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Pueblo D70 Board of Education votes to open schools remotely

District 70
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PUEBLO — The Pueblo District 70 Board of Education has voted unanimously to start the school year remotely.

The board convened remotely Tuesday and approved the Remote Start Option. Leading up to this vote, the district reviewed a 15-page re-entry plan Friday that detailed what the fall would look like in both formats once students begin Aug. 24.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, the district said students will start on August 24 with remote online learning for 4 weeks and then will transition (depending on local COVID-19 positive case conditions) into a Hybrid In-Person delivery mode on September 21 with half of the student population reporting on Monday and Tuesday, and the other half reporting on Wednesday and Thursday.

The district said this schedule will continue until Oct. 8. Full, in-person schooling could resume as soon as October 12 if local positive daily COVID-19 cases average two or below for two weeks. Parents will have the option of continuing remotely if they choose.

“Parents and student can remain in the remote online learning mode for as long as they need during this pandemic,” said District 70 Public Information Officer Todd Seip. “We know some students will be ready to return to our hybrid and in-person classes, and some will want to continue learning remotely. We can accommodate both.”

Superintendent Ed Smith stated that staff and teachers will remotely teach students from their classrooms, according to the district.

More specific information about the remote learning and hybrid schedule will be sent to parents and teachers next week.

District Athletic Director and CFO TJ Vinci recommended that fall sports and other activities continue following the strict guidelines that the District and CHSAA have currently in place, the district said.

Teachers are set to return on Aug. 10 for two weeks of training and preparation before students will begin the semester.

Gov. Jared Polis issued a statewide mask mandate last week that requires masks to be worn in "public indoor spaces."

You can watch the Board of Education's meeting Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m. by clicking here.

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