2021-22 School Year – meaningful and healthy in-person learning!
At Boulder Valley Waldorf School, we maximize student academic and social-emotional growth, and engage all students in learning, by providing opportunities for in-person learning in a safe way during this health crisis. The well-being and safety of our students, teachers and community is paramount.
“This pandemic has been hard on all of us, especially our kids. I have been so inspired by the commitment of the staff at Boulder Valley Waldorf School to return to in-person learning, Aug 2020, and the creativity and heart that they have used to get us here. I broke down in tears seeing all of the children running happily through the beautiful fields. Sounds of laughter and joy. All the while wearing masks or sitting in outdoor classrooms that have been lovingly assembled by the parents and staff. The school is taking the utmost precautions informed by science and local health guidelines. I could not be happier with the care and commitment they are showing to keep our kids safe and healthy.”
- small class sizes
- separated classrooms, with no big shared corridors or large common bathrooms
- creative pioneering faculty, staff and parent body
- working closely with the Boulder County Health and the State Education Department
- outdoor classrooms
The situation with the COVID pandemic is constantly changing. BVWS is continually monitoring and analyzing the latest developments. We are employing a layered mitigation strategy to prevent any potential spread of Covid. Key components include an indoor mask requirement, cohorting, testing, and targeted contact tracing.
Extensive safety measures for in-person instruction include:
Cloth Face Coverings: All persons, regardless of vaccination status, ages 2+ need to wear face coverings on BVWS campus at all times when indoors. Additional requirements may be needed for any campus visitors.
Cohorting: Students will continue to receive differentiated instruction in their specific classes – or cohort. Students will remain in their cohort group throughout the school day, including recess and lunch. All classes are 20 or fewer students. Each cohort will have a designated classroom and outdoor classroom space where they can maintain distance from other cohorts.
Symptoms, Staying Home and returning to School: We ask you to please screen daily for signs of illness using the BCPH At Home Symptom Screening Tool, and requiring anyone showing symptoms to stay home. Anyone (teachers, staff, parent or child) must stay home if they have major or minor symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or have had close contact (in or beyond your household) with someone who has COVID-19 symptoms . You can determine the length of time away from school using this BCPH Return to Learn Tool. Or if symptoms begin during the school day, here is the BCPH Tool for Addressing Symptoms at School.
Washing Hands, Maintaining Distance and Respiratory Etiquette: We are working with all students and faculty to follow all safety protocols and best hand-washing practices on campus.
We have updated our BVWS COVID-19 Safety Protocols document, explaining our safety measures in more detail. The current version, dated August 2021, includes changes from Boulder County’s August 10th public health order for schools.
Post Exposure Testing?
The school will no longer require automatic quarantine after student travel. Instead, if you feel that you have had an elevated risk profile (but no confirmed exposure) you may continue to come to school. An elevated risk profile would be something like taking a public airplane flight or attending a large event – you have not been notified that anyone was ill and that you were potentially exposed, but the nature of the situation puts you at higher risk. If you find yourself in such a situation, we do request that you come to the office before school for a free rapid test on days two, four, and six after the event. Please contact the office to discuss testing timing.
Health, Well-being and Safety
- Maximize use of outdoor classrooms and our 38-acre campus
- Ventilation & Cleaning
- Regular reminders for families to monitor symptoms, exposure and keep sick children home
- Mandatory indoor masking of all students and staff (under Boulder County public health order)
- Hand Hygiene and respiratory etiquette
- Student Cohorts & physical distancing where appropriate
- Quarantining and Targeted contact tracing
Guiding Principles
- Ensure health, well-being and safety of all students, faculty and community members
- Maximize student academic and social-emotional growth
- Provides support to faculty
- Assure operational and financial sustainability
We recognize that as a community there will be a diversity of opinions amongst our members about the pandemic and how best to respond to it. We encourage people to respect each other’s right to form individual opinions. When it comes to how Boulder Valley Waldorf School will operate, we will follow public health directives from the State of Colorado, Boulder County Health and Licensing Departments, for the safety of all in our community. Policies developed around safety are a requirement of attendance.
Boulder Valley Waldorf School 