More than a month into the school year, thousands of Colorado students still have not shown up to classrooms, physical or virtual.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis, Education Commissioner Katy Anthes and others pleaded with parents to enroll their children in school, despite their concerns about the risks of in-person learning or their frustrations with online education.
“A lot of parents are not ready for their children to go back, and they don’t love the online program,” Polis said. “Enrolling is very important. Your kid will likely go back to school at some point in the future, and you don’t want them to have a very big deficit when they do. Schools are working very hard to catch students up, and that’s impossible to do when they are not participating in school in some form.”
In addition to keeping students on track academically, officials said that participating in school even in less-than-ideal circumstances will help children get access to mental health support, social connections, and meals.
Enrollment is also closely tied to school funding in Colorado. Thursday is Count Day, when Colorado school districts tally their students to determine their official enrollment for the year. Every student is worth thousands of dollars.
-Chalkbeat Colorado, by Erica Meltzer and Yesenia Robles
Author: Mile High Mamas
