Dear Amanda-Clearcreek Community,
I hope you enjoyed the holiday season and hope 2021 is off to a great start for your family. Our teachers and staff enjoyed having students back in the buildings after the break, before transitioning back to virtual learning through Jan. 15.
I want to start by acknowledging how challenging this change is for parents and guardians - we know this change in schedule is incredibly difficult when juggling work, family life and education. A lot of our teachers and staff have their own children and are also navigating that balance themselves. It's not an ideal situation, and we appreciate your partnership with your student's teacher to ensure education remains a priority for your student. As adults, we must remember that our attitudes and statements are absorbed by children, so it's important to keep a positive attitude to help students embrace this change.
Since last week’s announcement, we have received questions about why we would need to move to virtual learning due to staffing. Because of HIPAA regulations, we cannot disclose which staff members and teachers are sick, but what I can tell you is that COVID-19 is impacting many staff members - from losing loved ones, to directly infecting teachers and their families - and we were faced with a situation where there just weren’t enough subs available to cover these gaps.
On behalf of our Board of Education, our administration team, our teachers and our staff, I can assure you we want to keep our students in the classroom as much as possible, and resuming in-person learning safely continues to be a priority. Please continue to help us help your students - we (and they) need your support now more than ever.
COVID-19 Policy Update
You may have heard about a recent change to the previously implemented guidelines regarding quarantining within school classrooms following exposures to a positive case of Covid-19. I wanted to take a moment to address this change and confirm what this means for our district moving forward.
Governor DeWine announced that when an exposure occurs within a classroom setting, as long as all individuals in the classroom were wearing masks, fellow students are no longer required to quarantine. The change follows an evaluation of virus spread in Ohio schools conducted by researchers with the Ohio Schools COVID-19 Evaluation Team. Preliminary results of the evaluation found no discernable difference in the risk of contracting the coronavirus between those in close contact with a COVID-positive person in the classroom and those who were farther away. Please note, this does not apply to situations outside of the classroom, such as sports, extracurriculars and after-school activities. Thank you for continuing to help keep your fellow Aces safe by making decisions that help prevent the spread of the virus.
Scoreboard Update
ACHS is excited to announce the construction of a new scoreboard in our stadium! The Aces would like to invite your business to showcase support for A-C students, academics and activities by becoming a sponsor on the new scoreboard. All eyes will be on this board throughout every game night for years to come. With 45+ events per year and a stadium that seats 1,840, this is a great opportunity to share your support for the Aces while spreading the word about your business, right here in our community.
Sponsors wishing to learn more about pricing and placements should contact Mr. J.B. Dick, A-C Superintendent, at 740-969-7260 or email at jdick@amanda.k12.oh.us. Thank you for supporting our student athletes. Go Aces!
Athletic Ticket Sales Reminder
Thank you to our students and families and community for their cooperation in helping us take every necessary precaution to create the best opportunity for A-C winter sports athletes to continue to have a season. As an additional precaution, we are limiting ticket sales to two tickets per player. We appreciate everyone's understanding.
Inclement Weather Reminder
As we shared in the last edition, our inclement weather plans are slightly different than years past due to shortened days. If you haven't already reviewed this information, please click here to review the last enewsletter.
Stay healthy and well,
J.B. Dick, Superintendent
Amanda-Clearcreek Schools
