Academy School District 20, the largest school district in Colorado Springs, will move its elementary schools to online learning after Thanksgiving break and until mid-December, officials said in a Monday news release.

The district is unable to sustain in-person learning because 14% of its students and teachers are in quarantine and 10 elementary schools are already in eLearning, officials said. The transition to online instruction starts Nov. 30 and continues until Dec. 18, according to the release. 

Officials hope that between the six-week period of Thanksgiving and winter breaks the community can slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region, the news release said.

“We know in-person learning is the best means of education for our youngest learners, that is what makes this decision so difficult,” Superintendent Tom Gregory said in the news release. “We also understand the challenges learning at home creates for family scheduling and supervision.”

On Friday, the district announced it would transition all middle and high schools to online learning through the end of the calendar year, citing an inability to adequately staff schools.

The decision is not due to transmission within schools, but community transmission that “results in large-scale quarantines and isolations, which then impact our ability to staff schools,” Gregory said Friday, adding that the move, while less than ideal, will provide consistency to students and staff.

“We will be able to consider in-person learning when the community is able to reasonably control transmission,” he said.

Schools are sending specific communications to their students and families regarding next steps and expectations.

Gazette file photo

Debbie Kelley, The Gazette