Dear #RPSStrong Family,
1. Current high school seniors who were on track to graduate when we closed WILL receive their diplomas this year. This includes all of the following groups of students:
- Seniors who were enrolled in a course for which they needed a standard or verified credit in order to graduate (verified credits are earned by passing a required course and also passing the associated SOL);
- Seniors who had successfully completed a course required for graduation, but had not yet earned the associated verified credit;
- Seniors who had not passed a required student-selected SOL test;
- Seniors who were enrolled in or had previously completed a course leading to a CTE credential necessary for a Standard Diploma but had not yet earned the credential;
- Seniors who had not yet completed a United States and Virginia history course (additional alternative coursework may be necessary - more details to come);
- Seniors who had not yet completed a fine or performing arts or career and technical education course (additional alternative coursework may be necessary - more details to come);
- Seniors who were enrolled in the second of two sequential courses (additional alternative coursework may be necessary - more details to come); and
- Seniors who had not yet completed an economics and personal finance course (additional alternative coursework may be necessary - more details to come).
I recognize that students and families will have countless follow-up questions on this topic. Please know that we're working on a process to discuss the implications of this guidance for every single senior and her family. More details soon.
2. Students will not be held back a year because of the closure. We're still pressure testing our understanding of the guidance, but it appears that the state is allowing school divisions enough flexibility to ensure that students will continue to the next grade when the 2020-21 school year begins.
That said, we will need to provide a plan for how students will learn the content they would have otherwise been exposed to this spring. That could take the form of online learning and/or physical packets now, additional instructional time this summer, a longer 2020-21 school year, and/or other measures. We are working through these options now and will present recommendations to the School Board soon. As part of this process, we're going to launch a section of our website to gather feedback from students, families, and staff.
3. It is up to each school division to determine how to handle course grades and GPAs. We are working through various approaches now and will present recommendations to the School Board soon. Again, as part of this process, we're going to launch a section of our website to gather feedback from students, families, and staff.
These are just the headlines. Please continue to submit your questions here so that we can develop a comprehensive FAQ document. In all honesty, I don't have answers to many of the questions that have been submitted so far, as just about every issue is unprecedented. But please know that we are working around the clock to figure out the answers. Thank you in advance for your grace and patience.
Turning to food, starting tomorrow – Wednesday, March 25 – we will be launching 10 more drop-off sites for our grab-and-go meals (see sites shaded in light blue in the flyers below). Please spread the word!
Finally, if you're longing for the shout-outs, don't fret: they'll be back tomorrow, along with many of my other regular updates.
With great appreciation,
Jason