Denver Public Schools is planning to bring more students back after spring break, and the interim superintendent told the school board Thursday night that he wanted to return “as close to full strength as possible.” 

The district phased students back into classrooms in January, but it continues to educate many of its high schoolers in a hybrid model. The district has a limitation on the number of high schoolers that can be present in a classroom at once – 17 – and students are allowed in the classroom for as many days as the school can accommodate. Teachers were also only allowed to interact in-person with 136 students per day.

After spring break, DPS is planning on loosening those restrictions, school administrators told the board. Classes can now have a maximum of 35 students, though students must maintain 3 feet of space between each other; if a classroom doesn’t allow for that, then the number of students allowed within that room must be curtailed.

The limit on how many students teachers can interact with will be completely lifted, and teachers are instructed to track their close contacts throughout the day.

Michael Ramirez, a deputy superintendent with DPS, said the changes were driven by the evolving understanding of the virus and its risks within classrooms. Research has indicated that there’s been little transmission from within schools and that mask-wearing is significantly effective in preventing spread. He said that there’s been less disruption and anxiety in high schools this semester.

Students and staff who continue to choose to learn remotely will be able to do so, administrators said.

DPS would follow other metro districts, like Jefferson and Douglas counties, in increasing the number of students in their buildings. It comes as the state is in the thick of vaccinating its educators, and Denver and other counties begin to look toward a future of looser restrictions. 

Lauren Dunn, a senior adviser at DPS, told the board that the district had completed its clinics to inoculate all staff who want a vaccine. The district is still on track to vaccinate all willing staff by spring break, “which is just incredible,” she said.