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May 21, 2020
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P4 Most Denver, Jeffco students engage in online learning
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
But available attendance data contains a lot of gaps BY MELANIE ASMAR CHALKBEAT COLORADO
Park United Methodist Church. Nearby freezer space was provided by Roth Distributing Co. Operating from the church, on March 24, about 20 volunteers packed and delivered food to 55 South High School families — traveling as far as the Montbello neighborhood and all around Denver’s south and west neighborhoods. However, because the food pantry offers items that need refrigeration, such as dairy products and meats, along with fresh fruits and vegetables and shelf-stable foods, onsite refrigeration was needed.
Most students in Colorado’s two largest school districts are participating in remote learning, according to data from the districts. But statewide, it’s harder to tell how many Colorado children are learning from home while school buildings are closed due to the coronavirus. That’s because districts are taking different approaches to tracking student attendance. The state isn’t requiring districts to collect the data, and not all of them are. That doesn’t necessarily mean attendance is low; teachers are still checking in on their students, and some are going to great lengths to reach those who aren’t participating. But the lack of data means it’s difficult to get a comprehensive look at who’s learning and who’s not. And the reasons that students might not be showing up to class — lack of internet access or the need to work — raise concerns that the students who faced the steepest challenges before the pandemic will be the most behind whenever school returns to regular session. Even the attendance data that is available contains a lot of gaps. Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district, is attempting to track the daily attendance of its approximately 92,000 students. But it hasn’t been easy. The district started remote learning on April 7 but doesn’t have reliable attendance data from the first two weeks.
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Jim Lovin, a volunteer with the Denver South High School Food Pantry, packs groceries before delivering the products to a family in early April. COURTESY PHOTO
Serving South High students through pandemic ‘It’s a great project with a pure mission’ BY CHRISTY STEADMAN CSTEADMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On a typical Thursday after school, Room 142 in Denver South High School, 1700 E. Louisiana Ave., would be bustling with students shopping for groceries. Then COVID-19 forced schools to close. “But closing our food pantry was not an option because a lot of families depend on us to supple-
ment their food supply,” said Jaclyn Yelich, who co-founded the South High School Food Pantry with her husband Greg Thielen. “So we packed up and moved the entire pantry to a temporary location.” The South High School Food Pantry got its start about 5 1/2 years ago. It is a full service, choice model food pantry similar to a mini grocery store, run completely by volunteers. Once the announcement came that school buildings would close, South High School Food Pantry volunteers had 48 hours to move about 6,000 pounds of food and personal hygiene items, Yelich said. Their first stop was Washington
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Mayor Michael Hancock has ordered mandatory furloughs for more than half of Denver’s 12,000 employees.
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