DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. – Preschool and elementary school-aged children in Douglas County will return to the classroom on January 5, 2021.
That’s according to the latest letter to parents, teachers and staff from interim superintendent Corey Wise, who also wrote that center-based programming students at the middle and high school levels will be returning that same day to in-person learning four days a week.
In the letter, Wise said district school leadership will work closely with each principal and all the district’s teachers starting next month to monitor the students’ return “to ensure we can sustain operations, in preparation for the return of middle and high school students.”
Wise also congratulated the community for doing their part in helping stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying the county’s community incidence rate for COVID-19 per 100,000 people is at approximately 400.
“If we stay in the current range, we hope to welcome our middle and high school students back to hybrid learning at the same time … possibly by the end of January,” Wise said.
The district’s plan for the second semester of the school year will be further discussed at the next Douglas County Board of Education meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 5. The meeting will be available to watch here.
Parents whose children attend a charter school were asked to contact their school for their second semester plans.
“If we have learned one thing from COVID-19, it is that we need to be flexible with our plans and know that anything can change, based on current circumstances,” Wise wrote. “We are monitoring the news about a case involving the coronavirus variant in Elbert County, as reported by local media and health agencies.”
Wise also said it was good news that Gov. Jared Polis had adjusted its vaccination priority list to include teachers in Phase 1B.
“We know that when our teachers get sick or are put into quarantine, sustaining in-person school becomes incredibly difficult. When a school shuts down and transitions to remote learning due to a high number of staff absences, we are all impacted - for example, working parents scramble to support their children, while balancing work demands,” Wise said. “Giving our teachers priority access to COVID-19 vaccinations protects not only our educators - but our students, their families, and our future.”