By Randi Pierce
Staff Writer
Archuleta School District (ASD) announced today that it will begin the upcoming school year on Sept. 8 under a hybrid/blended option that will see students learning in person some days and remotely the rest.
In a letter to district staff and families Monday, ASD Superintendent Dr. Kym LeBlanc-Esparza outlined that students will attend school for in-person learning two days per week and will learn remotely three days per week.
“We fully expect that we will need to transition in and out of the various models of instruction throughout the year, depending upon the health conditions and potential cases of COVID that could arise,” the letter states. “However, based on the number of cases we have in our community, the Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidance and the overwhelming belief of our families and our staff that it is in our students’ best interest to return to school, we will begin our school year on September 8 utilizing our Hybrid/Blended Learning model.”
The letter further outlines that ASD will work with families who desire for their students to learning fully online through a partnership with Colorado Digital Learning Solutions.
“I assure you that no part of this decision was taken lightly and we commit to doing all we can to provide the necessary resources, tools and systems to support safe environments for students and staff,” the letter states. We will also continue to communicate openly with staff about what they feel they need to do their jobs successfully.
For more about the plan, see Thursday’s issue of The Pagosa Springs SUN.
randi@pagosasun.com
