September 1, 2020

Dear APS families, faculty and staff,

Over the past several weeks, our administrative team has worked hard to launch the start of the school year. As a result of this work, I have good news to share regarding food services, school start times for 2020-21 and transportation.

APS Director of Food Services Gail Koutroubas informed me on Monday that the U.S.D.A. has extended its program to provide all children (ages 0-21) with free breakfast and lunches through December 31, 2020. APS Food Services will be sending further information on how the extended program will be implemented at APS in the coming weeks. I also want to extend my appreciation to Gail and her team for their remarkable work since March to ensure our students were provided meals.

Additionally, our principals, assistant principals and our transportation department spent many hours to develop cohorts, class assignments, and transportation routes to launch the start of the school year. As a result of this work, I have good news to share with you regarding school start times and busing.

The school start times for 2020-21 will be as follows:

• 7:45 a.m. – 2:20 p.m.                       Middle Schools
• 8:15 a.m. – 2:51 p.m.                       Andover High School
• 8:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.                       Elementary Schools

Since the district will transport fewer elementary students on our school buses than anticipated, APS has been able to schedule the pick-up and drop-off of all K-5 students at one consistent start and dismissal time. The district recognized that having two different school start times for elementary school students was challenging for families, and it also meant staggering our staff work hours. Please note, APS will continue to be able to bus K-6 only.

In addition, the district is close to completing the assignment of elementary students to cohorts, classes and teams. The elementary principals will release cohort and teacher assignments to families on September 2, 2020. The middle schools will release their cohort assignments on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, with students’ schedules to follow. The high school scheduling process and cohort assignments are ongoing due to their complex nature. The high school administration will announce a date when parents and students can expect the release of cohorts and schedules.

Elementary parents and guardians will be able to access this information via the ASPEN parent portal. On Wednesday, elementary parents and guardians can log into Aspen and open the pdf file in the “Published Reports” widget on the home page to view the report. The file can be downloaded to your computer for future reference. The Aspen Portal can be accessed at https://ma-andover.myfollett.com. If you need assistance with your Aspen account please contact Infosys@aps1.net.

Important Dates for Elementary Families: 

Thank you for your patience as we work through the intricate logistics of reopening our schools. We look forward to the start of the school year.

Sincerely,

Shelley Berman