Therefore, we will only send out communications based on positive COVID-19 cases.

Also, students and employees will only be asked to quarantine if they have a positive test or have been in close contact with a person who has a confirmed positive case of COVID-19.

Close contact is defined by the Texas Education Agency as being within six (6) feet of the individual, whether wearing a mask or not, for a cumulative time of 15 minutes. Close contact also includes being coughed or sneezed on by the individual or having an exchange of other bodily fluids.

If parents/guardians have any questions, they should contact their child’s campus.

We also ask parents to continue to talk with their children about the proper safety precautions they can take while at school. We will continue to participate and encourage best safety practices at school, which include washing hands, use of hand sanitizer, wearing masks and/or face shields, and social distancing.

AISD elementary schools and Angleton Junior High School have been scheduled to return all On-Campus Learning students starting the week of September 14. Angleton High School has been scheduled to continue the A/B schedule as allowed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). AISD continues to monitor the District’s COVID-19 data, and we will use this data to make informed decisions as we see trends and projections emerge. AISD is committed to student safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TEA will grant school districts a waiver that allows PreK-8th grade schools to have four additional weeks that limit the school week for On-Campus Learning. Through the waiver, schools can continue an A/B schedule where not all students attend a full five-day school week.

For all elementary schools and Angleton High School On-Campus Learning students, AISD will follow the previously announced schedule. All elementary On-Campus Learning students will return to schools starting September 14 for a full regular school week as already planned. Angleton High School will continue to follow the announced A/B schedule for On-Campus Learning students.

Right now, we do not have any active cases at the junior high campus; however, we want to make the transition to a full five-day school week at AJH as safe as possible. Therefore, AISD will submit the waiver to TEA for Angleton Junior High School and will follow an altered transitioned rollout of grade levels at AJH for students who are enrolled in On-Campus Learning.

As we transition students from A/B schedules to a full five-day school week at AJH, we want parents to be aware of some factors that affect the On-Campus Learning environment specifically at the junior high campus:

• The ratio of classroom square footage to the number of students in the classroom - Students may have classes where they will be sitting closer than six feet apart.
• Parents’ decisions to move their children from Online Learning to On-Campus Learning - This is causing an increase in the number of students on the campuses, which then increases the number of total individuals in the space.
• Frequency of period transitions during the day
• Enrollment growth at the campus

AISD wants to create a safe return for all students. We will take all steps to ensure that students are going into a school and classrooms that meet the levels of operations that AISD has determined to be safe.

AJH is taking the following steps to enhance safe learning environments at the junior high campus:

• Balancing classroom sections to reduce large class sizes when at all possible
• Moving classes to larger rooms when necessary
• Maximizing all classroom square footage to allow the largest social distancing possible in a classroom
• Staggering the release of students between class periods
• Requiring everyone in the school to wear masks at all times other than during mealtimes and when not appropriate for specialized classes

We also want AJH parents to understand the following:

• All classroom rows will be facing the same direction.
• Students will be closer than six feet apart. Students will be separated as much as possible in classrooms, but in most cases that will not allow for six feet of distance.
• On-campus students will be expected to bring their own water bottles. Water fountains will not be available.
• Students will eat in the classrooms. They will not have masks on while eating.
• Students will have the opportunity to sanitize their hands before and after meals and at other times throughout the day.
• Online Learning students must have a structured learning schedule and environment at home in order to be successful with Online Learning. Students must have a dedicated learning space, interact with teachers daily, and turn in assignments on time. Students who cannot follow these structures may be having academic issues with the Online Learning model.

The return schedule for AJH On-Campus Learning students has been altered to allow for a safer learning environment and for administration to meet the demands of the increase in students choosing On-Campus Learning. Students can still participate in the Online Learning model.

The On-Campus Learning Schedule (as of September 9, 2020):

Week of September 14

• All on-campus PreK-6th grade students attend classes Monday-Friday. 
• All on-campus 7th and 8th grade students remain on A/B schedule.
• All on-campus AHS students remain on A/B schedule.

Week of September 21

• All on-campus PreK-6th grade and 7th grade students attend classes Monday-Friday.
• All on-campus 8th grade students remain on A/B schedule.
• All on-campus AHS students remain on A/B schedule.

Week of September 28

• All on-campus PreK-7th grade and 8th grade students attend classes Monday-Friday.
• All on-campus AHS students remain on A/B schedule.

AISD believes this plan for AJH will provide the needed time to implement a safe transition for our largest campus that must return to a full five-day school week regardless of enrollment size based on the TEA requirements.

We must remember that the COVID-19 pandemic is fast-moving and ever-changing. Our responses to this pandemic will not be made out of intuition but, instead, will be data-driven. AISD will continue to make decisions that put student safety first, and we want to make sure our parents have the most up-to-date information so that they can make informed decisions in the best interest of their children.

If parents have questions, please contact their campus office.