ACL A/B Schedule: Two-School Planning

ACL students have responsibilities at both the Academies of Loudoun and their home high school, so the safest planning tool is the current official A/B calendar. ACL publishes that calendar and its bell schedules on the school homepage. The admissions FAQ also confirms that students remain concurrently enrolled full time in both programs.

Do not reduce the system to “every other day” and stop there. Holidays, testing, weather, special schedules, and calendar adjustments can break a simple alternating pattern. The date printed on the current calendar controls.

Use dates, not memory

Put each ACL day, home-school day, major deadline, and transportation change on one calendar. A label such as “ACL” is clearer than trying to remember whether a future Tuesday is an A day or a B day.

What ACL publishes and what it does not

Official source	Use it to verify
ACL A/B Calendar	The designation assigned to a particular school date.
ACL Bell Schedules	Current regular and advisory period times.
ACL Admissions FAQ	The concurrent home-high-school and ACL enrollment structure.
ACL Bus Information	Current transportation directions and contacts.
LCPS Calendar	Division holidays, closures, and calendar revisions.

Those sources do not establish a universal homework total, a guaranteed commute time, or a fixed GPA treatment for every ACL course. Course designations vary, and academic planning belongs in the current program documents and a counselor conversation.

Build one master calendar across both schools

Import the official dates. Add ACL and home-school days before adding activities.
Label the campus. A deadline should say where the student will be that day.
Add checkpoints, not only due dates. Long projects need earlier decisions about research, drafting, materials, and review.
Mark transportation exceptions. A late activity or special schedule may change the normal plan.
Review the next two weeks every Sunday. A short look ahead catches collisions while there is still time to ask for clarification.

This is practitioner guidance, not an ACL attendance rule. Students must follow the procedures published by both schools and communicate with staff when two obligations appear to conflict.

Treat transportation as part of the schedule

The ACL homepage and bus-information page are the right starting points for current transportation details. Routes, hub-stop arrangements, eligibility, and times can change. A previous year's route or another family's plan is not a reliable source for a new student.

For after-school activities, ask how the student will get home before committing. The answer may affect whether a club, team, or recurring appointment is workable on an ACL day.

Questions to check before the year begins

Which A/B assignment applies to this student's ACL program and cohort?
Where are the current A/B calendar and bell schedules posted?
How will the student receive calendar changes or emergency notices?
Which transportation option applies, and where are updates posted?
Who should the family contact about a conflict between two school obligations?
How should attendance be reported separately to ACL and the home high school?

Keep course claims separate from schedule facts

An A/B calendar tells a family where the student is expected to be. It does not by itself establish course weight, transcript treatment, certification eligibility, or a college outcome.

ACL schedule FAQs

Do ACL students stop attending their home high school?

No. The ACL admissions FAQ says students are concurrently enrolled full time at both their home high school and ACL for the duration of the program.

Does the schedule alternate perfectly every school day?

Families should not assume that. Holidays, testing, closures, and special schedules can affect the pattern. Use the official A/B calendar for each date.

Where should families verify bell times?

The ACL homepage links the current regular and advisory bell schedules. Recheck them for the relevant school year.

Does the A/B schedule determine GPA weighting?

No. Schedule labels do not establish course designation or GPA treatment. Use current course records and counselor guidance for academic planning.

Keep reading

Source note

This guide was checked against the ACL homepage and its current A/B calendar and bell-schedule links, the ACL admissions FAQ, the ACL bus-information page, and the LCPS calendar. Those sources support the two-school structure and official scheduling resources. They do not support universal homework, commute-time, course-weighting, attendance-exception, or transcript claims. AcademiesPrep by EduAvenues is independent and is not endorsed or sponsored by the Academies of Loudoun or Loudoun County Public Schools.

Official sources reviewed:

Fact-checked July 17, 2026. Families should verify current LCPS documents and student-specific guidance.

The ACL A/B Schedule: How to Plan Across Two Schools