Learning Reimagined

COVID-19 is a virus spread from person to person, primarily from respiratory droplets. While many aspects of the virus are not yet understood, the most effective measures against transmission are quarantining and contact tracing for those who are infected, as well as social distancing, face coverings, and frequent hand washing, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New Mexico Department of Health. Additional guidance for minimizing the spread of COVID-19 at home and in school settings is available from the CDC.

The ideal teaching and learning environment is one in which students and teachers interact face-to-face – a setting that allows for deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a school life enhanced by extracurricular opportunities. We also recognize the vital importance of creating a campus environment that addresses the health and safety concerns of our students, faculty, and staff.

This plan represents the work of the campus reopening task force, based on survey data from faculty, staff, students, and parents; guidelines from local and national health organizations and the New Mexico Department of Health; research into measures that schools worldwide have implemented or are considering; and the unique needs of our students and setup of our campus. It is a plan that invests heavily in a safe return to campus, including a robust set of stringent health and safety measures, and is designed to allow the Academy to adapt to the changing conditions of the pandemic and still provide for the continuous education of our students. At all times, we can calibrate our school operations and teaching to public health conditions.

Albuquerque Academy is committed to the ongoing growth and learning of our students. Last summer, our dedicated faculty and staff doubled their efforts to prepare for the new school year through professional development, contributions to this plan, and adaptations to their lessons that maximize the class blocks that comprise our trimester calendar.

The decisions we have made for our reopening plan have been framed by four critical factors.

Health and Safety

The Academy’s highest priority is the health and well-being of its community. A healthy environment is, ultimately, a secure environment, one in which students, teachers, and staff can thrive and put their focus on learning. We also have an obligation to support the health of the broader community – from our own Academy families to those around our state. At all times, we will align our measures with guidance from the New Mexico Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On-Campus Instruction

The Academy recognizes that the optimal learning environment for children is one in which they are learning from their teachers and fellow students in person. To the best of our ability, and in accordance with official health guidelines, we will seek to provide as much on-campus instruction as possible for all students every day.

Academic Coherence and Excellence

A continuous educational experience is vitally important to achieve the academic excellence for which the Academy is known. While health circumstances may necessitate certain changes or restrictions to student life, our ultimate goal is to support our students’ learning and development as seamlessly as possible.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The 2020-21 educational plan must be flexible and adaptable to respond to external health conditions beyond our control. Our goal is to create a continuous learning structure that is durable enough to adapt to possible future coronavirus infections, while allowing us to provide as much on-campus instruction as possible.

Families play a vital role in maintaining campus health and safety. The number-one safety measure is to keep students home if they are sick. We want to work with families to support their student’s adherence to safety measures while they are on campus and at home.

We understand there are families with higher-risk members in their households. As a community that prioritizes health and safety, we must all do our part to adhere to state health recommendations and regulations to control transmission and potential future outbreaks. Moreover, there may be times when we ask families to comply with broader safety measures, and we greatly appreciate your cooperation in this regard.

All members of the Academy community have a shared responsibility to prevent the spread of illness when they are aware or suspect that they have contracted any communicable disease. It is imperative that all members of our school community remain committed to the safety policies and procedures listed here and future communications to help keep students, staff, and faculty safe. Click here for a printable version.

By enrolling your student at the Academy, you agree to the following requirements.

Follow federal, state, and local orders: All families are expected to adhere to the directives of applicable federal, state, and local government health departments, including the CDC, regarding social distancing in public and other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 testing and notification: If your student or someone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, you must notify the school nurse as soon as possible.

Stay home when sick: If your student is sick, you are expected to keep them home from school. Rules regarding sick policies for students and employees will be enhanced and strictly enforced.

Stay home if exposed to COVID-19: If anyone in your household has been notified by the State Health Department that they were in contact with an individual infected with COVID-19, you are asked to notify the school nurse. You may be asked to keep your student home from school for 14 days. During this time, your student will be able to continue classes by distance learning.

Avoid unnecessary travel: Although the 14-day out-of-state travel quarantine has been eliminated, continue to limit travel as much as possible. Should the travel quarantine be reinstated, any student who must quarantine per NMDOH guidelines will continue classes via distance learning.

Temperature checks: School staff will regularly check temperatures of students and employees upon arrival. If your student presents with a temperature that is higher than 100.3 F, they will be sent home.

Personal protective equipment: Students and employees will wear face coverings throughout the day.

 

Hygiene: Practice and reinforce good hygiene practices at home, in particular, the importance of frequent hand washing and washing for 20 seconds.

Limit students’ personal items: Limit the items your student brings onto campus each day and reinforce policies around the sharing of food, supplies, and other items with other students.

Submit medical forms: You must complete and submit all required student medical forms prior to the first day of school and make sure that the emergency contacts listed in Magnus would be able to come to school right away if your student presents with a temperature or becomes ill during the school day.

Providing a safe, on-campus educational environment requires significant financial investments in a variety of areas.

Health and Safety

With safety as our highest priority, the Academy is investing approximately $750,000 ($600+ per student) in enhanced COVID-19 safety measures, including:

• Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for all students and employees
• HVAC changes to improve air quality: the highest air-cleaning filters, continuously running on fresh air by day and mixing fresh and recycled overnight to clean
• Portable air filtration systems for each classroom
• Thermal scanners for fever detection
• Plexiglass barriers and partitions in offices
• Hand sanitizer stations in hallways, classrooms, and offices
• Touchless water stations
• Two eMist EM360 ionized aerosol disinfecting units using COVID-19-neutralizing disinfectant to be used in bathrooms throughout the day and in classrooms at night
• Amplified cleaning practices focusing on high-traffic areas

The school day and our classrooms have been reimagined with new schedules and smaller, discrete cohorts in order to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus. In the event of small numbers of infections on campus, this enables us to have the affected cohort learn from home for two weeks without requiring that the entire campus close and revert to distance learning. This planning for safety and durability requires additional staffing for continual supervision and monitoring throughout the day.

With more teaching spaces needed, classrooms and other areas have been reviewed and prepped to ensure that all students will have the best learning experience. Given the uncertainty of the health situation in our community and on campus, classrooms have been set up with additional technology, including remote cameras, which will assist students who may need to learn from home and a quicker pivot to a distance learning format, should the need arise.

We also invested in additional professional development last summer, at a cost of $80,000, to help faculty prepare to best teach students, no matter what conditions we are facing.

Tuition Assistance

To support families who are adversely affected by COVID-19, the Academy has provided additional emergency tuition assistance grants that allows us to maintain our student body despite unforeseen financial circumstances. We are grateful to the many generous donors who made this possible by contributing to the Academy Endurance Fund.

The Academy Community

There would be no school without our faculty and staff. The Academy is committed to retaining all of our employees to the best of our ability. To accomplish this, we have made financial sacrifices, such as an across-the-board salary freeze, deferrals of many capital projects, and significant cuts to nonessential operational expenses. We believe these are necessary steps to take in order to keep our community whole and intact.

The Academy monitors indicators reported by the state agencies as well as our school community, including the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the number of students and employees who report illnesses, the number of people with recorded fevers through our thermal imaging stations, attendance, and a host of other data points that will factor into our campus status and inform our actions. We will monitor and analyze these indicators for predictive trends and anomalies and to make changes to the Academy’s status.

Four-Level Campus Status System

Click here for a printable description of our four statuses and their conditions and educational environments.

The health and safety of our community is our highest priority. The following is a list of safety measures put in place, regardless of our alert level. Click here for a printable version.

Face coverings: Students and employees must wear face coverings throughout the day.

Physical distancing: Movement on campus will be controlled to reduce the mixing of students through cohort locations and one-way passage through hallways. Classes are limited to 12 students or fewer in nearly every class and students will be well spaced in their classroom areas.

Decreased student mixing: Academic schedules are designed to keep students in small, consistent groups throughout the day, and arrival/departure times are staggered to limit mixing and crowds. This allows us to quarantine/present online lessons to a small group of students should someone become infected or exposed.

Food service: We plan to have students eat lunch outside, weather permitting. Students will be well spaced since they will be removing their masks to eat and drink. Lunches will be monitored for adherence to safety precautions. We will work directly with families to meet allergy requirements and other needs. Students also have the option of bringing lunch. Note: Nut products are not allowed on campus.

Other classroom safety practices: Teaching methods have been adjusted to minimize shared equipment or learning materials among students, and classroom practices will reduce the transfer of objects between home and school. Infrastructure has been put into place to minimize surfaces that cannot be easily disinfected.

Large group gatherings: Based on guidance from state health officials banning mass gatherings, all large group gatherings will be held virtually.

Off-campus trips: Off-campus trips will be limited but not eliminated to allow for potential athletic contests and specially crafted Ex Ed trips and other classroom experiences.

Hygiene: Students and employees will follow a regular schedule of hand washing or use of hand sanitizer throughout the day. Hand sanitizer dispensers are available in every classroom and at every entrance.

Enhanced cleaning: Daily cleaning practices will be compliant with CDC recommendations, including the types of cleaning products used and the frequency of cleaning. Special attention is given to the cleaning of high-touch surfaces throughout the day. Nightly deep cleaning includes ionized aerosol disinfection of every classroom.

Health screening: Families are asked to monitor household members for symptoms, including fever, and avoid bringing sick students to school. Regular temperature and symptoms screening is conducted for all students, employees, and campus visitors. Students with symptoms will be separated from other students and need to be picked up as soon as possible.

Updated sick policy and enforcement: Rules regarding sick policies for students and employees have been enhanced and strictly enforced to minimize the number of sick people on campus and allow continuity of learning for those who are mildly ill or asymptomatic. View our updated Sick Student Policy.

Quarantine and contact tracing: If a student or employee has COVID-19, school officials will support efforts for contact tracing and enforcing quarantine for those infected and their contacts. Provisions will be made to support continuity of learning from home during quarantine.

Self care and well being: We have put greater attention on student mental health to build resilience and cope with the extra stress and anxiety students may be experiencing during this time. Family heads, advisers, and counselors are available to work with students and families as needed.

Visitors to campus: We have reduced the number of visitors allowed on campus to keep our community safe. All visitors to campus (not including student drop-off and pickup) will be screened upon arrival. In an elevated health status, visitors may be required to make an appointment prior to a campus visit.

Travel: Although the 14-day out-of-state travel quarantine has been eliminated, continue to limit travel as much as possible. Should the travel quarantine be reinstated, any student who must quarantine per NMDOH guidelines will continue classes via distance learning.

In order to reduce the chances of closing campus to all students if there were to be an outbreak at the Academy, we have designed a calendar that will limit the mixing of students, making contact tracing simpler and limiting how much of the community might have to quarantine.

Students in grades 8-12 take two academic classes each trimester in the 2020-21 academic year. A trimester course is the equivalent of a full year of learning both in time and content. The 6-7 division schedule is developmentally appropriate, allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience.

Each trimester will be 55 days long, running from August to November, November to February, and February to May. The last day of school is May 25, 2021 (no change from the original calendar). There will be breaks between each trimester as well as our traditional Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks. Additional days off are aligned with Albuquerque Public School holidays with the exception of Election Day and Veterans Day. View the trimester calendar and breaks here. The new Calendar at a Glance and our website calendar are available here. 

Updated Absence Policy
In our old year-long system, students could miss up to 10 classes per course per semester without risking losing credit. In the trimester system, students in grades 8-12 will follow this policy:

A student can only have a maximum of five absences per trimester or they risk losing credit for the course. This is not an absence due to illness, but an absence due to a trip and the like. Five days is the equivalent of 15 days in a year-long course.

The new daily schedule has been designed to protect the health of our community while creating a class schedule that allows for deep learning and meaningful connections. While our intention is to hold classes on campus, the schedule can also be applied to online and hybrid situations depending on conditions.

The 6-7 division schedule is developmentally appropriate allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience.

Students in grades 8-12 take two classes a day that meet for two hours each day for 55 days. During a student’s third period, 8-9 students will have PE, health, experiential education, advisory, study hall, or athletics; 10-12 students will have health class or College Knowledge seminars during their lunch period. Class times are staggered to reduce congestion at drop-off and morning health screenings and to reduce crowding between blocks.

The full-day, five-day-a-week schedule allows us to reduce class sizes to 12 students or fewer and will allow parents to better manage their own work schedules.

Albuquerque Academy understands the importance of extracurricular activities in the lives of our students and values the experiences they can offer and bonds created through them.

Athletics

Athletics guidelines at the Academy are determined by the New Mexico Activities Association in combination with our campus health status and general health recommendations by the state and national health and governmental organizations. Some sports have begun socially distanced, small group or online conditioning; coaches have been in contact with their student-athletes. The latest information about sports seasons is posted here.

Student Clubs and Groups

Some student groups and organizations are meeting in person in small, safely distanced groups, while others continue to meet online. Extracurricular information is available from division heads and faculty sponsors and is shared in daily announcement emails.

We understand that there are situations when a student, teacher, or staff member has a personal health situation that puts them at particular risk for COVID-19. We will do our best to accommodate the unique needs of individual students and employees. If your student is immunocompromised or you have particular concerns about their presence on our campus, we encourage you to notify the school nurse and contact your division head as soon as possible.

We are also aware that feelings of anxiety can be heightened in situations such as this. The Academy has a team of counselors assigned to dedicated divisions who are here and ready to help. Please contact our counseling department with your questions and concerns.

As always, the divisional learning specialists are available full time to students.

• Andy Watson, Head of School through June 2020
• Julianne Puente, Head of School beginning July 2020
• Stephanie Lipkowitz, Associate Head of School
• Bruce Orem, CFO
• Chris Dineen, 6-7 Division Head
• Martha Palmer, 8-9 Division Head
• Christine Lenhart ’94, 10-12 Division Head
• Amy Keller, Director of Admission and Enrollment Management
• Becky Richards, Director of Communications
• Mary Jo Carrier, Director of Human Resources
• Rolf Lokke, History Department Chair and Academic Dean
• Janet Wilson, Mathematics Department Chair and Scheduler
• David Kim, Science Department
• Shelby Parsons, School Nurse
• Jennifer Anderson ’89, Attorney and School Legal Counsel
• John Pederson ’91, Physician

The work of the reopening task force is supplemented by the academics, campus safety, communications, and human resources/staffing subcommittees.

Dear students and parents,

Yesterday the governor issued an executive order announcing that it is no longer required to quarantine for 14 days if you travel out of state or have an out-of-state visitor. This is exciting news for New Mexicans, and for the Academy, it means we expect to see more students joining us for in-person learning. This update has led us to retool some details of our return-to-campus plan.

Ongoing weekly student surveillance testing will be increased to 100% of students who come to campus. Beginning Thursday, February 25 — the week that all students opting for in-person learning are back on campus — all students will be tested for COVID each week.

• 6-7 students will test on Thursdays and Fridays with their Academy families.
• 8-9 students will test on Thursdays and Fridays with their A-block classes.
• 10-12 students will test on Thursdays during assigned time slots.

Students must bring their student IDs to their tests. Because families will have provided consent for baseline testing, no further paperwork is necessary. All Academy employees will continue to be tested each week.

Until full student testing begins, we will move forward with our 20% random screening plan, beginning tomorrow with 6-7 students who have been on campus this week. Students selected for random testing will be notified by email, along with their parents and advisers.

In-person classes will begin soon after spring break, but not immediately. We will no longer come back from spring break with a two-week online period. Instead, classes will be held online for just a few days to allow for full student and employee testing. Further details will be provided soon.

It is not too late to change your decision about attending in-person or online classes (through spring break). For students in grades 8-12, please submit your new decision using the link in your email by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12. You do not need to submit a form if you are staying with your original decision. For students in grades 6-7, please contact Division Head Chris Dineen.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Watch the 8-9 Division webinar recording. Information passcode: Xa1*eQ2f

Watch the 10-12 Division webinar recording.

Dear Academy families,

Thank you for joining us for last night’s webinar. More than 800 of you registered for the event, and you submitted more than 200 questions. I truly appreciate your commitment to bringing students back to campus safely.

Click here to view a recording of the webinar, and click here for a written summary.

I’d like to revisit a couple of important points that many of you asked about during the webinar.

All families will have the option to change their decision about in-person or online learning prior to their return-to-campus date. We will send you an email indicating the decision you made for your student with a link to submit a new decision. Please use the same link if you’d like to make a change regarding lunch.

• Grades 6 and 7: Start date Monday, February 8. We have already sent this email. Updated decisions are due by 5 p.m. today.
• Grades 8, 9, and 12: Start date Tuesday, February 16. We will send this email Monday, February 8. Updated decisions will be due Friday, February 12 at 5 p.m.
• Grades 10 and 11: Start date Monday, February 22. We will send this email Monday, February 8. Updated decisions will be due Friday, February 12 at 5 p.m.

Student COVID testing information, including location, dates, times, and the consent form, will be provided in the email regarding your decision.

All students who have selected the in-person option will come to campus for class Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The new public health orders allow for 50% of room capacity, so under the plan Albuquerque Academy developed last summer, which relies on large teaching spacing and small class sizes, 100% of students may return to campus at once. Please note: All students, even those taking in-person classes, will attend classes online on Wednesdays.

Please review the information at the links above and the FAQs on this webpage for answers to your questions. If there is anything else you need, please email your division head.

• 6-7 Division Head Chris Dineen
• 8-9 Division Head Martha Palmer
• 10-12 Division Head Christine Lenhart

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear students and parents,

I am thrilled to announce that the latest New Mexico public health orders allow private schools to operate at 50% of room occupancy, which means Albuquerque Academy is able to bring all students who have opted for in-person learning back to campus at the same time.

This is the news we’d been hoping for, so I have some important details to share so you can plan your family’s schedule. Much more information will be provided at the parent webinar on Thursday, February 4 at 7 p.m. 

Start dates for students who have opted for in-person learning

• Monday, February 8: grades 6-7
• Tuesday, February 16: grades 8-9 and 12
• Monday, February 22: grades 10-11

With these staggered start dates, we can dedicate more faculty and staff to helping students with the new processes and protocols.

Weekly schedule

• Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays: in-person learning
• Wednesdays: all students online
• EXCEPTION: On Wednesday, February 17, 8-9 students and seniors will have in-person classes. This is a short week, and we want to give them two days to adapt to new routines.

Daily schedules

Because we will have more students on campus, there will be staggered start times to avoid crowding at dropoff and pickup and during class changes. Students in grades 8-12 will receive new schedules indicating their class times.

• 6-7 students will begin at 8:50 a.m.
• 8-9 students will begin at 8:50 or 9 a.m.
• 10-12 students will begin at 8:40 or 8:50 a.m.

Before- and after-school study hall

We understand that this change in your daily routines has impacts across your family. Unfortunately, students will not be able to spend time on campus or in the library as they have in the past. Study halls will be available before and after classes. More details will follow.

In-person and online learning choices

We asked families to choose between in-person and online learning before the public health order was updated, and we made related changes to the Academy’s plans. You will have the opportunity to change your decision if you wish. 6-7 families: Watch your inbox for an email that includes your decision and link that will allow you to change your decision as well as details about COVID surveillance testing. We will follow soon with similar emails for the other grades.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to providing more information at the webinar Thursday evening.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy families,

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has just announced that every school district in New Mexico may resume in-person learning on February 8. We are looking into whether there are changes to the health orders for independent schools that will allow us to bring back all students for in-person instruction under the plan we proposed last summer. If indeed this is the case, students in grades 6-7 will return on February 8, and the return date for grades 8-12 will be reevaluated.

I will write again once we have more information from the governor’s office.

Meanwhile, we are busy working through all of the details that will keep our community as safe as possible as we move into this new phase. The follow-up webinar that had been set for Thursday, January 28 has been rescheduled. The new date for the next parent webinar is Thursday, February 4 at 7 p.m. Please register using the link in your email.

At this webinar, we will cover such important topics as:

• COVID testing protocols
• Student orientations
• Schedules
• Arriving on and departing from campus
• Lunch

I look forward to sharing more details with you soon.

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy families,

We had almost 450 attendees at yesterday’s webinar and received more than 100 questions! Thank you for your interest in and support for the return to in-person learning.

Click here to view a recording of yesterday’s webinar, and click here for a written summary.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be providing more information by email and on our Learning Reimagined webpage. Many of the details we shared earlier in the school year — particularly those related to safety measures — will not change. We will follow the orders and recommendations of the New Mexico Department of Health and other health organizations.

Choosing Online Learning or Blended/Hybrid Learning

Please let us know of your family’s decision to either remain with online learning or to send your student to campus for in-person classes two days a week. Survey links have been provided by direct emails. Please complete a survey for each of your students. Surveys are due by midnight on Monday, January 18.

Please consider this additional information as you make your decision.

Out-of-State Travel: The quarantine measures related to out-of-state travel are imposed by NMDOH, not the Academy. All students must adhere to the current NMDOH guidelines regarding travel for themselves, household members, and visitors. If you expect your student would need to quarantine regularly because, for instance, they travel out of state with a sports team, they should continue with online learning.

Lunch: We plan to have students eat lunch outside, weather permitting. Students will be well spaced since they will be removing their masks to eat and drink. Lunches will be monitored for adherence to safety precautions. Although the dining hall menu will be limited, SAGE Dining will address students’ dietary restrictions. Students also have the option to bring their lunches for the rest of the school year. (Note: Nut products are not allowed.) If you choose to return to in-person learning, you will also provide your decision about buying a school lunch or bringing lunch. The decision about lunch cannot change from day to day; your student will buy their lunch every day or bring lunch every day they are on campus for the rest of the school year. Because students will not be on campus five days a week, lunch fees will be prorated. If your student chooses to remain online or bring lunch, we will continue to credit lunch fees as we have all year.

Student COVID Testing: Students who opt to come to campus for in-person classes, sports, extracurriculars, or other activities will be part of the pool being tested through the rest of the school year. A random sampling of 20% of students will be tested each week. The saliva tests will be administered by VIP StarNetwork, and costs are covered by the Academy. If a family is notified of a positive test result, the student will receive a follow-up test. Students with a confirmed positive test will move to online learning for 10 days and be unable to come to campus during that time.

If you have additional questions that are critical to making your decision, please email your student’s division head.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy parents,

I hope you all enjoyed a restful winter break and are off to a good start in the new year! I am writing to revisit a few important messages that we communicated just before our break.

January 14 Webinar, 7 p.m.

At this webinar, we will address the school’s decision-making process, the Academy’s philosophy of learning and measurement standards, the insights gleaned from student course evaluations, the state’s restrictions for schools during the pandemic, and our planning for a return to campus. Please check your email for the registration link. Attendees may submit questions during the seminar for our panelists to answer, and we’ll send the webinar recording link and a summary afterward for those unable to attend on January 14.

2021-22 Tuition and Enrollment Contracts

In the December email, I also shared that, for the first time in the Academy’s history and as an acknowledgement of the widespread economic challenges, the board of trustees has frozen tuition and the lunch fee, and we have enhanced our ability to offer tuition assistance to those who qualify. Tuition and lunch for the 2021-22 school year will be $25,390. Although re-enrollment contracts will be issued on Friday, January 29 as scheduled, the deadline to return contracts will be extended almost three weeks to Friday, March 5. We hope this extra time will give families space to make the best decisions for their children.

NEWS: Testing and Vaccines

We were able to make significant progress on both the testing and vaccine fronts during winter break. While our school does not necessarily fall under the Public Education Department’s requirements for COVID-19 testing, it has always been our intention to regularly test for the coronavirus, and we expect to begin testing employees within the week. While vaccination details remain fluid as the New Mexico Department of Health works through its processes, all Academy employees will have the opportunity to be vaccinated in the 1B group, as early as the end of January. Both of these steps will allow us to provide a safer, more stable environment for everyone, especially students, when they return to campus.

I am excited about what the coming weeks will bring and look forward to sharing more details with you.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy parents,

While many are happy to see this year come to a close, I will always remain thankful that 2020 brought me to the Academy. As is true for many others, the last months have been the most challenging of my career. I was unable to say goodbye to my previous students, and I have been unable to say hello properly to my Academy students. While I grieve for school every day, I consider myself fortunate to be part of the Albuquerque Academy community. I have yet to see my family since moving back to the U.S., but I have been fortunate enough to find a new home and a new community that has taken me in as one of their own. 2020 has given me more gifts than challenges, and for this I will always be grateful. My hope for 2021 is that we are able to see one another on campus again soon.

January Webinar for Families

We continue to strongly advocate for a change in the public health orders. Because we’d already scheduled smaller classes in larger spaces, an increase to 50% room capacity for schools would allow us to bring all students back for in-person instruction at the same time. However, we recognize that this change might not be forthcoming, so we are considering possible modifications to our approach that will allow for a blended learning experience. Although there will be trade-offs to making changes, these may be concessions we as a community are ready to make as we approach a full year of online learning. Our students have been successful during this period of remote instruction, but we know, too, that they need and deserve a fuller school experience.

Please mark your calendar for a community webinar at 7 p.m. on January 14, during which we plan to address the school’s decision-making process, the Academy’s philosophy of learning and measurement standards, the insights gleaned from student course evaluations, the state’s restrictions for schools during the pandemic, and our initial planning for a possible return to campus.

2021-22 Tuition and Enrollment Contracts

I am pleased to announce that, for the first time in the Academy’s history and as an acknowledgement of the widespread economic challenges, the board of trustees has frozen tuition and the lunch fee for the 2021-22 school year at $25,390, and we have enhanced our ability to offer tuition assistance to those who qualify. Although re-enrollment contracts will be issued on Friday, January 29 as scheduled, the deadline to return contracts will be extended almost three weeks to Friday, March 5. We hope this extra time will give families space to make the best decisions for their children.

Have a safe, healthy, and restful break.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy families,

It was not a big surprise today when Governor Lujan Grisham announced a two-week shelter in place order and closed non-essential businesses. We have all been watching the number of COVID-19 cases rise across the U.S., in New Mexico, in our city, and within our own school community.

As much as we have enjoyed bringing students together on campus in small, safe groups, this means we have decided to pause campus activities for the next seven school days through Thanksgiving break.

Many families in our community are welcoming home college students, and with the joy of seeing them again comes some risk. According to the most recent New Mexico quarantine order, individuals must quarantine for 14 days upon return from out-of-state travel or if they visit a person who is quarantining. If we are able to reopen campus for student activities after Thanksgiving, remember that students who have been with out-of-state visitors or siblings returning from college may not come to campus during their quarantine period.

Even with this campus closure, please remember that if you or someone in your household tests positive, it is important for you to notify School Nurse Shelby Parsons or your division head so we can evaluate the need to contact trace. If contact tracing is initiated, you would be notified if you are identified as a close contact of a COVID-positive case.

In this season of thanks, I would like to acknowledge the resilience I’ve witnessed throughout our community, adapting to new routines and facing difficult realities for so many months now, and thank our faculty for their dedication to our ultimate goal — the best possible education for Academy students. I am so grateful for the work they did this summer to prepare for the eventuality of extended online learning, and, with a trimester under their belts, they are improving on what had once been considered best practices.

Be safe, Chargers!

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy families,

I’d like to thank the AAPA for asking me to speak at their fall meeting on Wednesday evening. One of the things I discussed with the families in attendance was the results of our recent parent survey. I want to thank you for taking the time to respond. You may review the raw data here or watch this video for my analysis and commentary.

I imagine most of you are aware that the governor recently announced a new public health order, which goes into effect today. The changes have little impact on our current programming — we will continue with online learning and select in-person extracurriculars that meet the terms of the current public health order.

When I met with Governor Lujan Grisham at our much-anticipated (by me, at least) meeting a few weeks ago, she asked why the Academy had not taken advantage of the ability to open at 25% capacity. I told her we did not feel it offered the most effective teaching or learning environment for our faculty or students. We had already greatly reduced class sizes and fundamentally changed our approach to school because we took the pandemic seriously. Moving to a 25% capacity on top of what we have already done would be more disruptive than helpful. Consistency and predictability of schedule are powerful stabilizers and serve as a foundation to effective teaching and deep learning outcomes.

Because there was no specific resolution to the meeting and the number of positive cases has increased dramatically since then, we have begun planning to start another trimester online. The week of October 26 we will send families in grades 8-12 details about returning textbooks and picking up new ones; students who need to return or pick up other equipment, such as microscopes or art supplies, will receive instructions from their teachers.

Even as the ever-changing situation of the pandemic continues to consume a significant amount of attention from the school leadership, please be assured that work regarding the future of the Academy is moving forward. Even though it may seem difficult to believe at times, we will arrive at the other side of this pandemic, and I fully expect the Academy to come out of it as a stronger, more resilient community, with teachers who have learned as much about providing instruction as our students have about their academic subjects.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear Academy parents,

In everything we do, Albuquerque Academy’s focus remains on quality education and the safety of our community. We recognize that you are eagerly awaiting updates on the ways in which we are working behind the scenes to resume on-campus learning in the safest manner possible. We share your belief that in-person learning is what is best for kids. Our plan to bring all students back on campus for their academic classes necessitates a change in the governor’s current public health order, which remains in effect through October 16. With the support of our legal counsel and administrators from the other local independent schools, I am working daily to make this happen.

As a reminder, in our reopening decisions we prioritized giving our students an exceptional academic experience. This means making every instructional minute count, maximizing student-teacher interactions, and minimizing unnecessary transitions, all of which would be diminished in a hybrid teaching model.

Back-to-Campus Initiatives

• We continue to retrofit campus with safety enhancements. We spent time evaluating every usable space to ensure every class could fit safely and have its own designated area. Because we have reduced class sizes so dramatically with the trimester schedule, we have been creative in repurposing some unexpected spaces into classrooms, so we are able to accommodate all 97 classes per block. We plan to use many of our largest spaces, such as the cafeterias and gyms, for other purposes, such as study halls.
• Our faculty members continue to hone their online teaching skills through Global Online Academy professional development offerings and internal collaboration. They are committed to providing the very best online learning experiences until they can teach in person again. I am so proud of how hard the teachers are working, how creative and collaborative they are in service of our students.
• School is far more than just academics. I was thrilled that last week we saw more than 400 different students on campus for practices, rehearsals, and club meetings, and the list of offerings is growing. Soon students will be able to join their friends for ceramics, yoga, engineering, and more.

Parent Survey Open Now

While I’ve had many individual conversations, it’s important to take the pulse of our entire community. Our last survey of students revealed that they are supported by their teachers and advisers and, in general, they are enjoying their classes and feeling like successful learners. Now we would like to hear from all of our parents about academics, advising, extracurriculars, and more. Please see your email for the link to the survey.

I appreciate your input and will share the survey results in one of my next communications.

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear students and families,

I am writing to update you on various communications I have had with the governor’s office over the past several weeks and provide you with a sense of how we intend to move forward in the next couple of weeks. Since submitting our plan for reopening in late June, we have followed up, both formally and informally, with various members of the governor’s staff in an attempt to have our return-to-campus plan reviewed and approved. While our plan is frequently lauded as creative, thoughtful, and exceeding the requirements set forth by the PED and DOH, we have been unable to secure approval to provide in-person instruction to our students. Our goal is to offer in-person instruction five days a week to all of our students, while adhering to 50% of fire code capacity. The present health order, which does not expire until October 2, allows for private schools to hold classes at 25% of fire code and/or gather outside in groups of 10 or fewer. The average Academy class size is 12 students (13 people including the teacher), so the current public health order restrictions are not conducive to good teaching and learning for Academy faculty and students, given our trimester, modified block schedule.

I am aware that some local independent schools are bringing in small groups of students for some hybrid in-person instruction on assigned days of the week, while requiring other students to remain home. Still other schools are placing some students in one classroom and another group of students elsewhere, and the teacher toggles between the two spaces. Such approaches might work for those schools, but they are not appropriate for the Academy. To greatly reduce the points of contact among people on campus and to make online learning effective, we fundamentally changed our approach to school. Because we are teaching a year of content in one trimester, every teaching minute counts, and our students need to be in class with their teachers 100% of the time. A two- or three-day, in-person, rotating model for a portion of any given class requires us to surrender precious instructional time. While it is tempting to deviate from our plan, we need to stay the course — if for no other reason than because it is working.

While we have not been given the opportunity to test our in-person model, the recent survey results from faculty and students reveal that our online teaching has been highly effective. We know this through direct observation and survey data. While this first survey focused on teaching, learning, and advising, our next survey will focus on social and emotional wellness. Here is an overview of the results gathered from recent surveys taken by our faculty and students. Students say they much prefer the current schedule and report that their classes are well organized, meaningful, and engaging. The overwhelming majority of students said they are confident in their learning and feel connected with their teachers. Faculty members echoed the students, saying they feel more confident and much better prepared than last spring. While this entire situation is far from ideal, it makes little sense to disrupt something that is going well until we are able to do something we know will be better. We will continue to strongly advocate with the governor that the Academy be allowed to open and that we be allowed to have our students with us for in-person instruction.

It was no surprise that our students report that they do not feel as connected with one another — they miss being on campus. We will address this issue by providing meaningful opportunities for students to return to campus to spend time with their peers and with us. Our advisory meetings went extremely well, and we are looking to replicate that kind of experience in a variety of ways. Specific information will come from the division heads, but our goal is to provide every student with at least two (and we hope more) opportunities per week to actively engage on campus in extracurricular activities. This is already happening with Ex Ed, some performing arts, cross country, and volleyball. This can happen similarly with DECA, Roots Music Club, and the DOT Garden, just to name a few activities. For example, since my advisees do not have class during B block, I am inviting them to campus for individual chats in the middle of the day next week. There are myriad opportunities for us to think creatively and then invite students to campus to engage with us. Chris Dineen, Christine Lenhart, and Martha Palmer will provide more information soon as we organize divisional offerings.

Although the coming months will be difficult, with hard choices to be made as certain priorities are inevitably elevated over others, we will continue to make our decisions, grounded in our clearly stated values, with thoughtful discussion, and ultimately with outcomes that consistently affirm our mission. I also fully understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions or approaches, but I want to be as transparent as possible and offer the rationale behind our thinking.

I am immensely honored to be part of the Academy community, and I am deeply grateful for the kind and supportive words I receive on a daily basis. I will write to you again on September 28 with any updates and an overview of what is happening on campus.

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear students and families,

I am pleased to invite Academy students to campus in small, controlled groups for family and advisory meetings starting this Thursday. This will be an opportunity for students to socialize with classmates in their families/advisories, get to know their family head/adviser better, and practice some of the health and safety procedures that will be necessary when we can hold classes on campus. These meetings are voluntary; we understand some families prefer to limit unnecessary interactions and others may be unable to fit this into their schedules.

As much as we want to see you all together, it may be necessary for family/advisory groups to meet over the course of two days to keep the number of people involved to 10 or fewer. Students will receive exact details from their family heads/advisers about when and where to meet.

• Grades 6-9: September 10 or 11 at 4-5 p.m.
• Grades 10-12: September 14 or 15 at 5-6 p.m.

Important Details

• Students must wear masks and bring their IDs to be scanned.
• Students will be checked for fevers before joining their meetings.
• Meetings will be held outdoors, weather permitting. Alternate indoor spaces have also been assigned.
• If parents wish, they may stay on campus in their cars during the hour-long meetings.
• If students have traveled to a state on the 14-day quarantine list recently, they may not come to campus.
• We have lowered the campus alert status from amber to yellow.

Please know that the Academy continues to operate under our two guiding principles:

1. Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
2. Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community

Our 50%-capacity, limited-contacts plan is the best way to achieve these goals in person, and we are working directly with the governor’s office to have it approved. Meanwhile, the administration is continuing to pursue opportunities for students to come to campus in small groups — for extracurriculars or practices — until the health order is relaxed.

I am looking forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear students and parents,

Yesterday Governor Lujan Grisham renewed the public health order that will be in effect through September 18. Although not specifically addressed in her press conference, the order does include directives regarding independent schools.

“Private educational institutions serving children and young adults from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade… shall operate with a maximum capacity of 25% of any individual enclosed indoor space, such as any classroom….” You may view the entire order here. The section referring to private schools is on page 7, section 11. We have learned from the legal department in the governor’s office that no exceptions to the public health order will be granted.

Our on-campus plan is designed to accommodate 100% of our students at 50% capacity, so this is disappointing. I want to see students back on campus as much as anyone else. Because the public health order now allows people to gather outside in groups of 10, next week we will be exploring possible ways to have small groups of students come to campus in the afternoons for clubs, athletics, extra help and perhaps some advisory meetings.

Thank you for your continued support, and enjoy a well-deserved weekend.

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

Happy summer to the classes of 2026 and 2027!

It’s monsoon season once again in Albuquerque! While we have finally been visited by some rain over the past two weeks, the real downpour has come in the form of news and updates related to the start of our school year. Our decision to begin classes online means that we will not immediately be together on campus, but there is still a lot to prepare for as August 13 approaches, and we definitely want you to be prepared!

For starters – and by tradition – you will be receiving a phone call from your Academy family head this week. Your family head is super excited to meet you and will be using this phone call as an opportunity to personally welcome you. Important back-to-school information will be discussed, and you will have a chance to ask lots of great questions. Family heads will be following up their phone calls by scheduling an Academy Family Zoom meeting on Tuesday, August 11, where you will have a chance to meet your Academy family virtually and see who you will be in class with this year. New students in both grades: Please know that you are very quickly going to start meeting many of the friends you will have for life – just ask any returning student!

We typically send out a school supply list in the summer, but we are creating supply bags instead for every student that will have items you need to jumpstart the year, and you will be receiving more information about this soon. In addition to supplies, we will also be loaning out Chromebooks to students while classes are online, and we ask that you fill out this request form if you intend to borrow a Chromebook for the start of school. Both the school supplies and the Chromebooks will be distributed August 10-12. Surging worldwide demand for technology and other school supplies means that we will need to be patient as we get our year launched, but flexibility is an Academy trait I know we will all get a chance to demonstrate this year!

Most of us came to realize this spring that online learning requires a different approach, and your teachers have spent a lot of time this summer preparing to create a rich online learning environment. We will be talking more about our expectations, our norms, and our goals for the year when we meet in families and in our classes. Our schedule is designed to be more intimate than ever, giving everyone a chance to be seen and heard, and that intimacy will continue when we eventually transition back to in-person classes, which will hopefully be very soon! While you will still be taking all of your classes this year, they will rotate in regular blocks so you can focus on fewer subjects at a time, and that will be true whether we are online or on campus. You can check out a sample of your online schedule here, and your teachers will go over this with you when they call this week.

One of our most cherished back-to-school traditions each year is the convocation ceremony that kicks off the first day of school. This year, because of COVID-19 regulations, we have decided to do a car parade with our sixth graders and the senior class on Saturday evening, August 15, at 7 p.m. Please save the date, because we are planning a great event, and more information will follow soon.

A lot will certainly be different for our community as the year starts, and our goal is to get back to campus quickly with you and our new head of school, Julianne Puente. But the essence of the Academy experience will remain the same, no matter the format: unparalleled opportunities for educational and personal growth in a wonderfully inclusive and supportive environment. We work best when we work together, and we will be working together this year in innovative ways that are designed to set you up for success. We are here for you and your families, and we want you to feel free to reach out whenever you have questions or concerns. You will soon have an enormous safety net made up of caring adults and wonderful friends, and this place will become your home.

The start of school is always a little hectic, so please focus your energy for the moment on enjoying the last few days of summer, catching up on good sleep, spending some time outdoors, and creating memories with family and friends. Check to see that you have completed your summer reading requirements, but be sure to get in that last Netflix binge as well! We are all super excited to get started next week, but I know there may be questions before then, so please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

I look forward to seeing you all very soon, and I wish you a wonderful end to the summer. Go Chargers!

Chris Dineen
6-7 Division Head

Dear 8-9 Chargers,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the new school year in the 8-9 division. While I wish we were starting the year on campus and that I could welcome you in person on the first day of school, I feel fortunate to serve as your division head this coming year. Even though it’s going to be a different kind of year, your teachers and I are excited to work with you and have been busily planning over the summer to make it an awesome year!

In order to get the year underway, class schedules will be available on August 4. When it’s available, your schedule can be found here. You will be required to log in to My Backpack and click on the Student Schedule folder to view your schedule. If you have problems logging in to My Backpack, please contact the My Backpack support line at 858-8877. Due to small class sizes and the trimester model, schedule changes will be very limited. However, if you need to request a change, please submit your request to me via email. Requests will be considered on August 5-7.

There will be one-on-one Zoom meetings with your fall trimester teachers on August 11 (B block/advisory) and 12 (A block). Between August 7-9, please look out for an email from your teachers about these meetings. Be sure to check your Academy email for the times when your teacher will call or Zoom with you to hold these meetings. (You can use these cool Academy campus photos for virtual Zoom backgrounds, if you’d like.) Your adviser each trimester will be your B block teacher, which means you will have a different adviser each trimester. During the school year, there will be an advisory period once a week during lunch, when your advisory group will meet to do activities, hold discussions, and have fun together. Your adviser will tell you more about this in your meeting.

All 8-9 students are required to have a laptop. The eighth- and ninth-grade teachers will use laptops in different ways and in different capacities in their classes. Be sure yours is charged and ready to go each day.

While we don’t publish an 8-9 school supply list, teachers will let you know what you’ll need for their classes on the first day of school. That said, all eighth- and ninth-grade students will use a TI-84 calculator in some capacity during the school year. We recommend the use of a Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus. Any of the TI-84 Plus versions are acceptable. Additionally, you will have an opportunity to pick up your books and materials on the evenings of August 10-12 between 5-8 p.m., depending on your last name. Exact details will be sent by email soon.

As you prepare for the school year (and throughout the year), please visit the 8-9 division page for more useful information. At the back-to-school page, you will find important details for making your first few days easier. Also, to view answers to many common questions, class schedules, and other important information about the 2020-21 school year, please visit the Learning Reimagined webpage.

There will be more information to come as we get closer to the day we can return to campus for in-person learning, which we hope will be soon.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about these details. We look forward to a great year ahead, despite these challenging times. We can’t thank you enough for your continued support.

GO CHARGERS!

Kind regards,

Martha Palmer
8-9 Division Head

Dear students and parents of the 10-12 division,

I hope that you had a relaxing summer and are excited to start the 2020-21 school year. As we approach a new academic year during this unprecedented time, I find myself increasingly grateful for the support and flexibility of our parents and students.

Please note the following:

• We will post class schedules on August 4. Please access them by logging into My Backpack.
• Please submit schedule change requests to me via email. We will consider requests August 5-7. Due to smaller class sizes and the trimester schedule, our ability to accommodate schedule change requests will be extremely limited.
• Teachers will email their students August 7-9 with details about student orientation. Students, please plan on speaking one-on-one online or over the phone on August 11-12 with your teachers. The objective of these meetings is to start building relationships with your teachers, and they are very excited to meet you!
• Plan to pick up books and other materials on August 10-12 between 5 and 8 p.m., depending on your last name. Exact details will be sent by email soon.
• We will invite our sixth graders, seniors, and their families to a convocation event on the evening of August 15. Since a gathering of this size continues to present social distancing concerns, convocation will take the form of a car parade.
• For the first trimester, the deadline for dropping and adding courses is August 25.
• I value parent communication and consider it vital to student success. In lieu of the Tea with Christine opportunities I would normally host, this year I invite you to join me for regular Zoom gatherings. The first one will be at 7:30 a.m. on September 1. Watch your email for the link.

This year, to reduce contact points, students’ B block teachers will serve as their advisers. This means student advisers will change each trimester. If a student does not have a B block class, we will assign them a faculty adviser.

We continue to consider the logistics of creating a safe school environment in the hopes of bringing students back to campus soon. This school year, in order to reduce density on campus, we will permit 10th- and 11th-grade students to go home during free blocks. If students choose this option, we require additional information from parents that we will collect through a survey to be sent after releasing student schedules. Please complete it promptly. Seniors will receive the same privileges as in past years. Due to social distancing guidelines, if 10-12 students stay on campus during free blocks, they will be required to attend a study hall.

To learn more about our program and access important information throughout the school year, please visit the 10-12 division webpage. Also, to view answers to many common questions, class schedules, and other important information about the 2020-21 school year, please visit the Learning Reimagined webpage.

If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 828-3388 or lenhart@aa.edu. Again, thank you for your continued support during this challenging time. Let’s make this upcoming school year a great one!

Best regards,

Christine Lenhart
10-12 Division Head

Dear Chargers,

In light of the governor’s recent announcement about schools, orders regarding occupancy limits and group sizes, the rising cases in Bernalillo County, and the increase in cases among New Mexicans ages 10-19, Albuquerque Academy has made the decision to postpone the start of on-campus classes until at least after Labor Day. School will begin online on Thursday, August 13.

In addition to limiting contacts, our trimester plan was designed to make it easier for students to manage online learning, and this summer our faculty participated in professional development to improve their online teaching skills. We are confident in our ability to provide meaningful online learning as well as an environment that will protect our community as much as possible when conditions improve and we can return to campus; the plan we shared at the end of June and on the Academy website is what we will implement as soon as we are able.

In the meantime, here is a timeline of what can be expected in the coming days:

August 3
Welcome emails to students and families from division heads

August 4
Academic schedules sent to students in grades 8-12; please note that we will be able to accommodate only very limited schedule change requests

August 6
7 p.m. Q&A webinar for students/families in grades 6-12 with Academy administrators (registration link provided by email)

August 7-9
Faculty/advisers will call students and send invitations for online orientations

August 10-12
Students pick up books, IDs, and other materials from campus during designated time frames; details will follow

August 11-12
Online student orientations hosted by classroom teachers and advisors

August 13
First day of class following the regular online schedule

August 15
7 p.m. Convocation car parade for sixth-grade and senior students and families only; details will follow

The Academy board of trustees, administrators, division heads, and academic departments continue to work through many details. We will update you regularly by email and through the Learning Reimaged webpage where we have provided answers to many of the questions you have submitted online. Sample daily schedules for online and in-person learning for all grades are available here. Lunch fees will be refunded through Labor Day, and we will continue to provide refunds in blocks (rather than daily) as long as we are unable to offer in-person classes.

Many have voiced support of the decision to start online while others have expressed their disappointment. I think we can agree this is not a situation any of us wants. Please know that we want the same thing you do — the very best for our students.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Head of School

Dear members of the Albuquerque Academy community,

All of us are disappointed by the continuing spread of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent need to delay in-person education through at least Labor Day, as determined by the Albuquerque Academy administration and the board of trustees based on the governor’s recent announcement about schools, orders regarding occupancy limits and group sizes, the rising cases in Bernalillo County, and the increase in cases among New Mexicans ages 10-19. We want to get our students back on campus as soon as possible, but do so safely for our students, employees, families, and the larger community. We have made the decision to begin school online and hope to implement our in-person plan in September.

With the decision to begin school online, we now have certainty about what will happen on August 13, the first day of school. We will share more details in the coming days, including a message tomorrow with information about students’ schedules, orientations, and picking up classroom materials.

When we hired Julianne Puente as our head of school last year, this was certainly not the start to her tenure that any of us envisioned. This year was supposed to be her opportunity to get to know our culture and traditions. Nothing seems to be going as expected during this pandemic. All of our lives have changed dramatically since March 11 when the Academy closed its campus.

Ms. Puente has worked essentially without stop since arriving in Albuquerque in early June, well before her official start on July 1. She has worked with representatives from all parts of the school to develop a plan to reopen the campus safely and productively, which includes a schedule that will be conducive to having some portion of the school year online, anticipating that events could require us to close the campus again. She has continued to work tirelessly with her team to refine the plan as the situation has evolved, keeping the education of our students at the forefront and providing regular updates to me and the board about the thousands of moving parts that must be considered. She continues to brainstorm ways to bring students together safely on campus in small groups to share common interests.

Please be understanding and supportive as we navigate these very challenging times. We do not all agree on what should happen or how, but we ultimately have the shared goal of bringing our community together safely as soon as possible. If we can address the challenges together with civility and empathy, we will be a stronger school and community in the end. Furthermore, we can use this opportunity to set an example for our students as they learn “to serve country and community with wisdom, conviction, and compassion,” in accordance with our mission. In the meantime, please do what you can to slow the spread of the virus so we can get back on campus as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Tom Smidt
Chair, Board of Trustees

Although I haven’t yet officially taken over the reins as Albuquerque Academy’s head of school — my first official day is tomorrow — since I arrived in the U.S. in early June and even long before that, I’ve been working closely with Andy Watson and the Academy administration to ensure a smooth transition, which is especially critical in a time when schools must reimagine all of the things we’d once taken for granted. I’d like to thank Andy for the work he’s done in preparing me for this job and for this most unusual return to school in August.

Normally, a new head of school would spend their first year learning as much as their students before implementing any big changes, especially at a school as highly regarded as the Academy. But these are not normal times, and changes must be made now.

However, I’m not making these changes on my own. The plans for the 2020-21 school year have been shaped by the results of the student, parent, faculty, and staff surveys conducted in mid-June, which strongly indicated a desire to return to learning on campus, and with significant input from the administrators and teachers who know our school and our students best.

Every decision we are making is shaped by these two guiding principles:

1. Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
2. Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community

We know that no plan to return to campus is without risk. All of us take risks every day, such as riding in a car, though for the most part, they are risks we’ve grown comfortable with and accept as a necessary. Like riding in a car, we’ll all need to follow the rules and take personal responsibility to protect ourselves, and one another, as much as possible from COVID-19. I’m counting on all of you to make this plan a success.

Despite our best efforts to protect our community while holding classes on campus, a breakout could occur at the Academy, or the situation in our city or state may warrant another campus closure. As explained in this video, this plan was designed to be adaptable so we could transition smoothly from in-person to online learning if necessary.

And all of the plans we’ve made so far — and will make in the coming weeks — and all of the messages and videos we send can be found here, at the Learning Reimagined landing page at aa.edu. Although we will continue to send updates directly to your inbox, this is your best resource for answers to your questions, as further details are determined.

Thank you for your cooperation and support as we reimagine teaching and learning together.

Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School

When I visited campus in late January, I imagined my move to the Academy as being exciting, challenging, and formidable. I guess looking back, I was right – I just did not realize how right! Once school finished in late May, I had planned to travel to Albuquerque, Spain to visit and explore my new hometown’s sister city, followed by a stop in NYC to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, eventually arriving in New Mexico in late June. Like everyone else, the pandemic turned my life upside down, and I found myself making calculations and compromises that had once seemed unimaginable. Teaching online, creating numerous virtual ceremonies, and living under strict martial law certainly required me to seek new ways to move forward, and even thrive, in this new reality. I seized the opportunity to catch a rescue flight out of Jordan on June 6, and I arrived in Albuquerque soon afterwards. I am currently quarantining in my apartment, eagerly awaiting the day I can drive to campus and see a bit of my new city.

Although I have been meeting quite regularly with many people from the Academy since October, we have spent the last weeks working in committees to explore ways we might be able to safely reopen the Academy for the 2020-21 school year. Our planning has been informed by the “three Cs” that we now need to be aware of ­– close contact, crowded areas, and closed spaces – all of which are inherently part of life at a school like Albuquerque Academy. In the age of COVID-19, our traditional classrooms, dining halls, arts and athletics programs, co-curricular activities, labs, and common areas all carry new risks. In order to find a safe path forward for our community, all of those risks need to be considered, and the life of our campus reimagined, in a way that preserves what is essential about the Academy.

This challenge is vast, complex, and unprecedented – and I can think of no community better equipped to tackle it than this one. In helping us create a comprehensive plan that best serves the entire community, I ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts, concerns, questions, and ideas about how we should reopen school. The survey will close Friday, June 12 at 23:00. We will use this information to inform and refine our thinking and approach, and we hope to share a reopening plan with you sometime in the next few weeks.

Although this was not the start that I had imagined, I am prepared for the challenge. Living in the Middle East for the last 11 years uniquely equipped me to embrace uncertainty and view challenges as opportunities. Starting in July, I look forward to meeting with you in person, on Zoom, or over the phone as I seek to learn as much as possible about this most wonderful school community.

Sincerely,

Julianne Puente
Incoming Head of School

On February 26, the Department of Education updated its protocols, including their definition of close contacts as someone who:

• Has an exposure of three minutes or longer within six feet of a confirmed COVID-19 case with or without a face covering, or
• Was in the same class or cohort as a confirmed COVID-19 case in a school, or
• Was on the same bus as a confirmed COVID-19 case.

This means if a student or teacher tests positive, their entire class(es) must quarantine for 10 days. Additionally, according to the New Mexico Athletic Association, if a player or coach tests positive, their entire team must be quarantined for 14 days.

Any community member impacted by a positive test result will be notified through contact tracing.

In-person classes will begin soon after spring break, but not immediately. We will no longer come back from spring break with a two-week online period. Instead, classes will be held online for just a few days to allow for full student and employee testing. Further details will be provided soon.

No. Yesterday the governor issued an executive order announcing that it is no longer required to quarantine for 14 days if you travel out of state or have an out-of-state visitor. The Academy will continue to set its policies by following the public health orders, so as you make plans for your family, please keep in mind that future updates from the state regarding travel could impact your student’s ability to return to class.

Although New Mexico has lifted the out-of-state travel quarantine, post-travel testing is recommended. Therefore, ongoing weekly student surveillance testing will be increased to 100% of students who come to campus. Beginning Thursday, February 25 — the week that all students opting for in-person learning are back on campus — all students will be tested for COVID each week.

• 6-7 students will test on Thursdays and Fridays with their Academy families.
• 8-9 students will test on Thursdays and Fridays with their A-block classes.
• 10-12 students will test on Thursdays during assigned time slots.

Students must bring their student IDs to their tests. Because families will have provided consent for baseline testing, no further paperwork is necessary. All Academy employees will continue to be tested each week.

All gates will be open at the beginning and end of the school day. The Harper and Moon gates will be locked during the school day.

At the February 4 webinar, it was announced that the Moon gate would be open all day, but that is not the case. As in years past, only the Wyoming gate will be open while students are in classes. 

Students in grades 8-12 will have an online orientation through Zoom on Monday, February 8 at 7 p.m. Topics will include schedules, lunch, study halls, and COVID testing.

In-person orientations will be held with their third-trimester advisory groups 4:45-5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10 (advisors last name A-J) or Thursday, February 11 (advisors last name K-Z). They will receive an email from their new advisors by Monday, February 8 with exact details. Topics will include the community commitment, building flow, and schedules/room locations.

Yes, study hall will be available in the West Campus Dining Hall 8-8:50 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. 6-7 students who do not have performing arts that day will remain in their last-period classroom until study hall begins.

Yes, and we encourage you to do so now that you have more information! All families will have the option to change their decision about in-person or online learning prior to their return-to-campus date. We will send you an email indicating the decision you made for your student with a link to submit a new decision. Please use the same link if you’d like to make a change regarding lunch.

• Grades 6 and 7: Start date Monday, February 8. We have already sent this email. Updated decisions are due by 5 p.m. Friday, February 5.
• Grades 8, 9, and 12: Start date Tuesday, February 16. We will send this email Monday, February 8. Updated decisions are due by 5 p.m. Friday, February 12.
• Grades 10 and 11: Start date Monday, February 22. We will send this email Monday, February 8. Updated decisions are due by 5 p.m. Friday, February 12.

The new public health orders allow 50% of room capacity, so under the plan Albuquerque Academy developed last summer, implementing large teaching spacing and small class sizes, 100% of students may return to campus at once. All students who have selected the in-person option will come to campus for class Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. All students, even those taking in-person classes, will attend classes online on Wednesdays.

No, but they must be there for other commitments such as advisory, health, and college knowledge.

Student COVID testing information, including location, dates, times, and the consent form, will be provided in the email regarding your decision.

• Grades 6 and 7: Start date Monday, February 8. We have already sent this email.
• Grades 8, 9, and 12: Start date Tuesday, February 16. We will send this email Monday, February 8.
• Grades 10 and 11: Start date Monday, February 22. We will send this email Monday, February 8.

As our students return to in-person learning, community health is a top priority. When your student is not feeling well, please consult this screening tool to determine when they should stay home.

Does your child have any of the following symptoms?

• Temperature 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
• Chills, unusual fatigue, and/or flu-like body aches
• Sore throat, congestion, and/or runny nose
• New cough (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline)
• Shortness of breath
• Diarrhea (more than three times in six hours), persistent nausea, or vomiting
• New onset headaches, different than mild/chronic headaches student may experience
• Loss of smell or taste

Has your child:

• Been exposed to COVID-19 in the past two weeks?
• Travelled out of state the past two weeks?
• Started an antibiotic for something infectious in the past 24 hours?

If you have answered YES to any of the above questions, please keep your child home and call the health office at (505) 858-8876 for further guidance.

Yes. Please use the same form for providing your updated decision to make a different selection regarding lunch.

You may drop off your students in a single location. You do not need to drive around campus to the different areas. 

New schedules will be reissued by Monday, February 8.

Students must carry their Academy IDs at all times for scanning on and off campus. If you have lost your student ID, contact your class dean. There is no need to get a new ID. The ID students already have are valid.

In the hybrid learning model, teachers are instructing students two ways simultaneously — in person and online. With blended learning, half of the class receives direct instruction while the other half works independently. We are encouraging teachers to use the option that makes the most sense for their teaching needs and discipline.

While the Academy does not have to follow the Public Education Department’s employee testing requirement, it has always been our intention to regularly test our community for the coronavirus. Now that we’ve been able to gain access to tests, employee testing has begun. We will also begin random testing for students starting February 1.

It is too early to make any firm statement about student vaccinations. Currently, two vaccines are approved for older teens and none for the ages of most Academy students. Eventually, the Academy may offer a COVID vaccine clinic for older students that is similar to our flu shot clinic.

Academy employees have the opportunity to be vaccinated in the 1B group; New Mexico announced the move into 1B the afternoon of January 8. By vaccinating the adults on campus, we can provide a safer, more stable environment for everyone, especially students, when they return to campus. The administration will not mandate that all employees be vaccinated, but the vast majority is participating in the school’s vaccine clinic or being vaccinated through other programs.

We plan to have students eat lunch outside, weather permitting. Students will be well spaced since they will be removing their masks to eat and drink. Lunches will be monitored for adherence to safety precautions. Although the menu will be more limited than when dining halls were open, students with allergies and other dietary needs will be accommodated. Because the plan is for students to be on campus only part time until the state allows 50% room capacity (bringing 100% of our students back to campus full time), the lunch fee will be prorated. Due to the limited menu, students will be permitted to bring their own lunch if they’d prefer. REMEMBER: We are a nut-free campus. The decision to bring lunch or have lunch from the dining hall must be made for the entire spring trimester; it will not be possible to switch between options on a daily basis.

There are many details to be finalized and shared regarding the return to campus in February, from students’ in-person schedules to processes for drop-off and pick up. We will host another webinar for families on January 28 followed by webinars for each division:

• 6-7 Division February 3 3:30-4 p.m.
• 8-9 Division February 18 4-4:30 p.m.
• 10-12 Division February 18 5-5:30 p.m.

Additionally, please watch your email closely for updates, and check this webpage regularly for new information.

To minimize academic disruptions and to help us establish new routines, students in the 8-9 and 10-12 divisions will start in-person classes the first week of the spring trimester, beginning February 22. The 6-7 students do not switch classes every trimester, so they will start sooner. At least half our 6-7 division has never attended classes in person at the Academy, so bringing them on sooner will give them a chance to get oriented to our campus.

The college guidance office has been working closely with the testing organizations to provide safe, in-person tests at the Academy, and they are communicating directly with seniors and families about testing; direct communication with juniors and their families will happen as needed.

Please follow the latest NMDOH guidelines for such situations. In its current iteration, the health order states that the traveler must quarantine from others within the same residence for 14 days If it’s possible for travelers to properly self- quarantine, students are not restricted from coming to campus. However, if household members have mixed together, all family members must quarantine the full 14 days.

Remember that all student travel and impact on in-person learning is subject to these NMDOH guidelines as well. Travel and quarantine rules are not set by the Academy.

The language and math departments have provide resources for students to practice their skills before and/or after their trimester classes. Math resources are available here, and language resources here.

Athletics guidelines at the Academy are determined by the New Mexico Activities Association in combination with our campus health status and general health recommendations by the state and national health and governmental organizations. Please click here for the most recent details about the 2020-21 athletic seasons.

Yes, we are planning to offer 6-7 sports. Coaches are working out the details, but we expect seasons to align with the plans for high school sports. Click here for those details.

Yes, 6-7 students may borrow laptops and wifi hotspots if needed. 6-7 Division Head Chris Dineen provide more information in the email he sent to students and parents on August 3.

Because independent study projects may span a semester or a full year, in the trimester schedule, they will be on a students’ schedules for a trimester or half of a trimester. Students conducting independent study projects will need to arrange regular meetings with their teachers.

We know that it will be essential for some families to carpool to and from school, particularly since students will not be able to stay on campus after school ends. We ask that you follow the same health/safety precautions as you would in other daily situations. Because carpooling students may be in different grades, they do not need to be in the same classes.

There will not be any change to our grading system; students will get a midterm and final grade as well as expectation indicators as they normally would. Teachers, however, understand that online learning in a new trimester system is different from what students are used to, and they will work with students to help them to be successful. Students are encouraged to speak with their teachers if they are experiencing challenges with their academic work.

We understand that there are members of the Academy community who are at high risk and/or have high-risk family members in their households, and, with cases on the rise, some families may simply feel better about keeping their students home. Classrooms will be equipped with wide-angle cameras and wireless microphones so teachers can deliver content to students who do not attend in-person class. If this is an option you are interested in due to health concerns, please contact your division head.

We will strive to offer the full educational program as long as it can be carried out safely. This includes making plans for science labs, dance and other performing arts classes, PE, Ex Ed, and community service. All will be conducted within social distancing guidelines, without sharing materials, and so on.

No. Because the curriculum is compressed into an 11-week trimester, we chose to provide more instruction time rather than dedicating days to final exams, reviews, and prep.

Certainly students will be able to meet with their teachers for help with assignments or to discuss other areas in which they need support. Such meetings may be held online or, when students are on campus, in person, since these student/teacher combinations are already a point of contact; many faculty offices will be equipped with plexiglass shields, and each person will wear a mask.

All students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors must masks. We have researched the best options to allow for optimal classroom communication, for physical activities like PE and dance classes, and for performance classes.

Access to restrooms will be intensely managed to avoid crowding. The Academy has purchased two ionized aerosol sprayers that will be used to clean restrooms multiple times throughout the day, and restrooms will be deep cleaned each evening. 

It is up to families to follow the protocol, guidelines, and recommendations set by government and health officials and remember that preserving the health of the school community depends on all of us. Please review the Commitment from Families section in the Return to Campus plan for more details.

Yes. Classes taken in the fall or winter trimester will meet for refreshers during free time in their schedules, likely through Zoom to prevent excessive student mixing. Although there is no firm data, anecdotal evidence from other schools using this trimester model suggests this plan will not hurt AP scores.

Late AP registration is open through March 12, 2021 at 4 p.m. More details are available here. 

Because students will be kept to specific spaces on campus to reduce interactions, music practice rooms will not be available.

Yes, although these classes will require extra distancing since it will not always be possible or practical to wear PPE. We are also researching masks that are designed for singing and performing.

No. Accessing lockers would allow too much student mixing and not enough distancing. Instead, students will need to bring everything they need for school in their backpacks. With fewer academic classes in their daily schedules, students will not have to overload their backpacks.

No. Lunches will be brought to students at their designated eating locations.

The West Campus bookstore is closed. The East Campus bookstore will remain open, but not in its traditional form, selling only basic supplies for class. Students will not be able to visit or hang out at bookstores or buy snacks. Instead, healthy snacks will be made available from SAGE Dining.

A cohort is the group of students who will attend the same classes during a trimester. By putting students in small groups, we can limit the number of their on-campus contacts, which will help in contact tracing in the case of exposure. If a student group has to quarantine, they would move to online learning for 14 days.

It is very important that students stay home when they are sick or have been exposed to the virus. Students who must stay home will be able to join their classes online. If a student needs to work remotely, their teachers will work with them to ensure they stay on track.

Yes, and we will be extending senior privileges to any student in the 10-12 division who has a driver’s license and the use of a car. Students will be allowed to leave/return to campus during free periods to prevent excessive mixing with others and limit exposure, provided that they sign out properly each time they leave. Students who do not have an A block class are encouraged to arrive late, and those without a C block class are encouraged to leave early if they can drive or if family members can drive them. We are extending these privileges to all upper school students in order to reduce density on campus. All students must be present for all their required commitments, which includes classes, advisory, health, college knowledge, and the like.

No. Even when campus is open to students, it will not be available to others for walking on the open space trails or cross country course. Access to campus will be carefully monitored to prevent unnecessary access, decrease campus density, and limit exposure. Parents will be able to access campus for drop-off and pickups, but then they will need to leave.

It is best for your health and the health of the community to avoid unnecessary travel. The New Mexico Department of Health requires a 14-day quarantine following out-of-state travel by air and car. Any student who must quarantine per NMDOH guidelines will continue classes via distance learning. For the latest details about travel guidelines, including other family members who have traveled out of state, please click here.

The measures in this plan are designed to reduce the risk of exposure to and the spread of COVID-19 on the campus of Albuquerque Academy as guided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New Mexico Department of Health.

These measures include social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, and reduced student mixing; class space and building enhancements such as HVAC improvements, air filtration systems, plexiglass barriers, and touchless water stations; and stepped-up cleaning, such as ionized aerosol disinfection and increased cleaning in high traffic areas.

More information is provided in the return to campus plan detailed on this page.

School staff will regularly check temperatures of students upon arrival. If your student presents with a temperature that is higher than 100.0 F, they will be sent home.

Our new daily schedule limits student interaction on campus, which will simplify contact tracing should a member of our community test positive for COVID-19. If a cohort has been exposed and must quarantine, the group will receive instruction via online learning.

If your student or someone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, you must notify the school nurse as soon as possible.

If anyone in your household has been notified by the State Health Department that they were in contact with an individual infected with COVID-19, you are asked to notify the school nurse. You may be asked to keep your student home from school for 14 days. During this time, your student will be able to continue classes by distance learning.

We understand that there are situations when a member of the Academy community has a personal health situation that puts them at particular risk for COVID-19. We will do our best to accommodate the unique needs of individual students and employees. If your student is immunocompromised or you have particular concerns about their presence on our campus, we encourage you to notify the school nurse and contact your division head as soon as possible.

Fall break, Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, and the end of the school year are unchanged from the original calendar. We are not adding school days to the annual calendar by starting a week early early, but instead are adding breaks between trimesters. View the trimester calendar and breaks here.

To help parents who have students at other schools with their planning, fall break, winter break, and spring break align with APS breaks. The Academy will have class on two days that APS is off — November 3 (election day) and November 11 (Veterans’ Day). These two days fall just before and after the end of the first trimester, when the Academy will be on break from Wednesday, November 4 through Sunday, November 8.

Students in grades 8-12 will take two classes a day that meet for two hours each day for 55 days. During a student’s third period, 8-9 students will have PE, health, Experiential Education, advisory, study hall, or athletics; 10-12 students will have health class or College Knowledge seminars during their lunch period. Class times will be staggered to reduce congestion at drop-off and morning health screenings and to reduce crowding between blocks.

The 6-7 division schedule will be developmentally appropriate allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience.

As usual, students will receive their schedules just prior to the start of school.

The full-day, five-day-a-week schedule allows us to reduce class sizes to 12 students or fewer and will allow parents to better manage their own work schedules.

We will reduce the number of visitors allowed on campus to keep our community safe. All visitors to campus (not including student drop-off and pickup) will be screened upon arrival. In an elevated health status, visitors may be required to make an appointment prior to a campus visit.

Our plans to reopen for the 2020-21 school year are guided by our strong collective desire to return to campus and informed by the Academy’s deepest educational values and our commitment to preserving the Albuquerque Academy experience. Every decision we are making is focused on these two guiding principles:

1. Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
2. Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community

Decisions have also been guided by the results of surveys conducted in mid-June. More than 70% of parents responded to this survey, with nearly 75% supporting an earlier start to the school year. Both parent and student respondents indicated a strong preference for in-person classes, and parents, students, and faculty supported a trimester schedule.

Work continues, of course, on establishing protocols, determining logistics, and designing and scheduling the program.

We recognize that many may be worried about the loss of routine and opportunities for growth this summer. We may have homes filled with people, and some of us may be alone. We may be caring for aging parents, have recently lost our income, or have family members who are highly distressed navigating these challenges. In times of stress we need to consider how to take care of ourselves, stay active, and connect to our communities in more intentional and creative ways than at other times in our lives.

In these unprecedented times, your Albuquerque Academy counselors are here for you.

To help, we invite you to join a group on Facebook called QuaranTEEN Life – Summer of 2020. It’s a group designed to bring people together to share their ideas on how they are taking care of themselves and creating new summer plans. If you’d like to join, click this link: QuaranTEEN Life – Summer 2020.

We invite you to let us know if you need any extra support. Feel free to email the Counseling and Human Development Department, and we will be happy to share referral information for local therapists, if needed. Please download the app NM Connect, as it has a wealth of resources. For more immediate concerns, the New Mexico Crisis Line has call and text resources available 24/7.

Already, the academics subcommittee of the Reopening Committee has been identifying solutions for improving our online learning if it becomes necessary to continue with or return to that format. We have also been listening to your feedback, through conversations and surveys, to determine what changes to the schedule, the balance between synchronous and asynchronous student work, and lesson design can improve our students’ online experiences.

We are very fortunate to reap the benefits of being one of the 10 founding members of the Global Online Academy, as their professional development offerings in course design and online learning are the best and most sought after in the independent school world. More than 30 Academy teachers will join their four-week boot camp and coaching program this summer, while the rest of our teachers will be involved with summer professional development grants to improve their tech skills and online course design taught by some of our leading online teaching practitioners.

We understand that the events this spring have been both unpredictable and financially devastating for many in our community. Our tuition-assistance program is offering additional support to address short-term hardships by offering one-year, emergency grants. These grants are made possible, in part, through generous donations to the Academy Endurance Fund. Please feel free to email Financial Assistance Officer Emily Kienzle throughout the summer with any questions.

Click here for a list of Academy-related small businesses that can use your support right now.

To support local nonprofits that work closely with the Academy, see this letter from Director of Community and Global Citizenship Dara Johnson.

Here are some of the ways our community has been making a difference.

• SAGE Dining donated more than 1,400 pounds of fresh food — milk, eggs, yogurt, and produce — to Roadrunner Food Bank.
• The nurse’s office and science department donated 300 masks to UNMH.
• The science department donated 60 goggles to first responders and medical professionals through Goggles for Docs.
• The computing department has manufactured more than 100 mask strap adjusters for Presbyterian, UNMH, and a local nursing home, as well as facilities in New York City, Colorado, and Texas.
• The Desert Oasis Teacher Garden is donating its weekly harvests to Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico and partnering with some APS schools to provide curriculum along with lunch pickups.
• The ninth grade community service club is coordinating a letter-writing campaign in support of medical providers. Learn more here.
• Academy families may attend mask-making tutorials on Thursday afternoons.
• Melinda ’21 created the website ABQ Fight COVID-19 to coordinate efforts in the fight against the virus. Read more here. 
• Rosa ’21 has sewn more than 100 masks, donating to at-risk community members, the UNM Cancer Center, and the Farmington Regional Medical Center. She has also started making surgical caps. Visit her website, Random Masks of Kindness.

Grades 6-7 
Grades 8-12

These schedules will be followed Monday-Friday when students return to in-person learning.

Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12

Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12

To fit all of the 6-7 classes into the schedule and maintain skills, 6-7 students take all of their classes throughout the year, regardless of the trimester. Sixth-grade schedules are based on two 13-day cycles, and seventh-grade schedules are based on three nine-day cycles. Work will come to a logical conclusion before each cycle change. Students will not be tested on previous material at the start of a new cycle, and teachers will not assign work outside of their cycle.

In grade 6, students have up to four classes a day, plus performing arts or study hall. In grade 7, students have three classes a day, plus performing arts or study hall.

6-7 students take a wider variety of required classes throughout the year. For example, sixth graders take 10 classes over the course of a year, while 10-12 students take five or six. This schedule allows for the full 6-7 experience while studying all subjects regularly.

Students will rotate through nearly all of their classes and eat lunch with the same 10-11 students in their village in grade 6 and 12-13 students in their village in grade 7. The exception is their performing arts class, during which they will mix with a different group of approximately 15 students. 6-7 schedules will not change at the trimester breaks; students will be in the same small groups throughout the year.

Despite the staggered starts to prevent crowding in the mornings and avoid mixing at class breaks, an individual 6-7 student will start their school day at the same time every morning.

During breaks, students will have monitored opportunities to get outside and otherwise relax. Breaks are staggered to avoid mixing students.

GOA classes will count as one of the five or six academic classes a student may take. They will continue to meet on a semester schedule. This means that, for some portion of a trimester, a student may have three courses instead of two. Since GOA courses are asynchronous, students will have the flexibility to do their GOA work when it fits their schedules.

Because students will be kept to specific spaces on campus to reduce interactions, Simms Library will not be open for unmanaged student visits. Students need to be picked up by 3:30 p.m.

Daily schedule start times vary by up to 20 minutes to avoid congestion each morning. Schedules will not be designed so siblings necessarily have the same start; however, families carpooling together may arrive at the same time and head directly to their first class.

We understand it will not be convenient for many students to leave campus when they have a free block. Instead, 10-12 students will attend study hall during a free block. All 8-9 students will have class during A and B blocks and another obligation during C block. 6-7 students also will not have significant breaks in the middle of their schedules. All students are expected to leave campus by 3:30 p.m.

Semester classes will meet for either the first half or the second half of a trimester for 27 days.

We will do our best to consider the workloads and intensity of courses when creating student schedules, but there will be limitations and there may be reasons for scheduling two classes together. For instance, it could be beneficial to take some advanced math and science courses during the same trimester. Additionally, some 10-12 students may have more than three AP courses, so it would not be possible to schedule only one per trimester.

With only two courses per day, students will have more room in their schedules to start homework earlier and pursue other activities outside of school that help them recharge.

The 10-day cycle will be used to schedule additional meetings: advisory meetings, health classes (grades 8 and 10), Ex Ed and diversity, equity, and inclusion classes (grade 9), physical education classes (grades 8 and 9), and college knowledge classes (grades 10 and 11).

Each trimester, a student’s B block teacher will be their adviser. In grades 10-12, any student who is not scheduled for a B block class will be assigned an adviser who is also not teaching that period. Because these advisory groups will not comprise the same students as one of the student’s two classes, these groups will be capped at a low number. Advisee groups will eat lunch together on days 1 and 6 of the cycle.

Eighth graders will take PE during the same trimester as their English class and with the same group of students. The PE class will meet four times per cycle (twice per week). Health class will take place during the same trimester as their history class and with the same group of students. Health classes will meet twice per cycle (once per week). Both PE and health will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Ninth graders will take PE during the same trimester as their English class and with the same group of students. The PE class will meet four times per cycle (twice per week). Ex Ed will take place during the same trimester as their history class and with the same group of students. Ex Ed classes will meet twice per cycle (once per week). Both PE and Ex Ed will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Tenth graders will take college knowledge class during the same trimester as their English class and with the same group of students. Tenth graders will take health class during the same trimester as their history class and with the same group of students. Both of these classes will meet twice per cycle (once per week) during lunch.

Eleventh graders will take college knowledge class during the same trimester as their English class and with the same group of students. Classes will meet twice per cycle (once per week) during lunch.