Good News

Welcome back to school! This year’s back to school night will be held virtually. Please use this Youtube link in order to watch the special video put together by D3 staff: https://youtu.be/q0TdrGUge6c.

Off-campus students,

If you are experiencing any issues while navigating the off-campus program, please email our specialists at d3offcampus@apamail.org. They will be happy to assist you!

Please carefully read the following information.

Hello American Preparatory Academy families!

What a unique summer we are all experiencing!  We hope you and your families are all well, and are enjoying time together and some fun summer activities!

We have recently received the guidance on school re-opening in the fall from the Utah State Office of Education.  On June 25th, they approved a draft of the “requirements” and “recommendations” for schools for this fall’s opening, and last week the governor approved the requirements and recommendations.

We are now in the process of taking that guidance and creating American Preparatory Academy’s Fall 2020 Operational Plan.  We will present this to our Governing Board in the next few weeks, and submit the final plan to the USBE (Utah State Board of Education) by August 1st.

This email outlines some of the main aspects of what school will “look like” this fall.   Because things are still changing and may continue to change with the COVID19 numbers, we need to emphasize that this information may be subject to some change!  But following is our current plan for our school opening this fall.  Currently, our schools are all located in areas that are on “yellow”, so our school reopening plan reflects the yellow phase guidance.

The plan revolves around the following 3 major efforts:

1. Keeping the virus out of the school to the extent possible.  
2. Reducing the viral spread within the school to the extent possible.
3. Keeping those individuals safe who are at risk of serious complications from the virus.  

1. Keeping the virus out of the school to the extent possible.

We will be relying heavily upon parents and staff members to be very aware of any symptoms they or their children may be experiencing, and ask that no students be sent to school, and no staff attend school, when they are symptomatic.  We will be welcoming only Healthy Students and Staff at the school.  This will require temperature and symptom checking daily.  We will be asking parents to take their student’s temperature daily prior to coming to school, and also to fill out a symptom checklist each morning.  We will also ask that staff takes their own temperature each morning and completes the symptom checklist.  Guests to the schools will have their temperature checked and will be asked the symptom questions.  Working to keep the virus out of the school to the extent possible will be our first major effort.

2. Reducing the viral spread within the school to the extent possible.

We will implement increased hygiene practices at the school – with frequent hand sanitizing/washing for all students and staff.

We will conduct Increased sanitizing of classrooms, restrooms, surfaces throughout the school day and each evening.

We will encourage Social Distancing to the extent possible in our classrooms.

We will not hold assemblies or gather elementary students in a central location in the mornings unless we are able to maintain six-foot social distancing.

Teachers and staff will wear masks and/or shields when social distancing is not possible, which we believe will be in nearly all classroom settings.

3. Keeping those individuals safe who are at risk of serious complications from the virus.

Staff or students who qualify as “high risk*” may need to avoid being at the school all together.  See the definition of “high risk” below.  In these cases, please contact your school administrator so plans can be made to accommodate your student.  Staff members contact your supervisor to begin discussions on options.

Those are the 3 major focus areas.  How these efforts will look in all the different settings will vary.

Here are a few more details:

1. The school calendar will run as published (school start date remains as is published in your calendars).
2. Students attend school for normal school hours.
3. Parents symptom-check and temperature check their children each day prior to coming to school and certify they are symptom-free/fever free before sending them to school each day.
4. Hand sanitizer stations will be increased at the school and students and staff will sanitize frequently, under supervision for the little children.
5. Social distancing will be in place to the extent possible, utilizing directional signs in hallways, desks separated as possible in classrooms, and reminder signs.
6. Staff members who are unable to maintain 6 foot distancing will wear masks or shields.
7. Students may wear masks or shields as the family decides.  Families who wish their children to wear masks should prepare to supply their child with a clean mask each day.
8. Large gatherings at school will be avoided if social distancing cannot be maintained, such as assemblies, and elementary students not gathering in the morning prior to school, but going directly to their classes.
9. Increased sanitization of classrooms, bathrooms and the playground will occur throughout the day.
10. We encourage the use of student water bottles and our touch-less fill stations as opposed to drinking fountains.
11. Guests to the school (including parents and family members) will be asked to certify that they don’t have any symptoms, will be temperature-checked and contained in a limited area, with required hand sanitizing.
12. After-school and extra-curricular activities have not yet been finalized.  We are awaiting information from the UHSAA for guidance on our high school activities.

For students who are defined as “high risk”, American Prep will work with families to determine the best educational options for the student.  The state’s definition of “high-risk” includes the following:

*High-risk individuals are defined as people 65 years and older, people who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility, people of all ages with lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, people who have serious heart conditions, people who are immunocompromised including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications, people with severe obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, or liver disease.

For students who are defined as “high risk”, the requirements to provide a “home/hospital” level of education remain in place for all districts, and American Prep will work with families to determine the best educational options for their students who qualify as high risk.  Let us know about any students who are high-risk when you complete the survey.

SURVEY

Please fill out the quick survey found here .   We need every family to fill out the survey for each student they have at the school.  Thank you!!!

We hope this information has been helpful!  We feel very fortunate that COVID19 has not proven to be a significant threat to children.  What a wonderful thing that is!  We are excited about the prospect of being with your children again this fall.  Please feel free to contact your administrator with questions you may have.  We will provide more details as our plan progresses.

Carolyn Sharette

Executive Director

Cell: 801-808-3933

csharette@apamail.org

This presentation is for parents of current D3 students that are planning on re-enrolling for next year (2020-2021).

– Click here to view presentation –

Congrats to the Draper APA JH Girls Basketball Team on winning the State Championship! They played against American Heritage in the final game of the championship and won 44-15! Go Eagles!!

All American Prep Draper schools will be closed today.

The heavy snow and strong winds pelting the Salt Lake Valley have prompted the closure of schools today, Feb. 3, 2020, in Canyons School District. American Preparatory Draper schools follow the Canyons District for inclement weather.

Any extracurricular activities and events are also cancelled due to the extreme weather and dangerous road conditions.

The cancellation is for one day only. Additional information will be sent out if the regular school schedule is altered in subsequent days.