VCS Reopening Plan Update
July 27, 2020
Remote Learning Update
Dear Vanguard Classical School Community,
Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we navigate through these very trying times. As promised, we are continuing to provide you with the most updated information. On Friday, the Aurora Public Schools (APS) Board of Education provided direction during their meeting about the start of the school year. With the Board’s direction, APS will be starting in a fully remote learning model for the beginning of the school year. This decision was made considering the recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in both Adams and Arapahoe counties. Because we are authorized by the Aurora Public School District, both VCS East and VCS West will be following APS’s lead regarding remote learning.
Students will be learning remotely from home at least through the first quarter, which ends on October 8th. A decision about whether to begin in-person learning at that time will be made in the coming months taking into consideration health data on COVID-19 cases in our community.
Students will be expected to take part in live classes from home utilizing Chromebooks that will be provided by VCS. This means students will sign on and learn in real-time from teachers through video on their Chromebooks. For example, a student may be assigned to sign on from 8:00-9:00 am for their English class and then 9:15-10:15 am for their math class. In addition to live learning, students will also be asked to watch lessons and learn on their own time. Both of these remote learning modes will be used, and VCS teachers will also be regularly checking in to support students.
At VCS, remote lessons will be prepared by VCS teachers using VCS curriculum. We will be concentrating on a more rigorous, engaging and standard-based learning for students this fall. In addition, VCS will include our Specials classes in all student schedules, and grading will take place for all students in all courses.
The education, health and well-being of our students is our top priority. School staff will be working with families of children with special needs who are on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan to determine how services will be provided. Students who are English Language Learners will continue to receive additional language development support. All VCS students will also have access to mental health resources including our VCS social workers and other school staff.
Please know that we have a strong plan in place for VCS teachers to receive specialized training and coaching to provide rigorous remote learning that supports students academically and socially-emotionally. Our staff have already engaged in training opportunities over the summer and we are thankful to have such dedicated teachers at VCS.
Due to our need to pivot to full remote learning before the first day of school, we have had to shift our thinking. We will continue to share additional information about the upcoming school year as quickly as possible, including details about remote learning, information regarding distribution of Chromebooks, and other first quarter educational materials.
We will remain grounded in the science provided by the Tri-County Health Department. Thank you for your continued patience and support. We look forward to welcoming all VCS students back remotely for the 2020-21 school year.
Sincerely,
Your VCS Leadership Team
Vanguard Classical School
Email: info@vanguardclassical.org
Website: https://www.vanguardclassical.org
Phone: (303) 338-4110
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanguardclassical/