Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! This limited edition "Back In Action" newsletter will be sent out through Aug. 19, and is designed to help keep our APS community informed now that the school year has begun.



8.10.21 Edition

Here’s What You Need to Know



The health and safety of our students, staff, and families is our top priority at Atlanta Public Schools. In an effort to protect our parents, schools and families, here is some information you need to know:  

COVID-19 vaccines are now available to all staff and to eligible students in our middle schools and high schools beginning this week. Click here for the complete vaccination schedule. If you want your child to be vaccinated, please pre-register here. This will help make the process go more smoothly on the day they are vaccinated.

Please also note that unvaccinated students and staff can still receive the first dose of the vaccine when our partner, Georgia CORE, returns the week of Aug. 30.

Surveillance testing will continue to be offered in our schools and buildings weekly. Viral Solutions, LLC is at various school sites and participating locations each week. Also, the APS COVID-19 Drive-Up and Walk-Up testing site at Frederick Douglass High School is open to all students and families, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

APS has implemented a Universal Mask Wearing Protocol in all schools and buildings. Masks are required for all students and staff in all schools and buildings during the school and workday, as well as all indoor after-school activities, clubs, and programs.

Immunizations: Don’t forget, Georgia state law requires all of our students to have a valid Certificate of Immunization on file with the district, and immunization requirements for students entering or transferring into the 11th grade have been revised. 

HealthCheck: APS has partnered with Stratum Health Solutions to secure HealthCheck, an online tool that helps safeguard the health of students via daily wellness check-ins. Daily health screenings and temperature assessments have been the norm since in-person instruction resumed in 2021. The HealthCheck screener simplifies the process. Be sure you are using HealthCheck every day before sending your child to school.

Quarantine Guidance: As part of the district’s Health and Safety Guidelines, APS has prepared Quarantine Protocols that include specific details on who needs to quarantine after exposure to a positive COVID-19 case and who doesn’t need to quarantine after exposure. These protocols also include information about what counts as a close contact. 

Learn more about these protocols and other health guidelines on the APS Health Information page.

Students Receive Free Meals Throughout 2021-2022 School Year

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) waiver throughout the 2021-2022 school year. This will allow APS to offer FREE meals to all schools throughout the District without requiring parents to complete the Household Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility application. APS will provide breakfast and lunch in the classroom to all students attending an APS school for in-person learning.



Additionally, APS will provide FREE 5-day meal kits (5-breakfast meals and 5-lunch meals) for Atlanta Virtual Academy (AVA) learners and children (ages 1-18) who do not attend APS schools.

Beginning next Wednesday, Aug. 11, AVA students and non-APS community children (ages 1-18) are welcome to receive FREE 5-day meal kits from one of the four curbside pick-up locations listed below from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.



• Frederick Douglass High School - 225 Hamilton E Holmes Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School - 545 Hill St SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
• Sutton 6th Grade Academy - 4360 Powers Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327
• Sylvan Hills Middle School - 1461 Sylvan Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30310

As a reminder, we have altered the school bell schedule, which began this school year, as follows:

This is just one piece of our comprehensive Academic Recovery Plan, which includes three components:



1. A new K-12 universal screener to help identify our students’ learning needs. All K-12 students will be administered the universal screener in English Language Arts and Math.
2. Our Summer Academic Recovery Academy (ARA), which ended on June 30 and had an enrollment of 11,000 students districtwide.
3. Implementation of a required school-based intervention or enrichment block, class, or course in all schools.

The 2021-2022 Guidebook is Here!

The electronic version of the 2021-2022 APS Back-to-School Guide and Calendar is now available online! The guide contains everything you need to know from bell schedules, meal prices and cluster planning, to parent and student resources, and more.

Back-to-School Bash Recap 



Missed the 2021 APS Back-to-School Bash? If so, be sure to check out a special video highlighting the Back-to-School Drive-Thru Experience! At this year's event, thousands of APS families visited the Georgia World Congress Center. While there, students received backpacks filled with school supplies and other resources, PPE, and nutrition and meal kits. Students and family members 12 and older also had the opportunity to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, courtesy of Walgreens. Check out the action here!

Tax Credit Provides Extra Cash to APS Families with Kids

The Child Tax Credit is available to help Atlanta Public Schools' families with children.

Thanks to President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which has increased the amount of the 2021 Child Tax Credit to support families with children, the full benefit of the Child Tax Credit is now $300 per month per child under age 6 and $250 for each child ages 6 to 17. Monthly payments began on July 15, 2021. 

Click here to learn more about eligibility and how to take advantage of the child tax credit.

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