As we return to classes following the Labor Day weekend, today marks the start of the third week of 100% distance learning for the 2020-21 school year.  We remain in phase one of the AEA Teaching and Learning Plan.  Our teachers and staff have been working tirelessly to provide students the best access to content possible given the challenges caused by the pandemic.  A key component of this work has centered around the Canvas learning management system (LMS) we adopted in both AEA schools in anticipation of an online reopening.

At its September 8th meeting the AEA Board of Trustees will discuss conditions under which we may move into phase two of our plan, which would include select student groups returning in person in self-contained cohorts of no more than 14 students and no more than two teachers.  Strict social distancing measures protocols would be in place at all times.  The Board meeting begins at 2 pm; click here for information on viewing the meeting online.

In the most recent AEA email newsletter, I mentioned the exciting news that we officially delivered all relevant AEA high school documents to our charter authorizer San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) last Thursday.  These documents lay out our request to open an AEA high school beginning in Fall, 2024 and also to combine our three schools under one charter and as one Local Education Agency or LEA.  All school districts, regardless of the number of schools they contain, are single LEAs.  In addition to representing the next step in the long-time dream of opening an AEA high school, the request to consolidate our programs and operations is another step in making our organization more efficient and effective in order to better serve students and families in what will eventually be a k-12 continuum of the International Baccalaureate (B) program.  The SDUSD Board will consider our petition at a public hearing tentatively set for November 3rd.  Once this meeting date is confirmed I will update the community as to how we can best support this process.