We continue to monitor Arapahoe County data to determine when it is safe for students and staff members to return to in-person learning. We had hoped that our community would respond quickly, and we would see the data improve. However, the data are worsening exponentially.
Arapahoe County recently changed again to a more restrictive level on the state’s dial dashboard, which was reconfigured. Arapahoe County’s status will now be “RED - Severe Risk” starting on Friday, November 20. With the rate of transmission so high, and the likelihood that many people will gather indoors for Thanksgiving, we do not see a feasible way for the data to improve in the few weeks we have before winter break.
For that reason, we will stay closed to in-person learning through winter break and hope for a return in early January. Our community will need to be very mindful of virus spread over the holidays in order for us to return as soon as possible.
Our partners at Champions will continue to provide childcare and remote learning assistance for students in grades K-6 at school sites. Care will be available for $35/day with meals and a snack included (also accepts CCAP). Please contact Amanda Bashford at Champions (abashford@discoverchampions.com or 719-216-6014) to enroll.
We all want students back learning in-person, and we have confidence that we can do so safely when transmission levels off in our area. We plan to explore additional metrics and possibilities in order to bring students back sooner rather than later - especially our most impacted students. We will reconvene our Return Planning Committee in December to work in partnership with local health agencies to ensure any new metrics we use make sense for our community. However, we will still need to see an improvement in the data before we can begin to bring any students back in-person.
Pandemic fatigue is real, and we are all feeling it. These times are stressful for everyone. Please seek support if you are struggling.
We will continue to keep our community updated on any changes to the data as it relates to our return to in-person learning. In the meantime, continue to monitor your child’s symptoms and report any COVID symptoms or exposures to your school’s health assistant as we remain focused on the health of our Englewood Schools community.
‌
‌
‌
