Archer O’Brien, Gilpin County. The students of Gilpin County School have had their ups and downs with online courses. Colorado Digital Learning Solutions is one of the two online schooling options Gilpin provided for students. They are taught by online teachers unassociated with Gilpin. Some students are taking one or two CDLS courses along with their remote classes for the opportunity to take Advanced Placement classes while others are doing all their classes through CDLS. 

Also, the families who opted for full CDLS were concerned that if and when the school decided to open the school for in-person learning, their children would have to do in-person and would be at greater risk to COVID-19. 

On September 1, the Gilpin students who chose CDLS for online schooling began classes. During their first week, there were many technical errors and “all the teachers have a different set up for their class” says Ashton Turkaly, a Gilpin CDLS student, “so it’s kinda hard to keep track of everything.” The students are continuing to struggle with their classes as the weeks continue. 

Another Gilpin student says she feels overwhelmed by the amount of school work she has to do and how time-consuming it is. Many of them feel that they are doing a lot of busywork and are also not to school on Fridays. On the other hand, the students do appreciate waking up later in the morning and having more election options.

(Originally published in the September 17, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)