ACPS Today

[Anonymous]

Anyone care to comment on the first day back at ACPS? My child started in Kindergarten and while everything went smoothly I thought it was generally a bit blah. We don't have a class list, no indication of when they eat lunch and no idea about specials/encore, except that PE was today and they need closed shoes. And, I got back a huge packet with a bunch of forms I think I already completed. Typical? More info coming soon?

[Anonymous]

OP is this Arlington County or Alexandria City public? Also, which school?

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I'm guessing you mean Alexandria City. Here's my experience. If by "class list" you mean a list with the names of all of the students, that's not actually something they typically hand out. Also, you can expect a small amount of shuffling the first weeks of schools as the get the final enrollment established. There are always some people that haven't yet enrolled, and show up at the school this week, or people that registered in the spring, then moved out of the area, so they would be assigned to a classroom but aren't actually there.
On the first day of school, everyone receives a big packet of forms. It's often very similar information to what you may have filled out when you registered your child (you have a kindergartner so I'm assuming you registered in the spring or summer?) but the registration forms go one one set of people, and these generally go to another set. Welcome to public schools and the paperwork! I've love a central computer system where I could enter this kind of data once and be done with it, but I guess they don't have the funds to do something like that.
You will definitely receive more specific info, about schedules, lunch, specials/encore, etc. That's going to come from your child's teacher and specifically on Back to School night. You'll get LOTS of info on Back to School night, but if you have any specific questions before then, contact your teacher directly. They all have email, and in my experience most of them are good about responding quickly. I have a third grader now, and I remember how crazed everything seemed our Kindergarten year, but things really settle down in a couple of weeks. Welcome to ACPS!

[Anonymous]

You'll be surprised about the amount of communication that comes from ACPS. We came from 2 private schools in the area, the last one did not even give us a final report card! We have felt more in the loop and on top of things through the ACPS communication then we ever did in private school. As the other poster commented, the first weeks of school are a bit chaotic. Things will calm down and the communication will start flowing on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

I think the OP was talking about Arlington, and what she describes is typical. It's usually the PTA that organizes the school directory and it will be out a few weeks after school begins. Back to school night in two weeks is also the point where you'll get a lot more information about your child's schedule and what the year will look like.

[Anonymous]

We started at Arlington Science Focus and it has been nothing short of amazing.

The prinicipal met individually with every incoming K family this summer. Our meeting was 1 hour. It was to talk about your child and determine which teacher would be best fit, etc.

They had organized playdates every Thursday for rising K at the park across the street.

There was an open house for K students where we went around the school, got to sit in on each K classroom, etc.

The first day was pulled off very well. Much, much, much communication...emails about how the drop-offs and pick-ups would work, etc.

I really have to say...this is more than we got at our private preschool! I am impressed.

[Anonymous]

OP, If this is Arlington you can find info about specials, lunchtimes, etc. on the school's website. At least you can for ours. Check that out.

[Anonymous]

When I look on their websites, Alexandria uses "ACPS" for Alexandria City Public Schools and Arlington uses "APS" for Arlington Public Schools.

[Anonymous]

I was referring to Alexandria City Public Schools.