16 September 2024
9 September 2024
Dear ACS Community,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I'm sure that you have noticed the smoke in the air from fires around Bolivia. We are monitoring the situation, and while there have not been school closures in our part of the country, we are taking some steps to decrease the intensity of some types of physical activity for young children during this time.
In addition to potential disruptions due to the smoke, we are also aware of the possibility that planed demonstrations may impact our operations. Please know that we do have plans in case of a school disruption for any reason. In the secondary school, instruction would transition to an online modality with the same schedule and expectations. In the elementary school, teachers would send home a menu of options to continue learning at home in an age-appropriate manner. If school were to be disrupted for more than two days, we would begin distributing devices in elementary on the second day to allow for greater variety in at-home instruction.
Thank you very much for your feedback on our new draft statements of mission, vision, and values. The feedback was very positive, with 97% of respondents supporting the new statements. Tonight, a joint meeting of the board of trustees, the steering committee for strategic planning, and leaders of the functional area / NEASC teams will consider the next steps.
Last Saturday, ACS hosted a Child Protection Summit that was attended by leaders from area schools and institutions. It was a great opportunity to share best practices around safeguarding students at all of our schools. In addition, it showcased ACS as a leader in this important area.
Have a great week ahead.2 September 2024
Dear ACS Community,
Many of you participated in the efforts organized by the steering committee for strategic planning to re-envision our statements of mission, vision, and values. You may have been part of the focus groups, or you may have expressed your opinions on our themes survey. In fact, a substantial number of our community participated in workshops over the past three years that helped define what excellence means for ACS, where we add value over virtual education, and how we can reimagine our future. All of these efforts came together last semester and were synthesized into a set of draft statements of mission, vision, and values.
We ask that you take a moment to read these new statements and rate your level of support for them. You can do so in the linked survey.
Once we have finalized these statements, we will begin to develop top-level strategies to take us from where we are to where we want to be as expressed by these statements. We appreciate your help with this important work.
In addition, today is the first day of "Stand Up" month, our anti-bullying effort. Last week, our teachers engaged professionally with the various components that make up bullying, and considered a number of scenarios that can occur throughout the school. Please be on the lookout for more information about this important focus for the month.
Have a great week ahead.
Yours,
Andrew
Estimada Comunidad ACS,
Muchos de ustedes participaron en los esfuerzos organizados por el comité directivo de planificación estratégica para repensar nuestras declaraciones de misión, visión y valores. Es posible que hayan formado parte de los grupos focales o que hayan expresado sus opiniones sobre nuestra encuesta temática. De hecho, un número sustancial de nuestra comunidad participó en talleres durante los últimos tres años que ayudaron a definir qué significa la excelencia para ACS, dónde agregamos valor a la educación virtual y cómo podemos re-imaginar nuestro futuro. Todos estos esfuerzos se unieron el semestre pasado y se sintetizaron en un conjunto de borradores de declaraciones de misión, visión y valores.
Les pedimos que se tomen un momento para leer estas nuevas declaraciones y calificar su nivel de apoyo hacia ellas. Pueden hacerlo en la siguiente encuesta: linked survey.
Una vez que hayamos finalizado estas declaraciones, comenzaremos a desarrollar estrategias de alto nivel que nos lleven desde donde estamos hasta donde queremos estar, según lo expresado en estas declaraciones. Agradecemos su ayuda con esta importante tarea.
Además, hoy es el primer día del mes "Stand Up", nuestro esfuerzo contra el acoso escolar. La semana pasada, nuestros profesores se involucraron profesionalmente con los diversos componentes que incluyen el acoso y consideraron una serie de escenarios que podrían ocurrir en todo el colegio. Estén atentos a más información sobre este importante enfoque del mes.
Que tengan una gran semana por delante.
Atentamente,
Andrew