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DENVER (KDVR) – Teachers, parents and school administrators in Denver have been working together to set their students up for success as remote learning continues.

For some students, in-person learning is certainly easier than it is for others. Students with learning disabilities or students left at home alone during the school day are more likely to fall behind.
Across the board, however, motivation and engagement are running low.

“It’s been so difficult and while we are working tirelessly, we still don’t feel good about where we are with kids,” said Micah Klaver, the assistant principal at McAuliffe International School. “At the end of the day, we are going to have gaps in learning.”

Klaver noted that while teachers struggle to keep every student at peak academic performance, leaving a student behind is not an option. Alex Magana, executive principal of Grant Beacon and Kepner Beacon Middle School, agrees.

“Regardless, kids are going to come in at a certain level and we will need to find out where they are at and then we can build from there,” said Magana. “When the kids come back, we are going to set a baseline and find out where the gaps are and which groups of students will have the greatest gaps and then start putting together interventions.”

A lack of accountability for students has many failing to turn in assignments, show up for class and participate. School administrators want to make sure when students return to in-person learning next year, they’ve retained what they learned in the virtual setting. 

“We need to make sure we are teaching it, they are learning it, we have evidence to prove it, and we can move from there,” said Klaver.

As schools work to identify the gaps in learning, they’re also focused on making the transition to in-person learning less jarring. If McAuliffe International doesn’t return to in-person next semester, the majority of its students will have their first day of in-person learning at the middle school next year.

“Two-thirds of those students will have never even stepped foot in their school before, in a huge school with 1,600 students,” said Klaver