Alachua County Public Schools cancels extra-curricular activities and field trips through March

Jackie Johnson, the Public Information Officer for Alachua County Public Schools, released the following statement in regards to extra-curricular activities, and field trips.

Alachua County Public School families and staff:

We thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we deal with the extremely challenging and ever-changing COVID-19 situation. We remain in constant contact with state and local health officials to ensure we are following all recommendations. Based on guidance from them and the Florida Department of Education, school remains in session.

However, out of an abundance of caution, the district is cancelling all extracurricular activities and all field trips beginning Monday, March 16 and running through Tuesday, March 31.  Extracurricular activities include sporting events and practices; academic competitions; performances; club meetings and activities; school carnivals/festivals; PTA, SAC and booster club meetings/activities; community meetings, etc.  However, our Extended Day Enrichment Program (EDEP) and 21st Century programs will continue to operate.

The community meetings on rezoning scheduled for March 16 at Kanapaha Middle School, March 31 at the SWAG Community Center and April 1 at Ft. Clarke Middle School have also been postponed indefinitely. The Job Fair on March 19 and the Bus Driver and Bus Aide Job Fair on April 2 have also been cancelled. 

The School Board meeting on March 17 will be held. Citizens who wish to provide input on an agenda item but do not want to come to the meeting can submit their input to issues@gm.sbac.edu. The Board agenda for that meeting is attached. 

Decisions about future events/activities, including graduation ceremonies, will be made at a later time based on recommendations from health officials. Of course, many of these events/activities will also be affected by decisions made by the organizers, venues, etc. 

Based on new information from the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Department of Education has issued updated guidelines regarding travel. Obviously this is critical information as we approach Spring Break. Those new guidelines are as follows:

• Anyone (students/faculty/staff/etc.) who goes on foreign travel, to any country, must self-isolate for 14 days upon return.

• Anyone (students/faculty/staff/etc.) who goes on a cruise, anywhere, must self-isolate for 14 days upon return.

We recommend that anyone who falls into these categories follow these guidelines for the health and safety of others.  

Of course, information and recommendations on COVID-19 are changing rapidly, so we ask that everyone continue to monitor the situation. 

We will continue to update our dedicated Coronavirus page at https://bit.ly/38NjQpF. This page includes additional information about COVID-19, links to state and federal resources and even information on how to talk to children about COVID-19. We will continue to post updates on our Facebook (@AlachuaCountyPublicSchools) and Twitter (@AlachuaSchools) pages. We will also continue to notify families and staff directly with updates as appropriate.

This is new territory for all of us, and we appreciate the community’s ongoing support for our students and schools.