Early Release Day

ASM Early Release Days

Frequently asked questions

Why are we doing this?

What is the benefit to teachers and students? 

In the past, we were only able to hold full days of professional learning at a very sporadic rate. To remedy this, early release days were created.  These days address the critical need for teachers to meet more frequently to collaborate and learn from and with one another, and are designed to impact student learning by developing our practice through ongoing learning. Our community believes in and research supports that on-site, in-depth, job-embedded professional learning is the most effective model to develop the common language, focus, and direction necessary to support the learning and growth of ASM students now and in the future.  Early release days provide the structure for this learning and ongoing collaboration to happen on a systematic and ongoing basis.

What will staff be doing during the early release time? 

Students will be dismissed at 1:45 P.M. Buses leave at 2:00 P.M.
The days will be used for a range of purposes:

• purely divisional work around key divisional initiatives

• divisional work on areas of K-12 or strategic focus

• individual work time aligned with reporting schedules

• departmental or teamwork on divisional or strategic areas of focus 

• K-12 learning, alignment, and community connections

How will this impact instructional time in general and for the  IB specifically?

The impact on instructional time, comparable to previous years, is minimal, if any, as the days that were scheduled as Professional Learning and Staff Work Days in previous years are no longer in the calendar. 

The Upper School has made changes to its schedule to ensure that we have no additional loss of instructional time compared to the 2021-2022 academic year.

Can we have parent meetings during the ERD? (Can admissions hold tours, etc?) 

Parent meetings should be held outside of the ER days. Some offices (admissions, business, etc.) may still receive parents during the ER time.

How will after-school buses run?

Buses leave at 2:00 P.M.  There will be no after-school activities on these Wednesdays, and only the later athletics team practices for older students will take place. Middle School and Upper School students who have late practices will be allowed to remain at school, in designated areas, until their practices.

Will ASM provide lunch? 

All students will eat lunch. Teachers will eat during their divisional times. 

Will there be ASAs (sports/non-sports)  on that day? 

No after-school activities will take place on ER days. Some sports practices may take place at a different time. This information will be provided at a later date.

Can sports practice still run for certain teams?

Sports coached by non-ASM personnel will continue on a modified schedule on early release days.

Will ASM provide childcare?

There will not be childcare on these afternoons. 

Can Upper School students remain on campus to study? 

Upper School students will be allowed to remain at school, but only for their own individual study needs and not for socializing. They will not be supervised and, as such, are expected to act responsibly and in a way that does not negatively impact the school. 

MS and LS students are not permitted to remain on campus unless they have a school-sponsored activity on that day.

What if a child can’t be picked up?

Because all staff members will be engaged in work as soon as students leave campus, parents must arrive on time to pick up their children.

If issues arise, Lower School parents should communicate with the LS Office via PowerSchool and the Transportation Changes link.

Issues around pick-up for MS and US students should be emailed to the respective offices. 

Why is it on a Wednesday? Why not a Friday?

The ASM Leadership Team and Board did consider  Fridays but decided to have early release days on Wednesdays for the following reasons:  

1. Our goal was to create valuable, protected time for Professional Learning.  Friday afternoons are not ideal professional learning times.

2. Wednesdays are already a day without after-school activities.  We did not want to further impact access to the After School Activity program by adding a second day without activities. 

3. We already face several days in the school calendar where there are shorter weeks when there are a significant number of student absences.  We did not want to create a regular situation where there appeared to be optional puentes.