The Vermont Agency of Education released A Strong and Healthy Start: Safety and Health Guidance for Vermont Schools on June 17, 2020 and subsequently released Hybrid Learning During the 2020-2021 School Year on July 15, 2020. In both of those documents, they strongly encourage schools to focus on the return to in-person instruction stating that it, “...is the optimal approach to address both student learning needs and the larger social, emotional and health needs of students.” In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that students physically return to school.

• Colchester School District, along with all the districts in Chittenden County, will open in a hybrid learning model that includes both in-person and remote learning.
• Students will be broken into one of two groups with each attending in-person classes two days a week and learning remotely three days a week.
• The district is making every effort to group families together whenever possible. To do this, we are assigning students to groups alphabetically by last name and will provide exceptions to families in the same household with different last names.

• Students across all grades will be learning remotely on Wednesdays. We will use this day to offer individualized support to students, allow our faculty and staff to engage in professional planning and learning as needed, and to allow our custodial team the flexibility to provide a mid-week clean of our buildings with fewer people inside.
• Learning on the three remote days will be primarily asynchronous, meaning the lessons are available for students to access on their own time and at their own pace, since the teacher will be engaged in-person instruction with the other half of their class. Lessons will include both offline learning opportunities (eg. books and paper) and digital instruction such as pre-recorded videos and online activities.
• Please keep in mind that Vermont is opening in Step 2 which is why the district is starting in a hybrid model. Should Vermont move from Step 2 back to Step 1 due to a resurgence of the virus, schools will be directed to move to remote learning for all students for a period of time. Conversely, if COVID-19 cases continue to remain low in Vermont, we are optimistic that the health data will support the Agency of Education and Department of Health relaxing the physical distancing guidelines or move the State to Step 3 where districts have more flexibility and could return all students to school five days a week.