Arvada Press 0917

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September 17, 2020

JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | SPORTS: PAGE 13

VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 16

Jeffco schools see handful of COVID-19 cases in first week back Lakewood elementary goes temporarily online to avoid spread STAFF REPORT

A graduating Hope House mom listens to the graduation ceremony while holding her baby, who attended the ceremony with the graduate’s friends and family. PHOTOS BY CASEY VAN DIVIER

‘We broke a statistic’ Young mothers earn high school diplomas, GEDs during pandemic BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CASEYVANDIVIER@ICLOUD.COM

Like all high school graduates this year, Renay Padilla found herself faced with unexpected challenges when the pandemic hit in March, including altered study plans and daily uncertainties piled on top of her schoolwork. But unlike all graduates, Padilla, 24, was also balancing being a mother with finishing school. That process was anything but easy, she said, but it was worth it — and on Sept. 10, Padilla and several other young mothers celebrated their graduation. “It was difficult being a single mom with two boys but eventually, I just had the motivation to finish,” said Padilla, who will begin studying to become a pharmacy technician in January. “The whole reason I did it was to make a better life for me and my kids.” The graduating moms earned their high school diplomas or GEDs through a Hope House program. The local nonprofit serves Denver area young mothers who are in need of financial, educational and emotional support. This year, about a dozen moms graduated from Hope House’s High School and GED program, many completing all or the majority of their coursework during COVID-19. Together with their children, parents, friends and family members, the moms reflected on their accomplishments with a ceremony at the Trinity Church of Wheat Ridge. During the ceremony Hope House Executive Director Lisa Steven commended the moms for their accomplishments so far and encouraged the moms for challenges they will face in the years to come. “It’s a challenge enough to earn your GED or diploma and it’s even more difficult when you’re parenting,” she said. “I could not be more personally proud of you.” A former Hope House grad named Cassandra was scheduled to speak to the moms but could not attend

Executive director of Hope House, Lisa Steven, speaks at the graduation ceremony. Steven commended the graduates, saying many completed some or all of their due to exposure to COVID. However, her speech was read out loud during the ceremony, with a reminder that everything the moms had done would serve as a strong example for their children. “Graduating isn’t easy but you did it. Just like everything else in life, it’s possible, and you proved that,” she wrote. “You are all big role models. We broke a statistic.” As for Padilla, she said that like many of her fellow graduates, she could not have graduated without Hope House. “They helped in so many ways, not only just my schooling. It’s a family I can reach out to,” she said. “They’re constantly cheering you on. If you’re a teen mom, Hope House is the place to come.”

Jeffco Public Schools had a slow, but not unscathed, first week of in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year, in terms positive COVID-19 cases. For many of the district’s 84,500 students Sept. 8 marked the first day of in-person learning for the year, after an initial two weeks of remote learning and standardized testing. As of Sept. 14, the district is reporting 24 positive staff cases, and 15 positive student cases. Elementary students were given the option this year to either learn 100% in-person, or entirely remote. Middle and high school students were given the option between a hybrid schedule (learning half the time in class and half remotely) and 100% remote. The hardest-hit school has been Deane Elementary, where an outbreak among staff members led to all learning to go online only beginning Sept. 8, and going through Sept. 22. “We are so thankful for the support our families have provided to ensure your child is successful,” Dean K-6 Principal Megan Martinez told her school community in a video announcement on Sept. 11. “We know it was a quick and unfortunate transition for our families that have selected inperson learning.” A running total of cases and quarantines indicate a slow trickle of new infections from across the district last week. On Monday, Sept. 8 a Pomona High School student tested positive, and their sibling was placed in quarantine. The following day, the sibling tested positive as well. In several cases, students that had tested positive had not yet been in attendance at their schools, avoiding wider potential exposure. Still, several schools haven’t been so lucky. Broader quarantines as of Sept. 14 include the following: • One Dakota Ridge student tested positive on Sept. 10, triggering the quarantining of four student cohorts — 49 students and 4 teachers. • Following possible exposure on the Warren Tech Central campus, 22 students, 6 staff have been quarantined. • Kullerstrand Elementary has18 students and 6 staff quarantined. • One positive staff case at D’Evelyn Jr. Sr. High School has resulted in four other staff and two students to be quarantined. • A trickle of positive staff and student cases at Bear Creek High School has led to four student cohorts being quarantined, plus a football cohort, totaling 48 people. School districts around the metro area, including Denver, Westminster 50, Cherry Creek and Douglas County, have seen similar outbreaks, and instituted quarantines related to COVID-19 in recent days.


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