D-20 releases plan for second semester with all students starting remotely

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The largest school district in Colorado Springs shared their plans for the second semester, with all students slated to start remotely.

Students will return in the “mode” in which they left before Thanksgiving Break. The district plans on transitioning elementary students first to in-person learning on Jan. 11, five days a week. Then the middle and high school students will return to a hybrid model on Tuesday, Jan. 19. A schedule can be seen at the bottom of this article.

The following letter from Superintendent Tom Gregory was provided in a news release:

Academy District 20,

As we wind down the first semester and look ahead, we do not know what the future holds. And while we cannot predict the trajectory of COVID-19 in our community, we can build a Return to School Plan that prioritizes student engagement in learning, while recognizing the spread of the virus in our schools and community.

In consultation with local and state health partners, and after reviewing the feedback and desires of our students, teachers, parents/families and staff we developed a plan for returning second semester that recognizes the probability of holiday travel while returning our students, teachers and staff safely into the classrooms as soon as possible. Barring unforeseen crisis, we will start the second semester as outlined below.

Preschool

- Start remote for two days on Jan. 7 and 8

- Return to 100 percent in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11

Elementary (Includes School in the Woods)

- Start remote for two days on Jan. 7 and 8

- Return to 100 percent in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11

Comprehensive Middle Schools

- Start remote for eight days from Jan. 6 – 15

- Transition to cohorted, hybrid in-person learning on Jan. 19

Comprehensive High School

- Start remote for eight days from Jan. 6 – 15

- Transition to cohorted, hybrid in-person learning on Jan. 19

Aspen Valley Middle & High School

- Start remote for three days from Jan. 6 - 9

- Transition to in-person learning on Jan. 11, 2020. More details to come from the school.

The Village High School

- Start remote for the three days from Jan. 6 – 9

- Transition to in-person learning on Jan. 11, 2020. More details to come from the school.

Journey K8

- Elementary begins on Jan. 7

- Middle School (6th – 8th) begins Jan. 6

Special Education Center-Based Programs

- Start in-person on Jan. 11. Middle and high schools will be four days a week and elementary schools will be five days a week. Parents will receive further details from their school principals by Dec. 18.

Please note, all schools will send further details in the coming days. If you have specific questions regarding your child’s school, please submit those questions to school leadership.

As we created the above plan, we specifically considered: emails and phone calls from constituents and teachers/staff, feedback shared during teacher/staff virtual town halls, feedback from stakeholder groups and the following:

El Paso County Public Health (EPCPH) recommended that local school districts allow for time after the holiday travel season before starting in-person learning.

Governor Polis, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) urged school districts to safely get students back into the classroom, particularly K-8, as soon as possible.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and EPCPH released new PPE recommendations to help keep teachers and staff safe.

The CDPHE released new isolation and quarantine guidelines which could result in fewer teachers and staff being out of the classroom for such long periods of time.

Vaccinations will begin in our community as early as next week.

Our district added more substitute teachers and guest staff willing to teach in-person.

Throughout the past nine months, we have often said, “during a pandemic, no plan is ever final.” Those words still ring true. We realize anything could happen between now and January and will therefore remain in close contact with our health partners. If this plan needs to change, we will send additional communication in the form of both a text and email during the holiday break.

Based on the feedback we received, this plan will not satisfy everyone. As always, our goal is to provide the best learning opportunities possible to students while recognizing the health challenges in our community. We must provide opportunities for in-person learning.

Thank you for your continued support, patience and flexibility and we navigate these challenging times. I am extremely proud of our teachers, students, parents, and administrators for how they have responded to our challenges.

Click here to see the latest from D-20.