Jeffco Parents Rally To Get Students Back In The Classroom Next Month
DENVER (CBS4) - Just one day after Denver Public Schools announced they'll be bringing kids back to the classroom in 2021, Jefferson County parents rallied for their district to make the same call.
Amy Doty is a mom of three Jeffco Public Schools students. She's just one of many parents who showed up for the "Insist on January 6th" car rally for in-person learning.
"I just feel like it's best for my kids to be in school," Doty said. "There have been lots of tears, lots of struggles, an inability to focus, and I'm noticing my kids are starting to flounder in their ability to do what they need to do. They're falling behind and I'm concerned about it."
Families packed the parking lot at the Jeffco Public Schools Administrative offices. They rolled out to the Jefferson County Education Association office, then Jeffco Public Health offices.
Organizer Lindsay Datko says remote learning needs to end now.
"The community is at a breaking point, and we need an immediate start for the mental health of our children," said Datko.
Jeffco Pubic Schools released a statement to CBS4:
"Our intended planning process for 2nd semester return to in-person learning was communicated to our school community just before Thanksgiving. We are fully committed to return to in-person learning in January. How that plan rolls out is still being determined in detail. We are meeting with Jefferson County Public Health officials multiple times per week to keep current on the spread of the virus, understand what they are learning about anticipated/projected peaks, stabilizations, and reductions in positive COVID-19 case numbers, availability and distribution of a vaccine, and to discuss the conditions they recommend for a safe and stable return to in-person activities, which includes schools.
We are working on our plan and will be presenting this plan to the Jeffco Board of Education on Wed. 12/16 for their review. After that point, we intend to finalize and communicate the details to our school community. At present, we have not determined the exact dates when in-person learning will begin in January. Similar to what DPS announced last night, we are anticipating to bring students back in a progression, but how that looks specifically has yet to be finalized. We told our community that we would announce our January plans prior to the start of Winter Break which is December 23.
We are relying on our community to continue to rigorously follow public health guidelines such as wearing masks, washing hands, staying away from crowds and indoor situations, reducing or eliminating in-person gatherings with many people, etc. The more we all participate in reducing the spread over the next few weeks, the better the chances are that we can see a consistent decline in the positive COVID-19 case numbers, which would not only be the best thing for our community, but also support the successful return to in-person learning for all students."
Parents say there's a lot at stake if the district decides to delay in-person learning at the beginning of the year.
"A lot of families are struggling financially for this, I think a lot of kids are struggling emotionally and socially by this, and I'm scared to see what will happen, honestly," Doty said.
