We know that everyone is eager for an update on the 2020-2021 school year. Restarting school in Colorado, and in states across the nation, is largely being driven by new public health guidelines and information from national, state, and local public health agencies. This is why you see so many school districts changing decisions they put out earlier this summer or even just weeks ago. Our later start has allowed us to now offer our community a more solid decision on how we will start the year.
With the news this week that the Routt County Commissioners are extending the County’s current Public Health Order until September 30, the district and the school board have jointly determined that all
SSSD schools will start the school year in Phase 3, with a mask requirement for all students and staff.
In Phase 3, half of the students (grades K-12) will be learning in-person in the classroom with the teacher for the full day, while the other half will be engaged remotely in assignments that reinforce the lessons taught at school. Students will be divided into two groups and those groups will be consistent across all SSSD schools so students in the same household attend school on the same days of the week.
Assignments are currently being made and will be communicated to you by your child’s school by August 14.
Students will pick up devices on their first day in the building. Please note that information about preschool and Yampa Valley High School will be communicated separately.
We anticipate being in Phase 3 through at least September 30, 2020. However, we will constantly evaluate local circumstances and review local, state, and national guidance as they are published to inform our learning phases throughout the year. Right now our guiding resource for changing learning phases is the
COVID-19 Guidance: Cases and Outbreaks in School
published by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on July 30, 2020. Changes in learning phases will be shared with you directly and published online at steamboatschools.net. We anticipate circumstances will evolve and families should be prepared that changes in learning phases may happen quickly over the course of the year.
We know that student and staff health and safety is a big concern in our community, especially among our teachers. We hear these concerns and are committed to following all protocols mandated by the Center for Disease Control, CDPHE, the Colorado Department of Education, and Routt County Public Health. The current public health crisis dictates that we follow the advice of health experts, and that is what we intend to do. You can find a list of current precautions in place on our website
here
.
We will be providing more information and updates in the weeks preceding the start of school. You can also tune in on August 6th at 10:30 a.m. to a Steamboat Pilot “Steamboat Conversations” Virtual Town Hall, which will be dedicated to recent COVID-19 public health orders and how they may affect SSSD schools this fall. Steamboat Pilot Editor Lisa Schlichtman will moderate the panel discussion with SSSD and Routt County health officials, which will be available as a live video on
Steamboat Pilot & Today’s Facebook page
, on TV18, the local news station Comcast TV6 and on the city’s website.
Please know that as we plan to start school, the safety and health of our school communities is our top priority. I sincerely thank you, our students, and our educators for your concern, thoughtful feedback, and support as we navigate this unprecedented time.
