Diane Santorico was a year shy of completing her third decade as a teacher when the profession that once gave her so much joy nearly stole all of it. She was sick – physically sick – and tired. The first few weeks of school had demanded that she teach in a second-floor classroom baking at […]
remote learning
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Down 12 teachers, an Alamosa school drafted everyone they could to teach — including the principal
With 12 Ortega Middle School teachers scheduled to be out Friday, administrators of the Alamosa School District suddenly had to weigh their last-resort option: closing school. Assistant Superintendent Luis Murillo and his team “briefly” considered the idea, but instead scrambled to find staff to help cover classrooms, drafting Alamosa Online School employees — including the […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Disruption turned into destruction: Colorado kids are acting out in classrooms while struggling to cope
Veronica Bell’s classroom devolved into a place of destruction this school year, with kids snapping pencils out of frustration, tearing up decorations and bulletin boards, and ripping math books to shreds. “Then they would say, ‘Oh, I don’t have a math book anymore,’” said Bell, who left her teaching post at KIPP Sunshine Peak Elementary […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
COVID outbreaks have shut down some Colorado schools. Will holidays and cold weather make things worse?
When COVID-19 swept through an elementary, middle and high school in Pagosa Springs in November, many kids in Archuleta School District #50 JT once again had to abandon the classroom to learn at home. Along with shutting down the high school for five school days amid a string of staff absences, the rural southwest Colorado […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Colorado schools fought to retain teachers during COVID. The struggle isn’t over.
After the pandemic shuttered schools in spring 2020, teacher Margaret Chase lost a key element of her on-the-job training: the ability to “hop across the hallway” for advice from seasoned colleagues. But the 25-year-old history instructor wasn’t on her own long enough for isolation to set in. Her mentors simply went virtual, and the advice […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, Health, News
“Surrounded by toxicity”: As Colorado schools reopen, pandemic-fueled politics overwhelm classrooms
The faces of parents riled up by mask mandates in schools feels all too familiar to Mark Sass. It reminds him of the fury outside of schools during desegregation. And at schools like Legacy High School in Broomfield, he says, all the rancor over the coronavirus is keeping teachers from what counts: figuring out how […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News
Some achievement gaps widened between white students and their Black and Hispanic peers, new Colorado data shows
The pandemic set Colorado students back and widened some achievement gaps between white children and their Black and Hispanic peers, newly released data from state standardized assessments conducted in the spring show. But the new results have big holes because of a significant drop in the number of students who took the test, and questions […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, Health, News
Few Colorado families have chosen remote learning for the upcoming school year, though some are still deciding
In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, many sizable Colorado school districts are offering online learning programs this fall. But data shows very few students are choosing that option. In 10 districts surveyed by Chalkbeat, only between 1% and 2% of students chose the fully remote option for the 2021-22 school year. That’s a dramatic […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Education, News, Technology
A rural Colorado school district is spending $3 million to connect kids’ homes to the internet. Will it be enough?
SAN LUIS — Tucked in a canyon deep in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo mountains, Kimba Rael’s home doesn’t always get cell service or a stable connection to the internet. “It’s a ‘dead zone,’” said Rael, principal of Centennial School District R-1 in San Luis near Colorado’s southern border. One of the few live spots where […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Medical professionals agree we should protect students’ health this fall. We don’t agree on how.
As a community pediatrician and parent of three school-aged children, I can tell you that not all pediatric medical providers agree with the recent letter sent to Gov. Jared Polis and leaders of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment by the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics in collaboration with state […]