Printable Version of the Letter
March 23, 2021
Dear Parents and Guardians of West Genesee High School Students,
Over the past month you may have heard a great deal in the news media about students returning to school for additional days of instruction. We recognize the benefit of more instructional and contact time for students. With this in mind, we will be adjusting our instructional model to create more academic opportunities for our students.
Starting April 7, we will be alternating grade-level cohorts for an additional day on Wednesdays. The first group will be the 9/10 Cohort on Wednesday, April 7. The cohorts will alternate for the remainder of the year through June 9th. We will be using the Wednesdays as an opportunity for remediation, reteaching or enrichment purposes. The following week (Thursday, June 17 through Thursday, June 24) is tentatively scheduled for Regents Exams.
COHORT – DATES OF ATTENDANCE
- Grades 9 & 10 – 4/7, 4/21, 5/5, 5/19, 6/2
- Grades 11 & 12 – 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/26, 6/9
Some have asked about the possibility of a return to in-person five days per week instruction. Listed below are some of the challenges that did not make this return to five days a week feasible. The most pressing ones were:
- Every high school student would have at least one, if not multiple teacher changes
- The teacher changes cited above are not conducive for success on AP Exams or potential Regents Exams
- Some students would also lose elective courses in order to help maintain the staffing needed for core courses
- Our stand-alone Remote Instructional Model would suffer and students would have their sections enlarged to unacceptable numbers
In addition to the alternating Wednesdays, we are also looking at the possibility bringing back Interaction Time (IT) if transportation is available. This will not likely happen until after the start of the fourth marking period.
If you have any questions in the coming days feel free to reach out to me for clarity. Thank you for your time and patience as we navigate this next step toward normalcy.
Sincerely,
Wayne Ackles
Executive Principal
West Genesee High School