I’m Denver7 education reporter Nicole Brady. Welcome to our new “education notebook,” where I will discuss the big education stories of the week and talk about the challenges and opportunities for education in Colorado.
Welcome to March! We are nearing the one-year anniversary of schools closing across the Colorado and remote learning entering our lives.
Here's what we learned this week:
• This past week saw more efforts toward “normalcy,” with school districts moving to return middle and high school students to full in-person learning. Douglas County’s Board of Education voted Tuesday to return secondary students to full time in-person learning on March 22, after spring break.
• Denver Public Schools Board of Education announced Thursday night it’s hoping to have middle and high schools operating at as close to full strength as possible after spring break on April 5.
• Most teachers will be vaccinated by the time these kids return in full force, but many are still concerned. The kids, obviously, won’t be vaccinated. They will be sitting closer together in classrooms, and lunchrooms will be more crowded. I won’t be surprised if we see more outbreaks in schools, but of course we hope this will provide a better educational and social experience for our kids. I would love to hear from you high school and middle school parents when your kids go back!
• An amended version of a bill to reverse COVID-related learning loss (SB 21-013) could provide free online classes to help Colorado students recover from learning loss.
• A bill banning legacy status from consideration in college admissions has been introduced in the Colorado General Assembly.
• A Castle Rock parent behind a recent effort to recall four Douglas County Board of Education members is now shifting his focus to the November 2021 school board elections.
What I'm working on
I spent a lot of time this week thinking about higher education, and next week we’ll be reflecting on how the college experience was impacted this year, and how it could change in the future. You can watch my story on how an enrollment decline affected Colorado colleges and universities here.
Have questions? Reach out!
I think we are all curious about how much “remote learning” will remain a part of K-12 and higher education as we move past the pandemic. Have questions? Please send me your thoughts at Nicole.brady@thedenverchannel.com