Teachers at Martin Luther King Jr. Early College are being asked to take attendance with paper and pencil and pop in a movie for upperclassmen Wednesday while school and district officials work hurriedly to finalize student schedules.
Wednesday is the first day for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders at the combined middle and high school in Far Northeast Denver. But a computer glitch is preventing the school from finalizing and printing student schedules.
A district spokesman said he was unsure of the nature of the technology glitch. But he said the delay “isn’t because the staff wasn’t doing their job.”
The technical difficulties may lead to more confusion than just which classes students are supposed to attend.
Teachers, parents, and students were notified mid-afternoon Tuesday that classes were going to be canceled for those students who did not have a final schedule. However, district officials, including Superintendent Tom Boasberg, later told the school to stay open. A second notice was sent out.
“As this matter was brought to my attention, the decision was communicated to cancel instruction the rest of the week,” wrote Kimberly Grayson, the school’s principal, in a second letter to parents announcing that school would, in fact, remain open. “After careful discussion and consideration, and thanks to support from district and Superintendent Boasberg, we have decided that school will continue tomorrow for middle school and begin for high school as originally planned.”
In a schoolwide email to teachers, obtained by Chalkbeat, Grayson apologized for “jumping the gun.”
“[T]omorrow we will be sending students to their advisory class and the students will remain there all day,” she wrote. “You will take attendance via paper attendance. Please bring a few movies to watch with your students tomorrow (a clean movie).”
In that email, sent shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, she also suggested teachers research some ideas for team-building activities.
Advisory classes are akin to home rooms.
Had classes remained canceled, the school would have been Denver Public Schools’ second false start this school year. Last week, district officials told parents school would start later than expected for students at Bromwell Elementary.
Monday was the first day of school for most DPS students.