Jeffco Public Schools issued the following announcement on Dec. 18.
Thank you for your patience as we determined our plan for the return to in-person learning. We know that in-person learning is best for children to meet their academic, social, and emotional needs. On June 17, 2020, Jeffco’s Board of Education passed a resolution directing staff to restore in-person learning to the greatest extent possible aligned with guidance from Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH). We have shared with you from the beginning that our intent is to offer as much in-person learning as possible this school year as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is with these directives and goals, that we share with you our return to school plan for after winter break. We will continue to follow public health guidance and safety protocols and monitor an additional metric, measuring staff absenteeism rates, to ensure that schools can operate effectively and safely. It takes all members of a school’s building staff - educators, office professionals, food service workers, custodial staff, educational support professionals, and school leaders - to ensure a safe and robust learning environment. Our ability to establish the plan below will depend on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our community and maintaining our staffing levels both within schools and across district operations.
School in January will begin in remote learning
While we are fully committed to return to in-person learning, there are serious concerns about a potential surge in the spread of the virus following the winter break. Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) has advised us to provide for a 14-day incubation period prior to opening our schools for in-person instruction to avoid virus spread which could lead to immediate quarantines. Therefore, we will begin the semester in remote learning on our current weekly schedule, and then implement a staggered reopening plan to ensure the sustainability of in-person instruction and avoid interruption due to virus spread or major quarantines.
Once we are back to in-person learning, our plan is to maintain this model for the rest of the school year, unless the COVID-19 dial goes to Level Purple. Going forward, we will temporarily change learning models on a school-by-school basis from in-person to remote or quarantine groups as needed to control the spread of COVID-19.
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