After being updated on guidelines from the state March 20 and March 29, Roaring Fork School District is having individual schools make plans for prom and other year-end celebrations.

“We’ll be following those in our prom and graduation planning, but won’t have definite plans in place for several weeks. Schools will be developing their own plans in keeping with the guidelines, and the district health team will review them just to make sure we’re in compliance,” Superintendent Rob Stein writes in an email about the recent Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment guidance.

Kelsy Been, Public Information Officer for the district, wrote in an email that Stein and several other staff members meet with public health on a weekly basis to stay up to date about COVID-19 regulations and how to keep students and staff as safe as possible.

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“We always need time to discuss changes internally and inform our staff, students, and families about new protocols before implementing them,” Been wrote about the current guidelines in place that can be found here.

On a school-by-school basis, these precautions allow for external groups to make use of the district’s facilities outside of regular school hours and away from studentsl. Field trips now will also be permitted as long as students stay within their cohorts.

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Despite spring break following shortly after the lifting of some guidelines, Stein said RFSD has not seen a spike in COVID-19 cases.

“We have seen a steady decrease in COVID cases, leading to fewer quarantines. Public health informed us of one case over the break, for example, which required us to quarantine two students today through Thursday,” Stein wrote.

For athletic events, schools in the district continue to follow guidelines set by the Colorado High School Sports Association, which include shortened seasons and additional adjustments depending on the sport.

Stein also noted staff members no longer need to quarantine if they’re exposed to COVID-19 as long as they have been vaccinated, which the majority of the RFSD staff is at this point. In-person meetings between staff members are now allowed as well, for up to 60 staff members at a time.

“Today was the first day we allowed in-person staff gatherings of larger numbers, but I haven’t had any reports back from schools who were able to have in-person staff meetings. I’m sure it was enjoyable,” Stein writes.

jpeterson@postindependent.com