Thursday, October 8, 2020, the BVSD Board of Education updated their reintroduction plan to in-person learning. Students in 10th-12th grade are now returning to school on Tuesday, October 27 and will attend school one day a week in cohorts to limit class sizes. Remote learning will continue four days a week with Mondays remaining as individual learning and teacher workdays.

The previously proposed layout had freshmen returning to school on October 20 and grades 10-12 returning on November 3, with all students attending one day a week. The updated plan depicts the same return date for 9th graders, but a sooner return for the remainder of high-school students. If a COVID-19 outbreak occurs, one-quarter of the school will need to quarantine. This logic has raised some controversy as teachers will still be exposed to all four students’ cohorts, thus increasing their personal risk and the risk for students in other cohorts.

This accelerated return decision was reached based on updated Boulder County Public Health recommendations showing the decrease in COVID-19 cases in Boulder. Regarding the upsurge in cases due to the return of CU students, the update states, “We anticipated that a spike was likely once CU students returned and we are glad that it is back under control.” The Board of Education feels that the two orders to limit interaction between 18-22 year-olds have helped enough to justify moving the start date for high-schoolers sooner.  Additionally, BVSD has observed this plan’s feasibility for each school individually and has deemed it possible to return. 

Families are grappling with the decision to return and weighing the pros and cons of both options. And while teachers don’t appear to have a stay-at-home option, students who are unable or unwilling to return to school may continue remote learning but must opt-out of in-person school by Tuesday, October 13, following instructions on Infinite Campus.