Important Deadlines: Back to School Forms, S+LEP Survey, School Meals Applications and DESSA Opt-Out

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As we transition from the back to school season into fall, there are several upcoming deadlines for Alexandria City Public School (ACPS) families to note.

Back to School Forms

To date, we have had a low response rate from families completing the back to school forms online. This is an integral step for families to partner with the school division to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information to support students in their academic journey and reach families in the event of an emergency. Please take a few minutes to verify your child(ren)’s information so we are working in partnership with you throughout the school year.

In order to verify important information for all Alexandria City Public Schools’ (ACPS) students, we have asked that families submit their Back to School forms by Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. These forms must be completed for every ACPS student so that we have on hand emergency contacts, the latest health information and opt-out preferences for each student. If the information has not changed from the previous school year, we still need each family to confirm that is the case.

For our English and Spanish-speaking families with an electronic device, use the links below to fill out the necessary forms in PowerSchool:

• English 2022-23 Back to School forms
• Spanish 2022-23 Back to School forms

To fill out your Back to School Forms log into your Parent PowerSchool account. If you need assistance setting up your Parent PowerSchool account please contact aaa@acps.k12.va.us or reference PowerSchool help.

Our Amharic- and Arabic-speaking families can either download and complete a printed Back to School packet that is available online in Amharic and Arabic or request a packet from their children’s schools. English- and Spanish-speaking families without an electronic device can also download and complete a printed Back to School packet that can be found online or request a printed packet from their school in English and Spanish. Completed forms should be delivered to the school’s front office.

Help us get an A+ on our Back to School form completion rate by submitting your school forms by Sept. 30, 2022!

S+LEP Survey: Deadline Extended to Oct. 9, 2022!

This survey deadline has been extended! Please provide your feedback through the School + Law Enforcement Partnership (S+LEP) Survey by 11:59 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 9. The survey should take 10-15 minutes for families, staff and students in Grades 6-12 to complete and is critical to the work of the S+LEP Advisory Group to consider school safety and security.

Alexandria City Public Schools’ (ACPS) core values include ensuring our schools have a welcoming and safe learning environment for everyone. Results from this survey will be used to directly inform the S+LEP Advisory Group in its upcoming December 2022 recommendations to the School Board for a reimagined partnership between ACPS and the Alexandria Police Department. Additionally, survey respondents will be able to indicate their interest in participating in upcoming focus group discussions about school and division safety and security.

For more information about the S+LEP Advisory Group, please visit the ACPS website.

School Meals

The deadline for families to submit Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARM) applications for the 2022-23 school year is quickly approaching. Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) families must submit their applications by Thurs., Oct. 6, 2022. The deadline for Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School families was Sept. 8, 2022.

Families who need financial assistance for student meals have a 30-day grace period for completing FARM application forms for those students who had qualified for free and reduced-price meals in the 2021-22 school year or who attended a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school last year.

The ACPS School Nutrition Services team encourages all families to set up student meal accounts if they have not yet done so. Families were sent information via email or U.S. mail service with their student’s ID number and PIN and directions for how to set up a student account for school meals. Families can add money to the account, monitor student purchases and apply online for FARM using the link provided for the FARM application process.

All meal services during the 2022-23 academic year have returned to pre-pandemic operations. Students who do not attend one of the eight ACPS Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools or who are not eligible for FARM will be charged for breakfast and lunch meals and their families will need to add funds to student accounts. All negative student meal balances have been wiped clean and accounts have returned to $0.00.

Prices for school meals during the 2022-23 school year are as follows:

• Breakfast for Grades K-12: $2.00.
• Lunch for Grades K-5: $3.05.
• Lunch for Grades 6-12: $3.25.
• Adult Meals: $4.00.

Menu calendars will be provided for each family in grades K-5. Also, menus are available via our School Nutrition Services app and the ACPS website.

DESSA: Social-Emotional Screener

As a reminder, all of our schools will be using a tool called the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) to help identify which life skills students have already learned and what skills they might still need to develop. All of the questions have been reviewed by the division and are deemed appropriate for use by teachers of students in grades K-8 and with students in grades 9-12.

Access to the results will be limited to those who directly serve the student. Families will be able to review their child’s results in the PowerSchool Parent Portal during the 2022-23 school year. In order to allow families to review the information, ACPS has extended that opt-out timeline. You have the right to opt-out your child by Mon., Oct. 3, 2022, using the link provided on the ACPS website. Students in grades 9-12 may also opt-out on the day the survey is given.

Visit the ACPS DESSA webpage for more information.