November 5, 2020
GCS Family,
I want to make the GCS family aware of several adjustments we are making to the GCS school calendar. First, please remember that tomorrow, November 6, 2020, is a virtual day. Your student will have an online assignment or a packet of work to complete. Second, the following dates are adjustments to the 2020-21 school calendar:
1. November 20, 2020, will now be a half-day virtual. Mulkey will release at 11:15, and GMS/GHS will release at 11:30.
2. December 11, 2020, will be another full virtual day. Students will have assignments but will not come to school.
The following are reminders and not changes to the school calendar.
1. Wednesday, November 11, 2020, is a school holiday as we recognize Veterans Day.
2. December 21 and December 22 are full virtual days.
We understand that changes to the school calendar are unusual, but we are attempting to adapt and adjust to the changing circumstances around COVID. We are having to negotiate the challenges of maintaining a virtual school, quartantined and isolated students, as well as face to face school.
I want to also give everyone notice that we will be adding virtual days to the calendar after the Christmas break. We will let everyone know those dates well in advance. We appreciate your patience and understanding. We will come through all of these challenges stronger and better than we started it.
Ronald L. Snell
Superintendent, Geneva City Schools
A Tradition of Excellence
Virtual Option
Frequently Asked Questions
GCS will open up this fall in a Hybrid or Staggered Schedule. Students whose last names begin with letters A - L attend in-person instruction on Monday and Thursday of each week with at-home instruction (on-line or packets) for the other three days. Students whose last names begin with letters M - Z will attend in-person instruction on Tuesday and Friday of each week with at-home learning instituted the remaining three days of the week.
-How long will the hybrid schedule last?
We will move back to a traditional school schedule as soon as it is practical to do so. We hope to do so quickly, but we will remain in a hybrid schedule as long as the current requirements from the Decision Tree created by ADPH remain in place.
-Do students have to enroll in the hybrid schedule?
No, if they are a current student in Geneva City schools they are automatically enrolled and will follow the staggered schedule, Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday.
-What happens if children in the same family have different last names?
Our principals are aware that families may have children with different last names. They are working hard to ensure that those students are moved to the same schedule. But, please email or call your child’s school and let them know of this situation if you are not sure they know.
-Will my child be required to have a computer or the internet to complete work when they are not scheduled to be in school?
No, students will be provided with assignments that will NOT require a computer or internet. The assignments will be available on-line if the child can access them, but students will be provided with lessons that cover the same content as the online material.
-Will lunch be available to students that are not scheduled to be at school on a day?
We will provide lunch to anyone that is a student - virtual or hybrid - of Geneva City Schools. We will provide more information on times, locations, and methods for pick up later.
-Why is the week divided into Monday/Thursday and Tuesday/Friday?
We have divided the week this way for academic continuity. The loss of learning gains is greater the more days there are in between face to face instruction. Because we will have fewer students at school each day we will be able to maintain proper spacing and a consistent cleaning schedule. We will be disinfecting common areas and surfaces daily, and often multiple times a day. Wednesday will allow us to treat areas that are generally occupied.
-What about extracurricular activities?
Students should check with their coach, director, or sponsor for practice schedules.
-How will the hybrid schedule affect G-Tech?
Most G Tech students are dual-enrolled and will follow their college’s schedule. G Tech will be sharing more information with their students. We will work out transportation as soon as possible.
-Will the virtual option still be available with schools going hybrid?
Yes, virtual is still available. Parents are, however, deciding that the hybrid makes spacing safe and are withdrawing from virtual. Please send an email to the address below if this happens.
If you have any further questions, you can email them to virtual@gck12.com
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VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE FOR VIRTUAL SCHOOL PARENTS AND STUDENTS:
This information is for parents and students that have chosen to go all virtual this year. This is the same information that I emailed on Tuesday.
There will be a Virtual Open House Tuesday, August 18th at 6:00 pm. This will be a virtual (streamed) meeting for parents and students that are planning to attend school virtually for 2020-21. During the meeting we will provide general information about how virtual school will work. We will provide instructions for signing into classes, we will set expectations for parents and students, and more.
We will email a link to the address you provided on the registration form when you enrolled your student(s). This link will connect you to the Open House virtual meeting. We will send this link Friday, August 14th.
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Please review our Reopening Plan at
https://bit.ly/ReopenPlan .
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08/11/2020
Last night, the Geneva City School Board approved the use of a hybrid schedule to begin the 2020-21 school year. This comes as a direct result of the most recent recommendations of the Alabama Department of Public Health (the ADPH Toolkit). We have stated plainly that we believe in-person instruction is the preferred method for reopening. We also know that nearly 90% of our community agrees and was prepared to return to the traditional method. Further, we know that our students want and need to be at school. While that has remained our goal, we simply can not achieve the social distancing requirement established by ADPH and bring every student to school at the same time. The only way short of an all-virtual school, which is not practical or possible, is for us to stagger our students’ time at school.
GCS will, therefore, reopen on August 24 using the following staggered/hybrid schedule.
- Students whose last names begin with letters A - L will attend in-person instruction on Monday and Thursday of each week with e-learning instituted the remaining three days of the week.
- Students whose last names begin with letters M - Z will attend in-person instruction on Tuesday and Friday of each week with e-learning instituted the remaining three days of the week.
- Wednesday will be a day for deep cleaning and for teachers to check-in with students via the various e-learning platforms that are being used for instruction.
We know that this is not ideal, but it will allow us to safely provide face to face instruction for part of the week, while still following the strict guidelines established by the department of public health. Our goal is to remain open and begin to move back toward a traditional face to face school day. We know that our current circumstances are temporary.
Please remember that as we reopen facial covering will be required for all students and teachers in grades 2 through 12. In addition, we have put many additional safety precautions and procedures in place. This will be a safe reopening for our students and teachers.
There will be many obstacles still to overcome and we are working hard to ensure that those issues are resolved. We ask for your patience as we work together to provide the best possible experience for our students.
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We are glad you visited. On this website you will find information about our schools and our district office operations. Keep current on events such as board meetings and significant dates in the school year.
We are located at:
511 Panther Drive
Geneva, Alabama 36340
