August 6, 2021
Dear CRMS Families,

Welcome to August! The start of the school year is quickly approaching, and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of your student. 

We appreciate your patience in receiving word about our COVID mitigation strategies for the upcoming school year. The protocols outlined below will be in place through the first two (2) weeks of academic classes. These two weeks will give us an opportunity to assess and establish the health and wellness of a community that is coming to campus from different regions of the U.S. and the world. We will communicate an updated list of expectations on September 13 (Monday), and these will be based on the vaccination percentages within our community as well as local infection rates. Our goal as a school is to be in-person throughout the academic year, and our planning and implementation of policies and practices will always have this goal in mind.  

 With the start of the new school year, for the first two weeks:
  • All community members will be required to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, including classrooms and indoor active programming, and on CRMS buses and other public transportation.
  • Masks will not be required outdoors. When it comes to outdoor competitive athletic competitions during these two weeks (we have soccer matches on campus September 9 and 10), we will be working with county health authorities to establish practices and policies for players and spectators and will communicate those in advance.
  • Seating for Bar Fork meals will remain four individuals to a table for indoor seating.
  • All visitors will be required to check-in at the Welcome Center and required to wear masks when entering campus buildings.
  • Unvaccinated students and staff are required to be tested twice a week (Tuesday and Friday morning at the Wellness Center)
  • Students and staff with COVID symptoms should not attend campus obligations. Day students and staff should stay home and seek medical advice from their family physician. Boarding students will be expected to go to the nurse to be assessed and tested, if necessary. Visitors with symptoms should delay their visit to campus until they have a negative COVID test. Please reference this symptoms list

Expectations specific to our boarding students for the first two weeks:
  • Boarding students will be required to wear masks when they are off-campus visiting indoor public spaces. 
  • No overnight signouts to any home will be permitted during these two weeks to establish the health of our student body, and so we can develop a sense of a boarding community that we believe will serve us well for the remainder of the year.
  • Boarding students will only be allowed in their own dorm.

Expectations specific to our day students for the first two weeks:
  • Day students are not permitted in student dorms.
  • Cannot host any boarding students during the weekend.
  • Day students are welcome to attend all meals in the Bar Fork, but we respectfully ask that other family members not use the dining facilities.
  • Day students are welcome to attend after-school campus outdoor activities. 

Quarantine Scenarios:
We will adopt the shortened quarantine throughout the school year based on an analysis conducted by CDC scientists. Those who test positive for COVID-19 and unvaccinated individuals identified as “close contact”:
  • A 7-day quarantine period with a negative test conducted after day 5 or 
  • A 10-day quarantine period (without a test)

Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s mission is to cultivate a learning environment where students discover their potential to excel as individuals, contribute to their communities, and thoughtfully participate in the world we share. Despite the obstacles we faced last year, the members of the CRMS community did an incredible job of successfully navigating the pandemic, and while circumstances kept us from some of our traditions and experiences, we learned that we were capable of handling much more than we had previously imagined. It is just as important this year that we continue to be attentive to our personal health and that we continue to behave in a way that supports the well-being of our community.  

I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back to school for the start of our fall semester and for what will be another memorable school year full of joy, learning, and a sense of purpose.
My best,
Jeff Leahy, Head of School