There were many changes and challenges to overcome since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our STARS, but our staff and volunteers have been resilient and have overcome these hurdles with grace and ingenuity. Our Virtual Program has been hugely successful, and we are offering that five days a week. In the future, we are planning to expand it so that we can offer our Virtual Program to adults with special needs and their families around the country.
In order to return to in-person programming in July of this past year, Wellspring needed to adopt a cohort model for the safety of our STARS. This model required additional space beyond what our facility at Castle Oaks could provide. We are so grateful that New Hope Presbyterian Church in Castle Rock and Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Centennial stepped up and made space available to us. Their generosity allowed us to return to in-person programming via smaller cohorts, which we have been operating out of these three locations for the past several months.
We are now happy to announce that all of our cohorts will be back in Castle Rock, starting Feb. 16th! With the state reducing restrictions, we will be able to support our cohorts between the two locations of Castle Oaks and New Hope. While this still isn’t the same as having all of our STARS together under one roof, it does feel like a step in the right direction. We will still be following strict safety guidelines and we will be still be operating in cohorts to keep everyone healthy. This move will also allow our staff to feel more connected with each other and allow for more effective collaboration between teachers.