Todd Gill, Flyer staff
Fayetteville Public Schools officials have updated the options for parents in the 2020-21 school year, following this week’s news that the state won’t allow the district’s original plan.
In what the Education Department called “a clarification,” state officials earlier this week said all schools in Arkansas must first offer in-person interaction five days a week if they want to also provide additional options for families who don’t want to send their children to school at all during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fayetteville had planned to offer only two days of on-campus classes with the other three days scheduled for online instruction at home. An updated plan still allows for less than five days of in-person instruction, but a full-week option has been added to comply with the state’s new guidelines.
Students now have the following options:
- Traditional: Students attend school five days onsite for face-to-face instruction each week.
- Hybrid 2-3: Students attend school on campus two days per week and receive virtual instruction for three days per week. Students with last names A-L will attend school on Monday and Tuesday, while students with last names M-Z will attend school on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Home Campus Virtual: Students take all classes virtually at home.
- Fayetteville Virtual Academy: A long-term placement option for students to take all classes virtually. An application process is required for this option.
A fifth option is available for grades 7-12 only:
- Hybrid 4-1: Students attend school on campus four days per week (Monday-Thursday) and receive virtual instruction on Friday (grades 7-12 only).
» See the full option details here
All families must complete a new survey to select the option they would prefer for the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year. A separate survey is required for each student in a family that attends school in the district. Survey links for each school level have been emailed to parents, and the deadline for completing the survey is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 5 p.m.
Officials said preferred placement cannot be guaranteed for anyone who does not complete the survey.
Note: We currently only have the K-6 survey link. We’ll add the others as soon as we have them.
