A team member at Swansea screens a student before school.

As more of our students return for in-person learning, it is important to make sure all of our families have access to information, including about student-screening guidance, our COVID-19 Response Team, what happens when a student is sick or becomes ill, and our process for returning to school after a confirmed case. We have created a comprehensive source for families and DPS community members detailing important health and safety information, which will be available on the DPS website. You can access our COVID-19 Health and Safety Resources here. Please note that this resource is intended for families. Similar resources are being created for DPS team members, and we will share those soon.

This new guide can help parents do at-home symptom screening of their students and inform families of the standards for returning to school in-person if their child becomes sick. Though families may conduct a symptom screening at home, their students may also be screened at school. The resources also include information about what happens when there is a positive COVID-19 case in a school. It was created using guidance from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), our DPS Return 2020 guidelines and our Nursing and Student Services team.

This month, we're focusing on Disability Awareness throughout DPS as part of our Cultural Moments celebrations, and we'd like to shine a light on teachers who are bringing inclusive practices to life in their classrooms (whether virtual or in-person). Evidence-based inclusive practices are essential to creating a culture of acceptance and rigor in DPS that will prepare all students for post-secondary life. We will feature these inclusion champions on the DPS website later this month. Please submit your nomination using this form.

Our teammates in Student Equity and Opportunity and the Academics Division have curated resources for you to share in the classroom and/or deepen your personal learning about disability. Access curriculum supports in Art, Music and Physical Education, and learn about inclusionary practices and more on The Commons.

Questions? Email dpsequity@dpsk12.org.

As you know, we are facing a critical staffing shortage in our schools because of cohort limitations, staff needing to be quarantined, staff with accommodations, and normal absences. To alleviate some of these staffing concerns and to minimize school-level disruptions due to staffing shortages, central office team members are available to support schools through this difficult time:

Fulfilling our civic responsibility is a critical component of our democracy. As such, DPS offers approved leave should you be called to serve. Did you know that under COVID, DPS employees are essential and may request the court defer jury duty for 6-12 months? If called to jury duty, call the court one week prior to your report date, inform them that you are an essential worker for DPS, and request a deferral.

Beginning this school year, DPS will exclusively use CDE's ACCESS On-Track measure (which is similar to but not the same as the DPS ACCESS Trajectory). AR&D will work with Multilingual Education over the next year to develop new reporting and instructional guidance for making this change to the CDE’s On-Track results from the DPS ACCESS Trajectory. For support, reach out to your MLE partner.

Encourage your students to participate in a districtwide College Spirit Day on Oct. 26. Use this day to start conversations with students about post-graduation plans and the importance of planning for their futures to determine a path that’s right for them -- whether it’s college, vocational training, the military or entering into a career.

Capture the college spirit of your team and classrooms with a photo or a screenshot and send to Gary_Cooper@dpsk12.org. Make sure to continue the celebration by sharing the photos on your school’s social media and tagging #MyPlanDPS.

Assessment, Reporting & Data Support (AR&D) adjusted both math and English Language Arts (ELA) interim dates before our return to compensate for our delayed start date and align with Scope and Sequence documents. Additional math and ELA deadlines have been adjusted since the start of school to compensate for school feedback regarding slower pacing. The original interim deadlines were October; they are now mid-November. We understand many schools have already backward-planned from the earlier interim deadlines. As such, schools should not push back their assessment timeline just because the deadlines have changed. If you are able to give the assessment as originally planned, please do so. These assessments are designed to be given online in Illuminate and can be administered remotely.

At this time, the accountability requirement for MAP has not been lifted by CDE. Many schools were waiting for an in-person return to administer MAP. As such, AR&D extended the fall window to close on Nov. 13. Given the return to school for secondary grades has been pushed to Nov. 9, it is important to note that MAP can be administered remotely if schools choose to do so, or schools can wait to assess during the winter window (Nov. 16-Feb. 26). Schools can contact Yamile Reina for support and resources.

The CSCI Team is offering the following guidance on the use of technology as students return to classrooms. Students are encouraged to bring their devices to and from school, and as such, technology use should be meaningful and timely in the classroom while continuing to strengthen students’ technology integration skills in the event students return to remote learning at any time. Please see this CSCI Technology Guidance and contact your curriculum specialists for further support.

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