Boulder Valley School District: BVSD Expands Student Support On Mondays As Part Of Catch Up Plan

Press release from the Boulder Valley School District:

Carolyn Nohe

Feb 23 2021

As the one-year mark since the pandemic began approached, BVSD is both hopeful about the future ahead and determined to address the impacts that the crisis has had on its students.

“We know how we catch up students,” said Margaret Crespo, Area Superintendent during the Board worksession on February 16. “We catch up students by supporting them where they are in their social and emotional needs and making sure that we are focusing on their learning trajectory by giving them exactly what they need when they need it and using data to measure the results.”

As part of Boulder Valley School District’s Catch Up Plan, targeted support will be offered for the whole child, beginning with those who need it most.

The District is in the process of reaching out to students who have been identified as needing the most support at this time, and the plan is to focus on literacy and math at the elementary and middle school level and ACT/SAT preparation at high school.

Elementary and Middle School Students

• During the School Week: Students will continue to receive emotional and academic interventions aligned to their needs through their teachers and counselors

Students were selected for this first phase based on data points and were contacted last week. They will be provided with targeted tutoring that will include wraparound childcare support.

“We’re inviting as many kids as we can through the system to get this and we’ll keep filling as we can,” said Crespo. About 200 students were initially invited at the elementary level.

Likewise with middle school students, about 300 were invited to the first phase, those who are behind grade level in Literacy and Math, to participate in online tutoring options.

High School Students

• Monday Launch: In-person access to mental health supports, by appointment

• Monday Launch: Drop in opportunity for safe and secure supervised environment

• Monday Launch: SAT/AP prep and High School Credit Recovery

“All high schools students are required to take the SATs, “ said Crespo, “ so we want to make sure kids have the opportunity to practice ahead of time.” The initial invitations were to about 150 students who are underachieving, behind in credit or below a ‘C’ average in Math and LA.

While this first phase will be for a five week period (until Spring Break), the district is working to expand on these opportunities going forward.

Additionally, it is important to mention that these efforts are aligned with our All Together For All Students Strategic Plan and so these efforts are not just a short-term bandaid, but part of long term efforts to address student achievement gaps, while also addressing the immediate impacts of the pandemic.

You can learn more about our Catch Up Plan on our website here.

This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.