AURORA | Aurora Public Schools will continue the closed-campus policy it enacted after two shootings outside district high schools in November into the next semester.
It will also be implementing late-start Mondays.
The district announced last month that high school students would not be able to leave school grounds during school hours, including lunch, through at least the end of fall semester. The decision was part of increased security following shootings at Hinkley High School and across the street from Aurora Central High School the week before Thanksgiving.
In a December message to district families, Superintendent Rico Munn said that policy will continue for high schools for the foreseeable future.
“We continue to work closely with the Aurora Police Department to monitor the community violence that impacted our schools this semester,” he said. “We will communicate if circumstances and protocols change.”
The district will also be implementing late start Mondays for all students beginning after winter break. The decision was made to give teachers more planning time in their schedules to help compensate for the strain many are experiencing because of staffing shortages.
Students at most schools will start classes an hour later on Mondays. Preschools and Pickens Technical College are exempt along with schools in the ACTION Zone, which already have an early release on Friday.
“By giving our teachers more planning and professional development time, this proactive step is intended to allow us to keep our learning environments intact and minimize disruption to our schools,” Munn said in an announcement.