DPS UNVEILS THREE SCHEDULING PLANS FOR STUDENTS

Plans split students into groups, with each group having days in class, online

Options provide groups of students to be in class, online on different days.

Denver Public Schools unveiled three scheduling options for the fall on Friday, a set of plans that would dictate when students learn from home and when they learn in their classrooms.

The largest school district in the state asked for parental feedback to inform leaders how to best serve families easing into the adjusted school year following the pandemic’s disruption to education across the country.

“We know that the ideal scenario is that health conditions improve, and we are back in our buildings every day with all of our students,” DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova wrote in an email to parents. “These options are based on current health conditions and were developed in response to what we heard from you, that your top priority is health and wellness.”

The options split students into

“A” and “B” groups, rotating when the groups are in their school buildings as a way to reduce class sizes and better meet social-distancing guidelines.

Option 1 has “A” group students learning in classrooms for two back-to-back days in a week followed by the “B” group for two back-to-back days. One day of the week would be reserved for

in-person learning for students with high-priority needs, including children with disabilities and those in the early stages of learning English.

When students are not in their classrooms, they would be learning remotely — the method carried out by all Colorado K-12 schools from mid-March until the end of the academic year after school buildings were closed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory illness.

Option 2 alternates “A” and “B” days throughout the week, with one day of the week reserved for inperson learning for highpriority students.

Option 3 would instead rotate groups by week, meaning the “A” group students would attend in-person learning four days a week for one week followed by the “B” group for four days the following week. The fifth day of both weeks would be reserved for in-person learning for high-priority students, although DPS doesn’t know which day of the week this would occur.

DPS said siblings would be prioritized to be in the same group.

Entirely remote learning will be offered for families who would prefer not to come back to their school buildings just yet, DPS said.

DPS families will receive a survey to gauge responses to the proposed schedule, which can be found through School Messenger, the district’s website and social media channels.

On Thursday, DPS issued the first glimpse into guidelines outlining what the school day may look like come fall, including smaller class sizes, daily health checks and a likely requirement that all students and staff wear masks while at school.