Kwiyagat Community Academy, the new Ute Mountain Ute charter school in Towaoc, is preparing to delve into its inaugural year.

Ahead of its launch, the school hosted registration events for kindergarten and first grade students Wednesday and Thursday.

The first day of school is Aug. 23.

On Thursday, school representatives visited the neighborhoods of Towaoc from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., delivering ice treats to families.

The group ended at Veterans Park in Towaoc, where on Wednesday they hosted a barbecue – complete with music, an egg toss, a cakewalk and a drawing for a new HP Pavilion Notebook laptop.

On Thursday at 5 p.m., the school held a board meeting with its directors, led by Head of School Dan Porter.

The board discussed its progress in preparing to open KCA.

Porter said it was like “building a plane while it’s flying.”

At the time of the board meeting Thursday, 19 students had enrolled, Porter said.

Five packets were picked up at this week’s registration events, and one was completed and returned, he said.

The school is short of its 30-student enrollment goal and is slightly scaling back as it prepares to launch, Porter said.

For instance, the school is holding off on hiring a career readiness specialist, and Porter plans to do some of the elder work, he said.

The first grade teacher will also assist with physical education.

The board discussed facilities, and each classroom will be equipped with hand-washing stations — an upgrade from the original plan.

The board also reviewed COVID-19 procedures, and potential plans for shifting to remote-only learning.

“We can’t do only online,” Porter said. “It has to be forced by a closure.”

In that case, the school will provide hot spots and at least two hours of synchronous learning a day, he said. Remote office hours would also be available for parents to call in.

Asynchronous field trips will also be part of the remote learning curriculum.

The group agreed to conduct a Zoom meeting dedicated to discussing pandemic procedures further.

“I believe we should mask up at this point,” Porter said. “The tribe’s already headed that way. I have a background in science — I believe that masks will help our kids.”

The school has ordered child-sized masks, he said.

“I’m so happy that people are trying to push this school,” he said.

Interested families may receive more information and enroll their students at https://utekca.org/.