Your Guide to Community, Politics, Arts and Culture in North Denver DenverNorthStar.com
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Volume 3, Issue 9
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June 15, 2022-July 14, 2022
Wheels Up
Michael Murphy wanted the hoops at Chaffee Park fixed up, so he donated the money himself
COMMUNITY
ARTS & CULTURE Theater 29’s ‘Emergence’ Features Interactive Showcase of COVID Challenges PAGE 4
PHOTOS: ERIC HEINZ
Michael Murphy, who recently donated the funds to have the hoops replaced at Chaffee Park, poses with a basketball May 26. By Eric Heinz
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COMMUNITY Retirees Team Up: Free Tennis Lessons for North Denver Youth PAGE 9 Postal Customer
At End of a Difficult Year, Teachers Reflect on Student Mental Health Challenges
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Public Transportation: A Building Block for Solutions to Denver’s Most Pressing Issues
ALWAYS FREE!
By Talia Traskos-Hart
Renovations at Inspiration Point Park Completed
ELECTED OFFICIAL UPDATE
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verybody deserves a full basketball court.” on my back and severed my spine.” That adage led Michael Murphy to restore The injury hasn’t deterred his spirits, especially not part of the one at Chaffee Park in the Sun- at Chaffee Park on May 26, when a small gathering of nyside neighborhood. The old hoops had deteriorated Denver Parks and Recreation staff and Councilwomand one of the backboards was completely gone. an Amanda P. Sandoval attended to acknowledge the “I think that one was old, and this one was just donation and the restoration of the hoops. non- e x i s t e nt for “I'm a T-9 paraquite a while, at least plegic, and it’s been a year,” Murphy one of the best things said, referring to the that’s ever happened hoops. “I'm in a posito me,” Murphy said, tion where I can help adding that’s what led the community a lithim to meeting his tle bit, and I was like, wife, Casey, who was why not?” in school for physical Although the city therapy at the time. owns the court, MurMurphy said the phy said he wanted accident also gave to speed up the prohim a new outlook cess and get the court on life. restored as soon as “It's provided a possible. Also, he has ton of clarity for me more motivation to and perspective. Michael Murphy plays in a game of horse against get out to the park It's helped me reDenver Parks and Recreation officials on May 26 at these days. alize I have a lot of “I come out here Chaffee Park. people and support quite a bit, and I’m rearound me,” he said. cently a new father,” Murphy said. “I have a 2-year-old “It's helped me realize how truly strong and capason now and he's getting into all the sports and stuff, ble I am. It's also opened a ton of doors in terms of and we love to come to this park.” adaptive sports.” Murphy’s legs were paralyzed in 2007 when he Murphy is part of the International Paralympic was a junior in college Committee and participates in alpine skiing. He said in Virginia, playing two he picked up other adaptive sports shortly after his PRESORTED collegiate sports. fall, particularly cycling. STANDARD “I was planning on goSports have “pretty much been keystone for my enU.S. POSTAGE ing to the Marine Corps tire life since T-ball,” Murphy said. “I come from a reto be an officer, and it was ally competitive family. My brother and sister played Denver, CO just one Saturday night,” he sports in college, and for me … I love the competiPermit No. 2565 said. “I was on a rooftop and tion, I love the camaraderie, the teamwork, everything EDDM lost my balance and I fell flat about it.”
PAID
he 2021-2022 Denver Public Schools academic year ended with around 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff members, a decrease of over 80% from early January, according to the district’s reporting. While COVID cases declined over the year, teachers in DPS schools faced challenges beyond simply protecting the physical health of themselves and their students. Bennet Spann, a language arts teacher at CEC Early College, called this year, his 17th as a teacher, “one of the most challenging years in my career as an educator.” Oftentimes, Spann said, balancing the need to help students catch up academically with the emotional challenges of returning to the classroom posed a difficult feat. “The beginning of the school year, there was an emphasis on making up for lost time. We kind of jumped straight into content, a little too emphatically,” Spann said. “We needed to work on giving students space to process being back at school and spend some time talking about how to interact with each other again.” Alysia Ramos, who teaches 10th-grade math at North High School, said that re-building students’ comfort with the classroom setting was a high priority for teachers this year. “The social component of being in school and being around people was something that students and staff struggled with,” Ramos said. “There was a focus on building relationships so that students and staff could get back into a group of 30 students.” Socioemotional challenges for today’s teenagers have been documented nationwide. A study by JAMA Pediatrics in fall 2021 found a doubling of adolescent anxiety and depression from the prepandemic level. At CEC Early College, to help with students’ socioemotional well-being, advisement periods were spent leading mindfulness exercises and working with students to manage anxiety, stress, and other mental health challenges. Spann said that he expects many teachers to continue these exercises “as a daily practice” next year. Alongs with mental health support, Spann and Ramos noted that teachers and administrators have developed new techniques to help students keep up with classwork amid high absence rates and the ensuing missed content. To aid absent students, Ramos posted class recordings and study materials on Schoology, which she said helped students “learn the content at the same pace as if they were sit-
See TEACHERS, Page 10