Denver Public Schools will close schools on Nov. 19, a day earlier than planned for Thanksgiving break, so employees can have more time for their “health and self-care,” Superintendent Alex Marrero announced in a letter to staff Wednesday.
The decision to cancel classes for the state’s largest school district comes as Colorado schools are facing widespread staffing shortages. Three other districts canceled classes for Friday and at least three DPS schools are temporarily moving to remote-learning because of the issue.
Marrero, in his letter, referenced the challenges educators have faced since returning to in-person classes this fall, saying that the school year has been “stressful and draining.”
“I know that there are frequently urgent staffing issues that schools are facing in order to keep their buildings open for in-person instruction, and I very much appreciate all of the efforts that have been made to continue serving scholars and families,” he wrote.
The staffing shortages, coupled with the district’s efforts to get students vaccinated against the coronavirus, are driving DPS to close schools next week, Marrero said in a news briefing Wednesday afternoon.
More teachers are calling in sick with COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms or they have to stay home to care for a family member, spokesman Michael Vaughn said.
In addition to teacher illnesses, school districts are struggling with staffing shortages among substitutes, school nurses, custodians, food service workers and bus drivers.
For example, DPS typically has about 1,200 active substitute teachers that it can call to get help when a teacher is out sick. But this year there are just shy of 400 substitutes available, said Lacey Nelson, director of talent acquisition for DPS.
Teachers and other staff are still having to manage COVID-19 outbreaks and quarantines in the classroom. They also are reporting more behavioral problems among students who are still adjusting to the return to in-person learning, but resources remain limited, said Amie Baca-Oehlert, president of the Colorado Education Association.
“Our educators are under tremendous stress this school year,” she said
The Denver Classroom Teachers’ Association supports the closure of schools next week, with president Rob Gould saying in a statement that students and staff “need to prioritize their physical and mental health now more than ever.”
“We also know that we are experiencing national educator shortage and the unsustainable and under-resourced demands placed on our educators isn’t doing right by our students,” he said.
Adams 14 School District, Boulder Valley School District and Adams 12 Five Star Schools are also canceling classes on Friday, Nov. 12.
At DPS, George Washington High School moved classes to online starting today. The school initially raised the possibility that online classes could be extended through next week, but Marrero said Wednesday that is no longer the case. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College and John H. Amesse Elementary School are to go remote on Thursday and Friday.
“This is not something we are planning to do regularly,” Marrero said, adding “parents should be prepared and flexible just like we are but it’s not an expectation.”
All district-run schools and office buildings will close Nov. 19. Some charter schools will remain open, according to the letter to DPS employees.
Marrero encouraged families to take advantage of the day off to get their child vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The decision to cancel classes is in line with recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education, which has asked school districts to offer paid time off for employees to get their own children vaccinated, he said.
This story has been updated to clarify that Adams 14 School District, Boulder Valley School District and Adams 12 Five Star Schools are canceling classes on Nov. 12. A previous version had the wrong date.
