St. Vrain Valley School District elementary students will return in person to full-time classes in the fall along with sixth and ninth grade students. Most older students will physically attend classes on a rotating basis, learning remotely on other school days.
Superintendent Don Haddad unveiled the district’s preliminary plan for a return to classes during Wednesday’s school board meeting. Haddad said he will email parents with the plan next week.
He is meeting with Boulder County health officials to review the proposal, saying it could be altered if the spread of COVID-19 changes.
“This would be our schedule if we started tomorrow,” Haddad said. “But we don’t know what will happen between now and August.”
The first day of school on the St.Vrain calendar is Aug. 18.
Haddad said he hopes to produce a concrete schedule for parents by late July.
Under the district’s hybrid plan, seventh and eighth grade students will be split into two groups and attend classes in person every other day, working remotely on the other days of the week, he said.
High school sophomores, juniors and seniors also will be split into two groups and physically attend classes on Mondays and Tuesdays or Wednesday and Thursdays, Haddad said. Each group would alternate going to classes in person on Fridays.
Students are expected to check in online with their in-school instructors on the days they are learning remotely, he said.
Students needing special education services can attend in-person classes, as can those learning English, Haddad said.
Students also will be expected to wear masks in halls and on school buses. Some students may also opt to wear masks in classrooms just to be safe, Haddad said.
School buses should be able to transport 20 to 25 students. But the district is encouraging students to walk to school if they can or to catch a ride with parents, he said.
The district is asking that parents check their children’s temperature at home. School staff members, meanwhile, will be checking each student’s physical condition, Haddad said.
In Boulder Valley School District, schools might open Aug. 19 with students and teachers facing a heavy emphasis on health protocols, Superintendent Rob Anderson told parents Tuesday in a letter posted on the district’s website.
“But that may change depending on the situation with COVID-19,” Anderson stated. “We will provide regular updates as we approach the start of the school year.”
In the district’s five-phase plan, the most restrictive scenario would close a single school, multiple schools or the entire district during a “significant” community spread or at the prompting of state or public health officials, Anderson stated.
A second scenario would allow a group of 10 students or smaller to gather with enhanced health protocols and a third would permit a partial return of students with enhanced health protocols.
Students who want only online instruction can do so by enrolling at Boulder Universal, according to the district.
Anderson told parents in his Tuesday letter that in some cases it may be necessary for students to return to home learning. He also stated moving between phases may take time since each calls for different health protocols and modifications to the physical environment.
Parents will be informed about each potential change, he stated. More details are slated to be announced in mid-July.
