The sudden end to in-person learning across Colorado in March, as the novel coronavirus reared its head, was only the beginning of the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the education of the state’s children.
Students in Colorado’s K-12 schools finished the school year with online lessons and varying degrees of help from parents struggling to meet the newfound demands of home schooling and their own employment obligations.
Now summer break, usually a time of calm and regrouping, is here. But so much is still in the air, as school districts across Colorado work to draft plans to return to physical classrooms for the next school year, some completely, others in a hybrid of in-person and online learning.
They’re doing this while keeping an eye on state health guidelines that can shift at any moment, working to ensure proper distancing within classrooms and even considering whether students should wear masks.
All of this comes as health experts warn of a second COVID-19 wave in the fall that could further disrupt schools after they’ve just started to regain their footing — and the fact that Gov. Jared Polis, although optimistic, has not decided whether schools can open their doors come late August.
In today’s Denver Post, reporter Tiney Ricciardi explores this compounding uncertainty, and what it means for anxious parents and kids who have been ripped away from their formative learning environments.
— Matt Sebastian, senior editor/enterprise
Uncertainty surrounds nearly everything about Colorado schools’ plans to reopen classrooms this fall
Five of our best stories from the past week
Colorado among first in U.S. to adopt historic police reforms after protests; Polis has said he will sign bill
Colorado passed one of the most comprehensive police reform packages in the country Saturday, and Gov. Jared Polis has said he will sign the historic bill into law once it reaches his desk, Saja Hindi reports.
“This is, in my estimation, the largest single advancement of individual civil rights and liberties for Coloradans in a generation,” said Denver civil rights attorney Qusair Mohamedbhai.
RELATED: What the “defund the police” movement means for Denver and who supports it
“People are going to end up homeless”: Inside lawmakers’ failed effort to extend Colorado’s eviction moratorium
In the closing hours of Colorado’s 2020 legislative session and with a statewide eviction moratorium set to expire, Senate Democrats worked feverishly on a last-minute plan to protect hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who may be at risk of eviction in the coming months.
But the talks collapsed, and as the Senate adjourned just before 11 Thursday night, it seemed unlikely that any extension of the eviction moratorium would materialize before the legislature adjourns, Alex Burness reports.
RELATED: More statehouse coverage as the legislature closes out a modified session
“No transparency, no communication”: Inside Colorado’s wild fight for PPE in the pandemic’s early months
As global supply chains froze in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, inundated by demand that suppliers and manufacturers could never meet, Colorado was forced to rely on methods of procurement state officials never could have dreamed up, Sam Tabachnik reports.
Emails obtained by The Denver Post show the state’s top emergency officials expressing exasperation at the lack of transparency from their federal partners. At the same time, some Colorado hospitals and nursing homes say they paid premiums of up to 1,500% for their needed supplies.
RELATED: Gov. Jared Polis asks federal officials for help with vaccines, PPE during Colorado’s flu season
Election 2020: John Hickenlooper’s ethics violations raise question in Senate race: Will voters care?
John Hickenlooper’s ethics imbroglio this month has brought him plenty of political embarrassment, Jon Murray writes. But Colorado political watchers say a key question remains unanswered in the U.S. Senate race: In an election year painted by such stark dividing lines, will voters much care about the issue?
RELATED: Here’s how Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidates differ on the issues as primary ballots drop
“High-risk” retailers and virus concerns: How Colorado malls are rebounding from pandemic shutdown
Even before the virus hit, malls were beset by challenges that have analysts and consumers predicting the end is nigh for the concept. But, regardless of those naysayers, malls are looking to fight their way back, Joe Rubino reports.
More on the economic impact of the pandemic: Denver’s historic Brown Palace hotel reopened Wednesday, but industry still struggling
A few more important stories
+ Coloradans will vote on Gallagher Amendment repeal in November
+ In the middle of a pandemic, half a million Coloradans are expected to join Medicaid, other insurance plans because of booming unemployment
+ Colorado’s smaller ag operations — farms, ranches, farmers markets — can tap grants to get through the summer
+ As some Colorado hot spots start seeing an uptick in visits, tourism office launches COVID-conscious campaign
+ Majority of outdoor recreation businesses report layoffs, drops in revenue during pandemic
+ Coronavirus and sports: What Colorado fans can expect from their new “normal”
+ As Colorado’s minor league cities face “economic and cultural void,” Grand Junction and Colorado Springs stakeholders hold out hope
+ at Colorado bars and restaurants this summer — The Know
Photo of the week
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![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
