Say it with me, pan-dem-ic. PANDEMIC!

It's hard to believe that we are nearly a year into this global pandemic. Everything as we knew it has changed from traveling to work to grocery shopping, and of course, education.

On top of an already stressful time, Denver Public Schools is being unrealistic, tone-deaf, and most importantly, inequitable. By being the only school district in Colorado to call a "remote day" during the first storm last winter when every other district was closed, they have set a detrimental precedent. Unfortunately, other school districts took note, and have followed suit.

Grievances:

1. As a teacher, it is extremely frustrating to be expected to flip my in-person lessons and suddenly be expected to teach overnight with very little notice. It is inequitable because there are no clear guidelines for schools; individual schools are making their own decisions. So while some schools are following the 2-hour delay which gives teachers time to pivot; many schools are keeping their same schedule. For families and teachers, there has been a lot of confusion around this expectation. This is not equitable.
2. As a parent, you should not be expected to suddenly turn your home or the home of your relatives into a school. Many families have already turned in their devices. The message from DPS is this: "Students who access to their DPS-issued Chromebook are asked to log on for a 'normal' remote day. Students who do NOT have access to their Chromebook and aren't able to log on will have their attendance excused." As we know, Covid-19 has been the hardest on BIPOC communities. Many of these communities also tend to be the ones who are lacking resources. So the solution is that they will simply be excused? And if the learning is continuing as "normal", what does this mean for them when they return the following day? Does the teacher have to reteach the lesson from the previous day, and if so, the students who showed up before just have to sit through repeated content? Again, this is not equitable.

For these reasons, the Denver community strongly urges the school district to discontinue its policy of having remote classes and asynchronous work during major snowstorms and simply call a snow day.