ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) plans to offer full in-person learning to all its students while also making an online option available for those families who don't feel comfortable sending their children to school amid the coronavirus pandemic.
While there will be in-person learning, it will look different this autumn.
A requirement to wear masks, temperatures checks, block scheduling, no lockers and no field trips are among the many changes that will be put in place when students return.
> Above video: June meeting between the State Board of Education and Gov. Jared Polis about how to move forward.
In mid-June, CCSD announced that they updated the elementary learning plan to include an option for five days a week of in-person learning for students in K-5.
The district will focus on cohorting or grouping students as the primary strategy to limit spread of the virus with physical distancing implemented to the greatest extent possible within the plan.
At the time, the district said they were exploring an in-person learning option for older students and in late June said that would indeed happen. In its latest announcement, the district said there would no blended learning option, which would have included some in-person and some online instruction.
CCSD also outlined the new procedures that will be put in place to help slow the spread of the virus including the wearing of masks and temperature checks. There will also be no field trips.
The district outlined the changes for each of the grade levels. They can be found below.
Kindergarten through Grade 5
- Individual classes kept together for a significant part of the day
- Students grouped by grade level for lunch, recess and special services
- Masks
- Temperature checks
- Frequent hand washing
- Physical distancing implemented to the greatest extent possible
- Handwashing and regular cleaning of student spaces throughout the day
- Classrooms cleared of non-essential furniture and items to maximize space for student seating arrangements
- School supplies and instructional materials assigned to individual students and kept separate from the other cohorts
- Before and after-school care operate as normal when in-person learning is happening
- No field trips
- No large group face-to-face assemblies
- No classroom/school volunteers or visitors
- No large-scale face-to-face community events
- PTCO, SAC, PASS, Coffee with the Principal, etc. will be primarily held virtually
- Efforts will be made to redistribute students to manage class size
Grades 6 - 8
With this model, students would return to in-person learning while following a block schedule, to reduce the number of classes and transitions within a school day.
Each grade level will be considered its own cohort and students would stay with their cohorts throughout the day.
Here are additional changes for middle school students.
- Masks
- Temperature checks
- Frequent hand washing
- Cohorting by grade level
- Limit transitions by reducing the number of classes a student has a day.
- Cohorting primarily by grade level and secondarily by class
- Highway system for hallways
- Physical distancing when possible
- Staggered arrival/dismissal
- Students attend lunch/recess with grade-level cohort
- Classrooms cleared of non-essential furniture and items to maximize space for student
- Students use backpacks
- No lockers
- Staggered arrival/dismissal
- No field trips
- No large group face- to face assemblies and/or community events
- No classroom/school volunteers or visitors
- PTCO, SAC, PASS Coffee with the Principal, etc.. primarily held virtually
Grade 9 - 12
High school students will return to in-person learning while following an extended block schedule, which like the option for middle school students, will significantly reduce the number of classes and transitions within a school day.
Each class of the day will occur in the morning or afternoon. A lunch break will take place for all students and staff between the morning and afternoon classes.
Below are other guidelines that will be in place.
- Masks
- Temperature checks
- Frequent hand-washing
- Limit student transitions by reducing the number of classes a student has in a day
- Reduced passing periods and student intermingling
- Cohort by class
- Reduce number of students on campus by providing mid-day transportation to account for off/study hour arrival and departure
- Highway system for hallways
- Physical distancing when possible
- Staggered arrival/dismissal
- Students attend lunch aligned with the current class cohort
- Classrooms cleared of non-essential furniture and items to maximize space for student
- Students use backpacks
- No lockers
- Staggered arrival/dismissal
- Open campus for lunches
- No field trips
- No large group, face-to-face assemblies and/or community events
- No classroom/school volunteers; essential visitors only
- PTCO, SAC, PASS, etc. will primarily be held virtually
Full online opportunities for all students through the district's K-5 Online Elementary program and Elevation Middle School and High School will also be available for families who don't feel comfortable sending their kids to schools during the coronavirus pandemic.
Families will need to select their option by July 13 and whichever option they choose will apply to the entire school year.
In addition, the district, like most others, stressed that a full remote learning situation is still a possibility if health guidelines change or if schools are ordered to close
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