Good Morning West Ashley High School Parents,

I hope this email finds you happy, safe and healthy. I apologize for not sending any updates until today, but as you can imagine, things are moving pretty quickly and I wanted to make sure I had the most accurate/up-to-date information possible. Please take a moment to review the bulleted points below (I am sorry for the length of this message).

1. If you are receiving this email, you are in our West Ashley High School database for the 2020-2021 school year. WELCOME. There may be a few of you that have recently withdrawn that have not yet been pushed over to your new school. Likewise, there are families who will be joining us next year that will not receive this email. Please feel free to forward this to families you know are recent transfers/move-in's.

2. As you know, the board approved pushing the start date back to September 8th due to the current rate of infection in our local community. Earlier this week, the district sent out a "Parent Enrollment Option Form" to determine what families were intending to do for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. We need 100% of our parents to complete this form by Monday, August 3rd. A copy of the form can be found HERE. A copy of the district's Safe Restart plan can be found HERE.

3. For those of you choosing to get back to in-person instruction when it is safe to do so, it is important to note that West Ashley High School will not be able to bring 100% of our students back for in-person instruction. Therefore, we will start the year on an AA/BB schedule. A lot of work has gone into ensuring students were put into teams that mirrored any siblings they may have in CCSD schools. We started at the high school level and looked at students with not only the same last name, but students living at the same address, sharing the same guardians, etc. This is true from Kindergarten through 12th grade. For example, the Smith family may have a 2nd grader, 8th grader, and a Senior. If the three schools are on the AA/BB schedule, they will all be on the same team. **Please note that if you choose to return in-person, there is a very good chance that we may need to temporarily start the year remotely. We are hoping to see a drastic decline from now until September 8th. That decision will be made on August 10th.

4. For those of you choosing the virtual option. You will still be a West Ashley High School student, however, you will not be taking any classes at the high school for at least the first semester. The classes you take will be through SC Virtual and/or Edgenuity. The classes will be facilitated by CCSD teachers. You do NOT need to withdraw. If you withdraw from WA and sign up for SC Virtual independently or another program like Connections Academy and later return to WA in January, the school will lose funding/teachers. For every 20 students that withdraw, we lose a teacher. This is very important, especially if you plan to return when it's safe to do so.

5. Finally, I want everyone to know that we are taking this virus VERY seriously at the school level. Excess furniture is being pulled from the classrooms, desks are being put in storage, plexiglass and hand sanitizing stations are being installed, etc. For those of you choosing the in-person option, please know that the health and safety of our students, staff, and the greater WA community has been and will continue to be my top priority. 

Next steps:

1. Complete the Parent Enrollment form (Due August 3rd).
2. Once we have the final info, we will make any necessary modifications to the master schedule.
3. Communication will be sent from this point forward every Tuesday. Starting with Tuesday, August 4th - at which point I will share the dates and plan for schedule pick up.
4. Teachers and counselors return August 11th. 

This email is far too long. I will send additional updates on Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend.

Sincerely,

Mr. Cumback

Principal