Schools are Reopening

Will the ride be bumpy or smooth?

Area superintendents get ready to welcome students back to classrooms

As Denver Public Schools made headlines over the weekend by announcing that it will begin the school year with all remote classes, south metro area school districts began to explain their plans to welcome students back to their buildings for in-person learning, employing every possible safety measure and hoping their programs will be sustainable as Colorado battles the coronavirus pandemic. In a town hall hosted by Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) on July 16, six area public school superintendents talked about each of their district’s blueprint for the upcoming school year and answered parents’ questions for nearly two hours. Also participating was TCHD Executive Director Dr. John Douglas. Many parents questioned what would constitute an outbreak that would alter plans for in-school learning. Dr. Douglas said, in general terms, one case of coronavirus in a cohort group would require those who were in direct contact with the person who got the virus to quarantine. Two cases in a cohort group would necessitate the entire cohort group (a class) going into quarantine. He did not expound on the implications of a larger number of cases; however, Cherry Creek Superintendent Scott Siegfried told a parent that additional direction would come from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment should it be needed. Aurora Public Schools (APS) Superintendent Rico Munn said that district leaders and teachers are “excited to reconnect with our students.” Families of APS’s 40,000 students will have the choice of returning to classes in school or selecting a fully remote option for the 2020- 21 school year. In-school classes will use a cohort model, keeping students with the same group of peers and staff throughout the day to allow for clear contact tracing in the event a member of the group gets the coronavirus. In order to allow an extra week for APS staff to receive supplemental training about new procedures this year, students in grades 1-12 will return to school one week later than originally planned, beginning classes on Tuesday, August 18. Kindergarten and pre-school in APS will start on Monday, August 24. Students in grades P-8 will remain with the same cohort group throughout the school day. Middle school students will be required to wear masks throughout the day, with exceptions as needed for eating lunch, etc. Social distancing will be relied upon for grades P-5, however, if that is not possible, younger children will be required to wear masks, as well. Students will have lunch in their classrooms with their cohort groups and movement in hallways will be limited to restrict contact between cohort groups.

High school students will attend classes in school for half the day and learn remotely the other half of the day. Current plans are for students in grades 9 and 10 to attend school in the morning and learn remotely in the afternoon. Students in grades 11 and 12 will have the opposite schedule. To a parent who asked about the availability of electronics for online learning, Munn said, “We handed out about 17,000 devices in the spring and we will hand more in the fall if necessary. Connectivity is also a challenge; we are trying to work with internet providers.” On the subject of transportation, students will not share seats on school buses hence fewer students will be able to ride them. APS is exploring a relationship with a local not-for-profit that they hope will provide regular virus testing for school staff members. Byers School District (BSD) Superintendent Tom Turrell said that BSD will open August 19 with increased social distancing. Masks will be required for students in grades 6-12. Younger students will cohort in groups. They are still working on plans for bus transportation, lunch, and passing periods for the 550 students in the district 50 miles east of Denver in unincorporated Arapahoe County. He noted that many parents of BSD students work in Denver hence bear the same risk as other families in larger districts.

Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) Superintendent Scott Siegfried said CCSD will offer all families the choice of fully in-school classes or fully remote learning. He said that so far, 8,200 of CCSD’s 64,000 students have chosen the fully remote option for the 2020-2021 school year. The cohort model will be used. Elementary students will remain with their class for the entire day. Middle and high school students will have block schedules to minimize movement through the building. Lockers will be eliminated to ensure that students use hallways only to go between classes as needed.

Social distancing will be difficult, so masks will be required. There will be no field trips, large assemblies, or classroom volunteers or visitors. High schoolers will have one class per day before lunch and one after lunch. Arrival times and departure times will be staggered. Middleschoolers will have only virtual after-school activities. On the question of high school sports, Siegfried told parents that he is awaiting guidance from CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association). On the question of equipment, the superintendent said, “CCSD handed out over 7,000 computers last spring that we did not ask to have returned. Through recent surveys, we have determined who still needs them. We will also give them to every student who qualifies for free and reduced-price lunch. We are pushing internet service providers to make sure our students all have access to high-speed internet.” Asked by a parent new to the district if students who opt for remote learning would have an opportunity for socialization, Siegfried said that Cherry Creek Elevation, CCSD’s online platform for grades 6-12 “is built or socialization” and that the elementary school platform will also include it. To a parent who worried about whether a student might be sent to school without his or her parent first checking their temperature or with other possible symptoms, Siegfried acknowledged that it could happen, but, he said, “”The alternative is to line up 55,000 kids (64,000 minus online learners) and 9,000 staff each day for temperature checks before they walk into school.” He added that CCSD is looking to see if there is a usable phone ap that checks temperatures automatically. Another parent asked if families who choose online learning for 2020-2021 would be allowed to return to their school-of-choice that is not their home school, the following year, assuming things return to normal. Siegfried responded, “Yes.”

Englewood Schools (ES) Superintendent Wendy Rubin said that school for ES’ 3,000 students will begin late this year on August 27. With the help of AllHealth Network, ES plans to deliver extra training in mental health issues that teachers might encounter resulting from the five-months and- counting impact on students of the coronavirus pandemic. Like other districts, ES will offer the options of fully in-school learning in cohort groups and Englewood ELearning, a fully online option. Families are being asked to choose which is best for them by August 3. Rubin pointed out that district administrators realize the COVID-19 situation can change at any time, necessitating schools to revert to alternative plans, which are in place. Each student and every staff member will be provided with five cloth masks so they can use one each day, then launder them over the weekend. There will also be plenty of disposable masks available and a designated isolation room in every school for any student or staff member who becomes ill with symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 during the school day. ES parents will be asked to wait with their students at school bus stops until a temperature check is administered as a precaution before students are permitted to board buses. Students will be required to wear masks while riding the school bus and in school, where social distancing will also be practiced whenever possible. Parents have been invited to ongoing virtual town hall meetings to get their individual questions answered and asked to complete detailed surveys to assist them in making the best decision for their families. Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Brian Ewert announced that LPS’s 15,000 students’ start date has been pushed back to August 24 to fully prepare school buildings and allow the maximum time to finalize plans for their online option, Temporary Online Program for Students (TOPS), which will begin one week later on August 31. LPS will continue to analyze patterns of new cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Colorado, noting the fluidity of the situation. All K-12 LPS students who return to in-person classes will be required to practice social distancing and bring and wear masks, though extra masks will always be available at school. Students will be provided breaks from their masks during the day. Classroom furniture will be rearranged to maintain the recommended three to six feet physical distancing as much as possible. Student movement around school buildings will be planned so as to minimize transitions with fewer students in hallways, lunchrooms, and on playgrounds at the same time. Hand sanitizer will be provided around the schools and in every classroom. Drinking fountains will be disabled so that they are not a source of contamination. Students will be expected to bring their own water bottles that can be filled around the school during the day. Field trips, travel, and multi-student assemblies will not be scheduled at this time. Visitors will not be allowed at school to minimize contact. Due to distancing requirements, school bus service will not be available to all children. Those who qualify for free/reduced lunch will be given priority, along with those who have IEP’s (individual education plans) and those who live furthest from their home schools. A parent asked Ewert if the quality of the TOPS program would be improved from what students got in the spring and Ewert assured him that LPS has spent a great deal of time improving it. Another parent asked about how LPS was going to support children with special needs, noting that her child was unable to do online learning. Said the superintendent, “There are lots of important questions about our most vulnerable populations. Teachers will make individual connections with all those children as soon as school starts.”

Sheridan School District (SSD) Superintendent Patrick Sandos shared that the district’s 1,420 students will begin classes on August 17, limited to 12 pupils per classroom at any time. Any additional students in excess of the 12 allowed in the room will be in an adjacent classroom with a paraprofessional and participate via Zoom. Students will rotate daily between the two rooms to allow even teacher interaction. Technology will be used to boost video, with a tripod-mounted camera in each classroom, and audio. Headphones will be available for students as needed. Families who opt for remote learning will access he same instruction being delivered, synchronously, inside the school classroom. Recesses will be staggered— and only permitted for small groups of students at a time. Face masks will be required for everyone inside the school, with the district providing three masks for every student and for each staff member. Masks will be laundered regularly. All students will have their temperature checked upon arrival in school. Students in grades K-5 will attend school for five full days. Those in grades 6-12 will spend half a day in school attending their core classes (English, math, science, and social studies) and half a day out of school attending their electives electronically. The school year will begin with a two-week “boot camp” for teachers and students to improve their skills with online instruction—both delivering it and receiving it. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com