DENVER, Colorado — Like many parents, TyRees Bingham faced an impossible situation.
When Denver Public Schools (DPS) moved to remote learning in the spring, his son King was only in kindergarten.
“Starting remote learning at kindergarten was really tough,” he explained. “Trying to manage a six-year-old doing their school work, make sure they’re actually retaining the material and not just going past it,” explained.
Additionally, Bingham was balancing his own work responsibilities. He works for a health insurance company which, he said, during the pandemic has been busier than normal.
“As a working parent you don’t have the time to be in meetings, doing something with your company, and also being online with a teacher and helping with first-grade math and reading and the alphabet.”
As DPS started school online again this week, Bingham found a solution at the Montbello Recreation Center. King goes there during the day, where he is supervised by adults as he attends virtual class.
It's part of a partnership between DPS, the City of Denver and other local agencies. The goal is to provide safe, supervised locations for younger students attending virtual classes while their parents work.
"This has made a total difference," Bingham said. "Being able to have somewhere that I know he's getting the help and guidance he needs to be successful moving forward."
“A lot of families are really struggling to figure out that balance, whether they’re going to work remotely or have to leave the home to go to work, and really trying to support the kids who still need to go to school,” said Dionne Williams, the Executive Director for the Office of Children’s Affairs in Denver. Her team helped facilitate the supervising program at Montbello Recreation Center, as well as three other rec centers and local Boys and Girls Clubs.
“It's a challenge for district, and everyone who is trying to be safe and do something for the first time that none of us have ever had to figure out,” she said.
DPS facilitates its part of the program through Discovery Link, which was already serving as a before- and after-school program in the district. The program now also provides supervised remote learning from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day.
“It enhances the kids' opportunities to just have a space where they can be themselves but also have a supportive adult there to help them with remote learning,” said Sydney Price, the manager of development and extended learning for DPS.
She said the DPS staff members who are supervising the students are not teaching, rather, serving as a support line between the students and their teachers on screen.
“Sometimes [students] have trouble with logging in, sometimes they have trouble with answering questions and having an adult there who can really support them," she said. "We know our families and parents have to work and may not be able to assess and be there to help their children as much."
The programs have taken COVID precautions. DPS said the Discovery Link sites require student desks remain six feet apart, students must wear masks and go through a health screening and temperature check before entering the building. The program also requires frequent hand washing and provides “plenty” of hand sanitizer.
There are some openings for parents still looking for help.
The Discovery Link supervising program, which DPS says costs $10 per day, has a fluctuating enrollment between 1500-1900 students. Price said they still have about 600 openings available. DPS said parents do not need to be affiliated with a specific school to enroll in that school's Discovery Link program.
Williams, with the Office of Children’s Affairs, said their partners and programs offers full-day supervision with some sites opening as early as 7 a.m. and closing as late as 4 p.m. That program is free, but the nearly 100 slots are almost full, Williams said. They have started a waitlist for interested families.
Williams also recommended families consider the Boys and Girls Club program.
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