Dear Team DPS,
Just before Thanksgiving break, we shared with you that DPS is committed to returning all elementary students to in-person learning at the start of second semester in January. Over the past few weeks, we also have been working with our health partners and our middle and high school leaders on efforts to have all secondary students return to in-person learning as soon as we can do so following the guidance from Denver Health. Today we’d like to share the timeline for the start of the second semester, if health conditions allow.
Please note: Families whose students attend a charter school should check with their school for updates on their plans.
Jan. 5-8:
- All K-12 students begin the semester in remote learning.
- Discovery Link will provide Remote Learning Support Centers at 30 sites.
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Families can learn more and register here.
- Schools may choose to run Remote Learning Support Centers.
Jan. 11:
- All ECE-5th grade students, including SPED Centers and Newcomer Center students, return to in-person.
- All secondary SPED Centers and Newcomer Centers return to in-person.
- Other secondary students continue in remote learning.
Jan. 19 - 29:
- Other secondary students begin gradual phase-in to in-person learning.
- Schools bring secondary students back at their own pace, including health and safety orientation days to help students acclimate to the required health protocols for in-person learning.
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Secondary return will look different based on a school's size and the cohorting guidance that they choose to follow. For some of our smaller schools, this may be a full return to in-person and for some of our larger schools, this may look more like a hybrid schedule.
Feb. 1:
- All students whose families selected in-person learning are back in schools.
We believe this timeline prioritizes students who need in-person learning most, while also giving schools the opportunity to plan and prepare for a full-scale return to in-person learning. As always, we will continue to monitor health conditions in partnership with Denver Health and will adjust our January return plans if needed. We are also currently working with neighboring districts in Metro Denver and the Metro Denver Partnership for Health (MDPH) on a common approach for which learning scenario we use (in-person, hybrid, or remote learning) based on COVID conditions; we hope to share more on that next week.
We appreciate your continued support and flexibility as we move through these challenging times.
Warm regards,
Susana
