Dear APS Families and Community,
Thank you to everyone who was able to respond to our recent survey regarding the return to school. We received 1,316 responses—your feedback has been invaluable as we continue to assess our readiness. We also recognize that many in our community are still without power and may not have been able to respond. Of those who did, 36% reported still being without power, and we understand that many more may be facing similar challenges.
Here’s a quick summary of what we learned:
45% of respondents indicated they were ready to return to school on Monday.
27% shared some concerns but felt they could return.
29% said they were not ready to return.
Not surprisingly, 60% of those without power said they were not ready, while 88% of those with power indicated they were ready to return.
We’ve been reviewing all of your input, including the suggestions for how we can support our students and staff. Much of the support mentioned—such as restoring power and water—remains outside of our control. Still, we are doing everything we can within our buildings to ensure a safe, supportive, and smooth return.
APS has been partnering with our local emergency management agencies. You may have noticed that APS has been using social media to communicate important information to the community. APS also loaned a commercial-grade generator to the county as support for their operations at the fairgrounds. Once our buildings had power restored, we were prepared to support the recovery efforts by opening some as warming facilities. Thankfully, many other organizations had opened their doors as warming shelters, and as we came online, warming shelters were being consolidated due to declining utilization.
While our facilities team has been hard at work preparing our buildings, we also need time for our staff to return, reconnect, and make final preparations before welcoming students back. That time is essential to creating the learning environment our kids deserve.
There are also a few logistical issues we need to resolve:
Food Deliveries – We’ve placed emergency orders to replace the food lost during the outages. While we’ve been guaranteed delivery on Monday, we have not been given a specific time. This creates uncertainty around our ability to provide lunch on Monday, though we will be able to serve breakfast.
Bus Routes – Although roads appear to be clear, our drivers will run their routes without students on Monday to assess actual road conditions and report back.
Should food deliveries be delayed or road conditions prove unacceptable, we will adjust our plan accordingly.
Given these circumstances, staff have been informed that they will return to work on Monday, April 7, to reconnect and prepare. Students will return to school on Tuesday, April 8. High school students enrolled in classes at ACC should expect to receive communication from the college regarding their schedule.
A heartfelt thank you to our incredible staff who have already been working tirelessly this past week to get us to this point. Your dedication does not go unnoticed.
As we return, let’s do so with a deep sense of grace and understanding—for ourselves and for one another. Everyone in our community has experienced this storm differently, and we will need patience and empathy as we work our way back into routine.
For those of you who remain without power, I understand how you might be feeling at this time as my family is still without power as well.
Our goal is to provide a sense of normalcy for our students, staff, and families, but we know many are still facing significant challenges. Parents are empowered to make the best decision for their students based on their individual circumstances.
We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, April 8th.
