ACCPTA article, January 11, 2021

Many families have wanted to know if the Digital Academy will continue for the rest of the
school year. We now know the answer is yes.

Alachua County Public Schools has received approval from the Florida Department of Education
to continue offering the Digital Academy (DA) for the rest of this school year.

The approval does come with some additional requirements. Under an emergency order issued
by the state on November 30, the district must notify in writing all DA students who are not
making adequate progress based on their grades, attendance and/or other assessments. Those
students must then be switched to brick-and-mortar schooling unless families indicate in
writing that they want their student to remain in the Digital Academy.

During the week of January 19, schools will be sending home letters to the families of DA
students who are not making adequate progress. Those families will then have an opportunity
to meet with school staff (in person or online) to discuss their child’s progress and options
before making a decision.

The letters will include information about additional support that will be offered to both brick-
and-mortar and DA students, including targeted help for individuals and small groups, tutoring
outside the school day, truancy reduction efforts, teacher training and other strategies.

If a DA child is making adequate progress, families will not need to take further action if they
want that child to remain in the Digital Academy.

The district is asking that any family that plans to return to brick-and-mortar notify their child’s
school as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition.

On another topic, the window for families to apply for an academic or career-tech magnet
program will be opening in the next few weeks. The district will be using the same streamlined,
online application process used last year.

Information about the magnet applications will be sent to families soon. In the meantime,
magnet programs are holding virtual Open Houses for interested students and families. A
schedule and other magnet information is available on our website at http://www.sbac.edu/magnet.

ACCPTA Newsletter article
Dr. Carlee Simon

As both the parent of children in Alachua County Public Schools and an educator, I recognize the
importance of effective home-school connections to the success of our students. I’m so pleased to be
serving as Superintendent in a district that enjoys the active support of so many families through the
ACCPTA, individual school PTAs and other school-related groups. It will certainly make my job easier!

PTAs/PTSAs/PTOs are such a valuable part of any school community. I appreciate the ACCPTA’s ongoing
efforts to establish and assist local PTA chapters, particularly in our high needs schools, and I pledge to
support those efforts in any way I can.

I’m also impressed at the work ACCPTA has done to benefit the entire district. Your efforts to promote
both the Half-Cent and the One Mill ballot initiatives will have a long-lasting, positive impact on our
schools and students. The workshops ACCPTA has organized on issues such as mental health and ESE
have been very popular with families. And your advocacy at the local, state and national levels are
critical to the survival of public education.

Like most districts in Florida and throughout the nation, Alachua County Public Schools is facing
significant challenges. Obviously COVID has created a lot of pain and anxiety for our students, families
and staff. It has also made existing issues worse, including funding shortages and the achievement gap.
As I’ve shared before, it will take a community effort to address and overcome those challenges. We will
certainly need your support in the future to increase equity and adequacy across the district.

I look forward to listening to and working with critical partners like ACCPTA as we all work toward
fulfilling the district’s mission of ensuring that every child achieves success!

Sincerely,

Carlee Simon, Ph.D.

Superintendent
Alachua County Public Schools