Sara Sandstrom-Kobi, Nederland. Recently Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson send an email out to the BVSD community. He outlined plans for the starting of the 2020-2021 school year. The district is calling this plan Back Together BVSD.

The email starts out by saying that the hope is to return to full in-person instruction in the fall. Dr. Anderson states, “There is no doubt that in-person learning and support is best for most students and that being together with their classmates and caring adults is beneficial to not only their academic, but especially their social-emotional health. We also know that for the economy to get back to normal, parents need to be able to work full-time again – and schools play a crucial role in making that happen.”

Dr. Anderson continues by saying that if a student can not return for some reason, they can follow along with their class at home using technology or submit a request for special enrollment in Boulder Universal. Some restrictions do apply. 

As with so many situations these days BVSD’s hope to fully open is just that, hope. Reality is not there yet. The situation could change at any time. The district will rely on public health experts when making decisions.

BVSD has presented a 5 Phase Plan. In Phase 1 there would be no in-person instruction. In Phase 5 there would be no health or safely restrictions. The district has also included in the 5 Phase Plan how food services, transportation, childcare, athletics and activities would be conducted in each phase. 

It is likely that when school starts in mid-August it will not look or feel like years in the past. This is uncharted territory. The hope is to open school doors in Phase 4 or Phase 5. Let’s take care of ourselves and each other so we can all get back to that normal school routine as soon as possible. 

You can go to the district website bvsd.org for more detailed information. 

(Originally published in the July 2, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)