Gov. Jared Polis has convened a working group aimed at getting Colorado kids back to school for in-person learning “as much as possible, as uninterrupted as possible,” he said Wednesday.

The group – consisting of teachers, superintendents, school board members, health officials and parents – met for the first time Wednesday and will continue to meet at least once a week, Polis said at a virtual press conference, held after the meeting.

The forum will allow for the sharing of “new and promising practices we’re seeing in K-12” at the state’s 178 school districts and additional private schools, in combination with public health data and recommendations, said Rebecca Holmes, president and CEO of the Colorado Education Initiative, a member of the group.

Specifically, the group will focus on bridging learning gaps in younger learners, and meeting the social-emotional needs of older learners – as well as meeting the unique needs of special populations like special needs students, English language learners and students who’ve experienced transiency due to economic insecurity, she said.

“Students who hadn’t yet learn to read [before the pandemic] couldn’t tackle that through remote learning,” she said, adding that some schools are looking that strategies like utilizing summers and adding a fifth year to high school during the 2020-2021 school year.

Polis said that for most kids and teachers, the “classroom is the safest place” due to protocols put in place at schools.

“During a pandemic, every action we take entails some risk,” he said. “We go buy groceries. We buy clothes at the store. Your job – you might work near others. It’s really a question of how can people be empowered to make the right choices to minimize their risk.”

As for the challenge of keeping brick and mortar schools open when so many staff members are quarantined – a challenge cited by many Colorado school districts ahead of shifts to remote learning this month – Amie Baca-Oehlert, president of the Colorado Education Association, said the group has its work cut out for it.

“The substitute shortage is an extreme challenge that many districts experience,” she said. “We need to talk collaboratively about how we address substitute shortage and staff shortage.”

On Wednesday the state education department released new guidance for schools that would allow those who fail a COVID-19 symptom screen to return to school after they’re symptom free for 24 hours if they haven’t experienced any new loss or taste of smell.

If an individual’s symptoms didn’t resolve within 24 hours but resolved within 48 hours, if they didn’t experience a new loss of taste or smell, if their potential COVID symptoms were minor like sore throat or vomiting, if they have an alternate diagnosis that can explain the symptoms, and if they can safely wear a mask, they can return to school, per the new guidance. If they fit such criteria and have a pending COVID-19 test, they may return to school if their county has been classified as “green” by the state. At other dial levels, they would need to stay home, pending the test result.