Like the country as a whole, schools locally are returning to classes with a patchwork of strategies. KDNK's Raleigh Burleigh has this report.
Students and teachers served by the Roaring Fork Schools district, Re-1, are busily preparing this week to resume classes on Monday, August 24. For most, this will look like improved distanced learning through at least September 21.
So long as decisions are made in compliance with local health officials, charter schools in Colorado have the autonomy to reopen with strategies that differ from their school districts. Both the Carbondale Community School and Ross Montessori School have students returning in person sooner than the rest of the school district. These decisions were largely informed by stakeholder feedback.
Both schools will emphasize mask wearing, hand washing, utilize outdoor spaces and distanced seating and divide students into cohorts for simplified contact tracing.
For the hybrid model pursued by Discover Compass, with two days a week in-person and three days distanced, two cohorts of students will alternate in person days determined by last name to assure for parents that siblings attend in person on the same days.
Both schools will offer "learning from home" options and remain dynamic, proceeding with the awareness that if students or staff test positive for COVID-19, or the overall county's positivity rate climbs beyond a certain threshold, they must shift strategies.