Dear GIA Family,

Please know that our main goal during these unusual times is the health and safety of our families. Everything else is secondary.  We will certainly do everything we can to provide meaningful learning opportunities for your scholar while they are home.  However, we have no intention of adding to you or your family’s stress.  If our digital learning plans are difficult for you to manage right now, just let us know. We will work together to figure something out.

At this point, we cannot mandate anything or penalize anyone for not figuring out how to make “at home learning” work. There are simply too many things that are uncertain.  We do hope that you do the best you can, and that you encourage your scholars to do the same.  We do not know how long this shut-down will last, but I want to impress upon you how important it is that we continue to push our scholars to learn and grow.

When we do come out of this, and we WILL come out of this -- together – I am sure we want our scholars to be as prepared as possible to continue to excel. We cannot allow them to LOSE ground. We will press forward as best we can, updating you along the way.  Please ask all the questions you need to.  We are definitely in this together. 

Please read the updates below:

• Digital Learning Schedules – Our teachers will be available all week, each week, for our scholars.  Your scholar’s teacher(s) will let you know when (day and time) they will provide live virtual instruction and when they will be available to answer scholar questions about lessons or assignments. We expect to record the live instruction and make it available for scholars who missed it or want to review it. 

• Devices and Internet Access – We are aware that some of you have limited access to technology at home. We are still looking into options to support you. In the meantime, as noted above, please know that we will be flexible regarding due dates and times. Please be sure to let  your homeroom teacher know about any issues, and be very specific.  As always, let your Director know if you need additional support beyond what a teacher is able to communicate or provide.

• Instructional Support – If your scholar has an IEP, the teachers that have served your scholar will also have virtual hours set aside for additional support.  Please allow a couple of days for the support schedule to be finalized.  We will continue to make adjustments as needed to ensure that your scholars get the best possible support under the circumstances.

• Nutrition / Meal Service – It has been confirmed that all of the large districts in Metro Atlanta are serving meals from some of the schools in their region/area.  The meal service will be available to ALL school children who are in need of meals, not just the children who attend district schools.  We have attached updates in English and Spanish that list instructions and locations for each school district.

•  (View/ Download) Aviso importante con respecto a Ubicaciones de distribución de alimentos de emergencia en su comunidad

• (View / Download) Important Notice Regarding Emergency Food Distribution Locations in Your Community

• Morning Start Time: Communication – Please note that we are moving our office hours an hour later to 9:00 a.m.  Teachers are also expected to be available for scholars by 9:00 a.m. (instead of 8 a.m.). Parents should expect to reach the office, and scholars should expect to reach their teachers on-line, until 3 p.m.

Take care, be blessed, and be safe!

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Gavin Samms, Ph.D.

Head of Schools

Dear Parents,

We are confirming that Genesis Innovation Academy will close the campus starting Monday, March 16, 2020 for an indefinite period of time.  Families should anticipate the campus being closed for a minimum of two weeks, but should be prepared for the possibility of a much longer closure period. 

Instruction – It is important to note that while the campus will be closed, instruction will continue. Genesis’ teachers will be offering virtual instruction and/or learning activities to every scholar in every grade, during the school day. Parents are expected to prepare their scholars to receive instruction/do schoolwork each school day. Today’s Digital Learning Day was planned to allow us to test our, and our families’ capacity to manage digital learning successfully.  We have learned a lot from today and will update families before end of day Monday, March 16th with more detailed plans for next week and beyond. To help us adjust our plans accordingly, please be sure to communicate with your scholar’s homeroom teacher if you had any concerns or difficulties with the Digital Learning Day assignments.  Please keep in mind that this is an unusual situation, and plans will likely change. However, also know that we are committed to making sure that your scholars are learning while they are being kept safe at home.

Special Education Services – If your scholar has an IEP/504, you will receive additional correspondence next week from a member of the Special Education Team. That communication will provide more information about how your scholar will be appropriately supported while engaged in digital learning.

Tutoring – In-person tutoring is suspended until Genesis is cleared to reopen the campus.  However, Genesis is working on plans to provide virtual tutoring to scholars (which is a service we currently provide to some of our scholars while they are on campus). Please keep in mind that virtual tutoring options will be offered first to the scholars most in need.

Parent-Scholar-Teacher Conferences – To reiterate, Genesis teachers will be working while the campus is closed.  Time will be set aside for virtual conferences to discuss your scholar’s academic progress.  The schedule will be sent once it is finalized.

Adult Communication – Digital learning has not changed the expected communication protocol for parents and teachers.

• Formal Genesis E-Mail Updates - Formal updates from Genesis Innovation Academy regarding school closure and changes to the calendar or campus-wide schedule will be sent via e-mail.  Families are responsible for checking their e-mails in order to stay current. Additional correspondence may be sent via Class Dojo as a back-up, but Dojo is not the formal communication platform for Genesis.
• Web Updates - Genesis updates will be posted to the Genesis website for reference.
• Assignments and Grading - Formal teacher communication about assignments is still expected to be placed in PowerSchool.  Formal Parent-Teacher communication about class/course expectations or about individual scholars is expected to occur over e-mail. (Teachers may choose to use Class Dojo or Google Classroom as a back-up to formal communication or for informal communication).
• Teacher Responses - Teachers are still expected to answer parent e-mails within 48 hours.  If parents are not receiving the expected communication in a timely fashion, they should not hesitate to send their Academy Director an e-mail. If the Academy Director does not respond timely or appropriately, parents should contact Dr. Samms, the Head of Schools.
• Phone Calls – Parents may call the school during the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. to receive support and have questions answered in real time.  Parents should not expect teachers to communicate during the school day via phone.

Scholar Communication – Scholars will be expected to log-on to various platforms to receive instructions, to study, ask questions and to do actual work.  Parents may need to help scholars access their work sites. However, please use this as an opportunity to coach your scholars on proactively communicating with their teachers if they have questions.

Extra-Curricular Activities – At this time all Genesis athletic teams have suspended operations.  In addition, all field trips and events have been postponed.  We will continue to update you if and when events are canceled and under what circumstances refunds will be processed and how.

Nutrition/Meal Service – We are aware that some of our families rely on meal service at school to feed their children healthy meals.  We are working diligently with the state to determine what options are available and will update you early next week as we know more.

We understand the challenge this event has presented for our Genesis family, our community, our state, and our nation; our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been most directly impacted by COVID-19.  We always strive to make Genesis both a great school and a great family.  Many of us who are on the Genesis Team have children who attend school here every day.  We are in this with you and will do all we can to take care of all of OUR children.

Please feel free to reach out to any member of the Genesis Team if you have questions.

Blessings to you all,

Gavin Samms, Ph.D.

Head of Schools