D-11 looks to bounce back in the Spring semester
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The 2020 school year has been quite rocky for several school districts across the country.
But District 11 in Colorado Springs feels better equipped going into the spring semester with what they’ve learned from the fall.
“We found with families with multiple students in one house, parents were using that computer to perform their work or there were only one or two devices for a family six, that comes into a whole different matter of making sure we are able to coordinate and assist our students based on what they have available," said Daniel Hoff, Executive Director of Leadership for District 11.
This was an eye-opener for them as they noticed this pandemic presented them with gaps in their education system.
"For lack of a better term forced us to go into these areas and address these issues and I think we should be better off going into 2021,” Hoff said.
Those gaps include the ability to have high-speed internet, access to transportation, food, and making sure that social and emotional needs are met.
Their solution has been to increase home visits and frequently reach out to students and their families.
However, as far as academics go, they anticipated a 10-25 percent increase in 'Ds and Fs' going into the fall semester.
“We’ve been addressing those through individual interventions and trying to make sure those students get the support they need—as far as seniors, we are doing some high-level targeting of any students to make sure those students are on track to graduate," added Hoff.
Attendance has also been problem.
“It has been fluxing throughout the year, we will say that now that end of semester came to fruition, grades were in place. Students were showing up more frequently during the last couple of months.”
Low enrollment has also been a problem this year.
But overall, they hope to enforce what they have learned from the Fall semester into the Spring.
“We are hoping to have a better second semester but we also look forward to continuing to address all the individual needs to each and one of our students," said Hoff.
