MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Maxwell Elementary/Middle School to be closed to students effective March 23, 2020, with online learning starting March 26, 2020.
The Department of Defense Education Activity Southeast District and Maxwell AFB leadership are following Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s recommendation to close in-person classes for students effective March 23, 2020, until further notice.
We appreciate the patience and understanding of our students’ parents as they support our efforts to maintain continuity of education. We have plans in place at the district and school levels, and DoDEA headquarters is committed to providing schools with all the resources necessary. The district will review conditions and publish an update each Friday by 5 p.m. on our local school web pages. The website for the Maxwell Elementary/Middle School is https://www.dodea.edu/MaxwellAFBEMS/.
Here is a list of the changes:
- March 23, 2020, DoDEA school building at Maxwell, will be closed to students as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This action is being taken as a prudent measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. At this time, students should not report back to school until further notice. Staff will report at the usual time to begin online preparation.
- All school extracurricular activities are canceled/postponed until further notice. This includes, but is not limited to, all scholastic and athletic competitions, sports practices, music/drama/arts performance, school trips and any other extra-curricular activities. Additionally, this includes outside groups that meet at our schools.
- March 23, 2020, through March 25, 2020, will be a teacher and staff workday. This will allow administrators and staff to collaborate and prepare to ensure continuity of instruction for online teaching.
- March 26, 2020, students can expect to begin receiving assignments. Students will be expected to complete online learning assignments and/or work packets as assigned by their classroom teachers. School principals and teachers will be sending out additional information related to this expectation by March 24, 2020.
- March 16 through March 20 spring break takes place. No student or staff attendance.
We recognize the hardship this decision places on many families, but believe it is in the public’s best interest if it means we can contribute to protecting our students as well as the community’s health and well-being.
The following website serves as DoDEA’s official source for information on COVID-19, highlighting associated impacts as well as response and prevention efforts: https://www.dodea.edu/Coronavirus.cfm. Please continue to visit this website for updates.
Also, we ask families to continue following the COVID-19/coronavirus guidelines as shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that are posted on its website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html. These include monitoring family members’ health for flu-like symptoms and reaching out to a local health provider if these symptoms occur.
Please know that this is a unique situation for DoDEA schools and the nation. We do not yet have all the answers but are committed to communicating with the Maxwell AFB Community School family as frequently and openly as possible. DoDEA and Maxwell AFB leadership will continue to coordinate closely to ensure accurate and timely information is available and to encourage all appropriate measures to help prevent the spread of the virus.