Denver schools to start school year online amid coronavirus

Denver Public Schools is planning to delay the opening of fall semester by a week, starting with remote learning Aug. 24 and gradually transitioning to in-person classes Sept. 8 at the earliest. Starting the week of Aug. 17, teachers will begin reaching out to individual students to build relationships and gauge their technology needs for remote learning, The Denver Post reported Friday.

The district handed out laptops and internet hotspots in the spring to students who needed them and plans to expand that effort going into the fall. Based on current models of coronavirus cases in Denver, schools Superintendent Susana Cordova said, “We have come to the determination that it would not be possible to open schools with the size of cohorts we’d been planning.” District officials, the Board of Education and the teacher’s union met with local health experts before making the decision.

Most classes will begin Aug. 24, although dates for charter and innovation schools may be different. The change affects all K-12 students. Cordova said early childhood education will not be available in this format, but the district will provide activities for families to use at home in lieu of remote education.