Boulder High School marked its 150th anniversary last week with a celebration that doubled as a reunion, welcoming back alumni, former teachers, and the community that helped shape the school's legacy.

Emily Gallegos, Boulder High School librarian and teacher, organized the event.

Denver7 reporter Mike Castellucci attended the celebration. Here's what he saw:

"There's so many stories here tonight and they're all an important part of Boulder High School history," Gallegos said.

Gallegos admitted the event was far outside her usual comfort zone.

"I've never planned an event bigger than my own birthday party," Gallegos said.

Boulder High School student council members Liv Hourihan and Lily Sirkus said the evening left them inspired.

"It's inspiring to see successful people here, and us following in their footsteps," Hourihan and Sirkus said.

Retired Boulder High teacher Jacqui Goeldner, who taught at the school for 21 years and witnessed 21 graduating classes, was among those who returned for the celebration.

"I consider it a great blessing of my life that I spent a 21 year teaching career at Boulder High School," Goeldner said.

Goeldner said being back on campus felt familiar.

"I feel at home when I'm in the courtyard," Goeldner said.

Boulder High School graduated its first class in 1876, before Colorado was officially a state.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) For high school senior Aliyah Pack, getting distracted during school is the norm. Kids in her Pennsylvania school district use iPads starting in kindergarten, switch to Chromebooks in second grade and get their own MacBooks in eighth grade.

Aliyah has ADHD, and finds it difficult to concentrate when shes learning from a screen. Shell watch Netflix in class on her school laptop, hiding her earbuds behind her long, curly hair.

Its very hard to get into the mindset of being in school, Aliyah said.

Aliyahs mother saw her grades were falling and asked the school to take away her laptop. But she was told that wasnt possible.

Across the country, parents are voicing concerns about excessive screen time in schools and lobbying educators to go back to pencil and paper. In places like Lower Merion Township, where Aliyah goes to high school, some are taking it even further. Over 600 people in the affluent Philadelphia suburb have signed a petition asking to preserve parents' ability to opt their children out of using digital devices during the school day. The public school district has pushed back, saying its not feasible to let hundreds of students opt out of technology that is essential to the curriculum.

At a meeting Monday night, school board members said they were considering many ways to respond to parental concerns about technology, but allowing opt-outs was not one of them.

There is not an option for us to not have technology in schools, said Lower Merion School Board member Anna Shurak.

The board was meeting to discuss updates to the districts technology policies, including repealing a policy that allows opt outs. Over 100 people showed up to protest, many wearing buttons that said Screens Down, Pencils Up.

Many emphasized theyre not anti-tech in fact, most parents agree that learning how to responsibly use computers is an essential life skill. They just dont want tech to dominate the classroom.

Teaching how to use technology is not the same thing as using technology to teach everything else, said Sara Sullivan, a parent.

The debate in Lower Merion raises the question of whether technology has become so intertwined with learning that its impossible to opt out. Kids use devices to play educational games, submit their homework, access online resources and write essays but parents are questioning the value of gamified edtech software.

Subashini Subramanian said the software her second-grade daughter uses for math, DreamBox, incentivizes rushing through levels to gain points. When she encouraged her daughter to think through the problems methodically, the 8-year-old said, If I go through all the steps, its slowing me down. I have to click, click, click.

At the school board meeting, many parents said they were exhausted from battling their kids over screen time. Adam Washington says his son struggles with screen addiction, so sometimes he takes away his phone or TV only to find him watching YouTube on the school laptop instead.

The screen is killing him. It is killing me, and him, together with our relationship, Washington said.

Another parent at the meeting questioned what students would do instead of using their computers.

Opting out is not a solution. Its avoiding the hard work of finding a solution, Seth Ruderman said.

The pushback on technology in the classroom has gained steam around the country. At least 14 states have proposed laws to limit screen time in schools, according to Ballotpedia, with four states Alabama, Tennessee, Utah and Iowa passing such legislation.

In Los Angeles, the nations second-largest school district said it will ban screens until second grade, require daily caps for screen time per grade, ban YouTube and require an audit of all education technology contracts.

In Vermont, proposed legislation would allow not just parents but also teachers to decline to use classroom tech. Democratic State Rep. Angela Arsenault, a bill co-sponsor, said shes responding to parents' worries about edtech.

Parents in many districts and states just arent being listened to or not being heard when they ask that their students not be forced to use these products, Arsenault said.

The Lower Merion school district said its listening to community concerns and has already made changes, including blocking some problematic websites flagged by parents.

We have wonderful teachers who have continuously prioritized human interaction and relationships, Superintendent Frank Ranelli wrote in a letter to parents. He declined to comment to the AP for this story.

The district said it is looking into possible changes, including stronger cellphone restrictions, not allowing the youngest students to take devices home and installing software to monitor students in class.

However, surveillance software can bring its own problems and poses risks to student privacy. In 2010, the Lower Merion School District paid $610,000 to settle lawsuits by two students who alleged the district had spied on them via the webcam on their school-issued laptops.

High school student Mia Tatar, 16, raised concerns at the board meeting that theres been an unintended consequence to the anti-tech backlash. The internet filters on school computers are now so strict, she said shes been blocked while doing research on appropriate topics for school, like breast cancer.

Mia said students need to learn how to responsibly use technology, and adding filters or getting rid of laptops wont do that.

It doesnt teach kids how to hold themselves accountable and how to be responsible for regulating their own screen time once theyre in the world, Mia said in an interview.

Her friend Elliot Campbell, 15, said there should be strict limits on screen use in the youngest grades, but students should get more freedom as they get older.

If we lose our laptops or if we lose the partial freedom we have on them, its not going to prepare us for college, Elliot told board members at the hearing.

Fellow high schooler Joaquin Imaizumi takes a different view. He said its completely unfair to expect children to regulate their usage of devices that even adults find addictive.

This isnt about learning to constrain yourself, he said in an interview. We dont give someone drugs and say, OK, now learn how to deal with this.

His biggest concern is that devices make it far too tempting to access AI tools like ChatGPT, which he sees eroding his classmates' ability to think for themselves.

Ive seen the atrophy of my peers thinking, which is existentially concerning, Joaquin said.

The influence of AI starts early. A second-grader named Lillian Keshet, who got up to speak at the board meeting, said Google Docs will give her suggestions about what to write in class.

Im a pretty good writer by myself, Lillian said. I dont need your suggestions, Google!

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Colorado universities and students are speaking out against a bill moving through the state Legislature that would cut off financial aid to students who attend private universities.

We're really focused on the students and the need of those students to make college a possibility, to help their dreams come true, said Catherine Rhode the Associate VP of Admissions and Financial Aid at Regis University. Our neediest students in the state of Colorado are going to be impacted by this loss of funding.

Watch Jessica Porter's report in the player below:

HB26-1345 will modernize the higher education funding model by expanding eligibility for qualified transfer students and prioritizing part-time students.

A last-minute amendment added to the bill on May 6 prohibits state financial aid and work-study programs for students at private institutions, effective in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

This will impact over 2,000 students attending schools such as the University of Denver, Colorado Christian University, and Regis University, reducing funding by $14 million.

Regis University says this bill will impact 587 students who will lose $5.5 million in financial aid, all because of the school they chose.

It absolutely impacts students just based on school choice alone. These students have not changed their residency status; they have not changed their eligibility. They will be filling out their financial aid applications the same as they do every year. The only difference is they chose a school like Regis University, Rhode said.

Regis University points out that the bill hurts Colorado taxpayers whose children attend an in-state private institution but cannot receive financial assistance benefits.

Zoey Josifek, a senior at Regis, is from Colorado and worried about losing her work-study. That program connected her with a job at the University that helps her pay for college.

It (work study) means everything to me. It's been a really big part of my Regis career here at Regis University. It's given me so many opportunities to grow as a person, Josifek said.

Josifek says she will have to find another job if this bill passes, which might not be as accommodating to her academic needs. She is urging lawmakers to think of the students.

I feel like I've really built a place for myself here at Regis. Potentially losing these funds, not only for me, but for countless students here at Regis, it's really going to hurt us, she said.

Colorados private universities are calling on state lawmakers to reject this amendment.

The University of Denver has 508 students who will be affected by this potential change to financial aid. The University released the following statement:

The University of Denver is committed to providing the best possible education and support to students across Colorado. The recent proposed budget cuts by the state legislature to state need-based financial aid would affect students attending private institutions like DU. This cut could negatively impact Colorado students and their ability to attend the higher education institution of their choosing. Need-based financial aid is critical for all of Colorados students, especially underserved and first-generation students who rely on this aid.

The bill passed a third reading in the Senate. It must now go back to the house for another vote.

DENVER, Colo. A cyberattack on Canvas, the online learning platform used by universities nationwide, knocked the system offline Thursday, during one of the busiest times of the academic year.

Several Colorado students were racing to meet deadlines as final exams and papers came due. Many rely on Canvas daily to submit assignments and track coursework.

Hear how this cyberattack impacted students and the not-so-typical homework it is spurring them to do to protect their online accounts.

"I was online with my friends, and they were saying, 'Oh, it got like hacked by this odd company,' and so I was like, 'You're kidding.' It was so stupid that they did it right before finals week," said Grace Gallison, student at CU Denver.

For other students, like Caden Rickher, he said this shutdown was really badly timed and caused a real problem, as students could not access anything through the online system.

"Some of the teachers weren't even fully aware of it at the time, so we had to email them personally and say, 'Hey, like, I can't turn in my assignment today because of the fact that Canvas is down' and they had to extend deadlines, which was really annoying," Rickher said.

Rodney Gullatte Jr., a certified ethical hacker and CEO of Firma IT Solutions, explained how attackers identified Canvas as a high-value target.

"The way they try to run this is like, how can we find a dependency between all the schools? What are they all connected to that we can then hack and hold them all hostage? Canvas is the core," Gullatte said.

Gullatte warned that the Canvas attack is not an isolated incident and that educational institutions should expect more.

"What's coming next the hackers going after the schools directly, and this is not just colleges and universities, but school districts, any type of educational institution... They're going to come after your own networks, which have a bigger treasure trove of personal information," Gullatte said.

He said the stakes extend well beyond disrupted coursework, with sensitive personal data now potentially at risk.

"Now we're talking about financial data. Now we're talking about Social Security numbers and insurance information. They're going to get all that information," Gullatte said. "Right now, there's emails going out that say that from your professor, 'Hey, click on this link real quick,' It's not real. Don't click on that link."

Canvas has since been restored, with students expressing relief, but also concern over how their personal information may now be compromised.

"I checked this morning, thankfully, plenty of my assignments I got in today," Cavraro said. "I'm really happy about that."

"I definitely want to change my password and make sure that I have different passwords on all of my accounts, because I think that's a big thing is that if they get your one password for one school account, if that's the same for the rest of it, they just have access," Gallison said.

Gullatte said the attack is a reminder for users to take steps to protect their accounts. He recommended using different passwords across all accounts and enabling two-factor authentication, and he wrote an article detailing the overall impact of this cyberattack.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Arlene Solis found her passion for journalism between art class and room 3352, home of the school newspaper at Boulder High School and now she's helping bring the school's student paper, The Owl, to life.

In the Owl's April edition, Solis earned a front-page byline for her story on Boulder High School's 150th anniversary, a milestone the school shares with the state of Colorado.

WATCH: Denver7's Mike Castellucci caught up with The Owl's incoming co-editor-in-chief as Boulder High celebrates its 150th year

For the story, Solis researched Boulder High School students during World War II and interviewed former students about their prom experiences in the 1970s.

"I read about WWII; students would have to bring scrap metal to school. It's interesting how they mobilized kids," Solis said.

One former student told her about a tradition that no longer exists.

"She said in the '70s they used to sleep over at the school and wake up herewe don't do that anymore," Solis said.

The reporting experience left a lasting impression on her.

"I found I really enjoyed interviewing people and I love the freedom of the class. It's a student led class unlike any class in high school. It's up to you to make the article happen and when it does, it's cool to see," Solis said.

The school's library even has a copy of a Boulder High School newspaper from 1917.

Librarian and teacher Emily Gallegos is helping plan the school's 150th birthday celebration a 300-person event.

"I've never planned an event bigger than my own birthday party, so it has been an exciting experience to plan a 300-person event," Gallegos said.

Next year, Solis will take on a new role at the Owl co editor-in-chief.

"I'm really excited and proud of them excited about the future of the Owl," Senior and Editor-in-Chief Ella Gibney said.

DENVER At Cory Elementary School in Denver, students are learning lessons they can take far beyond the classroom straight into their kitchens and communities.

As part of the schools wellness program, students in grades one through five grow their own vegetables, care for chickens, learn to compost and then turn their harvest into full meals.

The final cooking class of the semester had them trading pencils for spatulas. On the menu: veggie tostadas, built with ingredients they planted, tended and picked themselves.

Its sort of fun to like make stuff and see how people react to your food and see how it tastes, one student said.

Feels like youre a chef, another added.

Leading the program is Skeeter Buck, who said the initiative is part of a five-year vision for Cory Elementary.

Within five years, these kids will know how to plant and how to grow and how to harvest and now how to cook, Buck said. By the time they leave here in the fifth grade, they know how to actually be sustainable with their own food production.

Watch Colin Rily's report in the player below:

The lessons go beyond agricultural know-how. Students learn that even in a city setting or in something as small as a five-gallon bucket its possible to grow tomatoes, spinach, lettuce and radishes.

What the kids are learning here is whether you have a five gallon Home Depot bucket with dirt in it, you can grow tomatoes and spinach and lettuce, radishes, and you can cook with that, Buck said.

The programs chicken coop also offers hands-on lessons in animal care and some surprising moments.

So many kids who live in the city have never picked up a chicken before. Theyve never clipped the chickens toenails or painted them or harvested an egg, Buck said.

Theyre painting toenails? Denver7's Colin Riley asked.

Theyre painting toenails. Pedicures for the chickens, Buck replied with a laugh.

The work also addresses a pressing need. A 2023 Colorado Health Institute survey found that almost 22% of households earning between $70,000 and $100,000 annually reported challenges with food insecurity.

And that is our demographic here at Cory, Buck said.

Partnerships with organizations like Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) provide free seeds, which students start in the greenhouse. Those plants are later sold to the community, with proceeds funding both the greenhouse and the chicken program.

From composting with red wiggler worms to experimenting with new recipes, Buck said the program inspires students to try new things and empowers them to make healthier choices.

They know how to plant and how to take care of plants, and with that, they can help to reduce food costs for their families, Buck said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

The Sheridan Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to ratify a new agreement with the Sheridan Educators Association (SEA), officially ending the longest strike in recent Colorado history.

The agreement concludes a strike that lasted more than three weeks. It reinstates the educators' contract through December 2026 and officially recognizes classified staff throughout the district.

Superintendent Gionni Thompson acknowledged the stress the strike placed on students and their families during the board meeting.

"While words alone can not undo the impact, you have my commitment that we will work intentionally to repair the trust and strength of the community moving forward," Thompson said.

Art teacher Shelby Gahm celebrated the historic agreement after spending weeks on the picket line.

"We won. We did it," she said. "We got what we we need."

During the strike, Gahm shared with Denver7 her determination to reach a fair deal.

"I miss my students and I miss the classroom, but I will keep fighting as long as it takes," Gahm said.

With the strike now resolved, educators are processing the end of the long road.

Watch Claire Lavezzorio's report in the player below:

"I think that we still have a lot of work moving forward," Gahm said.

Another educator shared her hopes for the district's future.

"I'm hoping that we can move forward in a way where solving problems together is what we're doing versus trying to stop the other side," said preschool teacher Rebecca Renz.

Right after the vote, educators celebrated the start of a new chapter with flags flying high and chants of victory.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

The Board of Education for Sheridan Schools is expected to vote Tuesday on an agreement that could keep teachers back in the classroom.

Teachers were on strike for more than three weeks demanding better pay and a new contract. They voted on the tentative agreement Friday, and the school board could make it official Tuesday.

Yoselin Rangel, a parent of a Sheridan student, spoke to Denver7 about the impacts the strike had on her child.

Her son, who goes to Alice Terry Elementary, is not quite old enough to understand what is happening, but is old enough to know his teacher was not in his classroom.

Rangel said it was disappointing because she thinks students learn the most in the spring semester. However, her frustration seemed more aimed at the district.

"So to me, it was like, okay, you have the resources to get subs in. So, like, obviously you have the money," Rangel said. "To me was just like, just sit down and negotiate."

Denver7 asked Rangel if she felt the strike was the right thing to do when it came to students' education.

"I think it did in the long term, because I think, like, if the teachers are taken care of, like that will like, in the end, show in the kids," Rangel said.

We also asked if there were any questions she wanted us to take to the superintendent or the Sheridan Educator's Association (SEA).

"I think for the superintendent overall or the school district, is like, how are they going to restore that relationship? Because of, like, everything that has been put out," Rangel asked.

Denver7 emailed that question to Superintendent Gionni Thompson. He never replied, but he did seem to answer that question during Monday night's city council meeting.

While holding back tears, Thompson apologized for the disruption to daily lives, as well as the stress and uncertainty the strike and negotiation created.

"You have my commitment that we will work intentionally to repair the trust and strength of the community moving forward," Thompson said.

SEA also said part of the agreement being voted on Tuesday night includes a restorative process for the community. The union alluded to the new agreement having protections but did not say what those are.

Journalism is often described as the first rough draft of history, a draft that grows and evolves over time as details surface.

When a teenager carried out a shooting at Evergreen High School last fall, the public had a long list of questions questions students at the school could answer.

Watch: Denver7's Colette Bordelon talks with students who revived the student-led newspaper at Evergreen High School in the wake of the shooting

However, those same students who were left dealing with the fallout of the crime also had to deal with media attention.

There were just so many people wanting to get an opinion out of us," said Hailey Clarkson, a sophomore student at Evergreen High School. People just wanted to to have something to write about. It's not like they actually cared what happened.

Instead of an aversion to journalism, the experience inspired one student to take matters into her own hands.

"Our first headline was: Evergreen Strong," Echo Robbins, a junior at the school, said about the first edition of a student-led newspaper she revived in the wake of the shooting.

On Sept. 10, 2025, an Evergreen High School student shot two of his classmates before turning the gun on himself. The motive for the shooting remains unknown, but the FBI was investigating the social media accounts connected to the 16-year-old boy two months before the attack. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) said, a day after the shooting, the teen had been "radicalized."

18-year-old Matthew Silverstone was one of the students injured in the shooting. The other student who was injured, a 14-year-old boy, was never identified.

Denver7 named the shooter when he was first identified, but limits the use of their name in our subsequent reporting in order to focus our coverage on the community impacted by the crime.

The day of the shooting was the day Robbins realized she had to write about what was happening within her community.

"There's been a lot of teachers that have been like, 'Oh, you write for the Claw. I remember that,'" Robbins said with a laugh. "It's been that long that you have to return to it like a memory, and not like, 'That's something we do.'"

According to Robbins, the last instance of the Cougar Claw newspaper was in 2008. Since the shooting, she and her classmates have brought back the student-led newspaper, which functions as an after-school club with a publication once a month.

"We kind of take anyone who really wants to write and anyone who is passionate about it, and these two have definitely been very key people," Robbins said, gesturing at Clarkson and Alex Ostrovskiy, who both write for the paper.

Denver7 sat down with the three teenagers the day after JCSO released a massive batch of documents connected to the investigation at Evergreen High School.

"I think it was definitely something that I should have read at one point in my life. I definitely should have not read it yesterday," Clarkson said about the newly released documents. "It felt like I was like reliving something, and to be honest, I was in a room where I was locked down, and a lot of other people ran. Reading interviews with students on the documents, like, I kind of felt more guilty for not having to run like a lot of other people.

The students considered reporting on the documents, but at the moment, believe there are other stories that ought to be covered within their community.

"If we want this [the paper] to continue, especially after she and I and half the contributors graduate next year, then we kind of need to focus off of this is related to the shooting and go to more," Ostrovskiy said.

While the student paper is a conduit for the messages of their interviewees, the teenagers behind the publication believe it sends a message in and of itself.

I think it says we matter," Robbins said. We are equally as important as a school and to our own community as our community is to the rest of the world.

To keep up with the work being done by the student journalists at Evergreen High School, visit CougarClawNews.com.

SHERIDAN, Colo. After a nearly month-long strike, the Sheridan Educators Association on Friday voted to ratify a contract with the Sheridan School District, creating a pathway for teachers to return to the classroom.

WATCH: Denver7's Veronica Acosta reports on the tentative agreement

In a statement to Denver7, the Sheridan Educators Association said 100% of its members voted in favor of the agreement which they say "includes important wins on union demands, including a path to classified staff recognition, important changes to the district negotiating policies, and a reinstated contract through December 2026."

READ MORE: Sheridan educators, school district reach tentative agreement

"We just went over the tentative agreement that we reached with the school district last night that really meets a vast majority of our demands," Kate Biester, president of the Sheridan Educators Association, said.

"We believe that this agreement secures futures for our children that are better be in the classroom and also beyond it," Biester told Denver7's Veronica Acosta Friday morning.

READ MORE: Sheridan School District employees could lose health insurance

Despite reaching and ratifying the agreement, tensions flared Friday among community members who argued the nearly month-long strike caused damage to students and families.

"I'm thinking about the students that are not making it to school, where this might be their only meal of the day. I'm worried about their mental health. I'm thinking about the conflict that that's creating at home," Alex Tiscareo said.

READ MORE: Sheridan schools reopen for first time since educators went on strike April 1

Tiscareo, a Sheridan community member and former student of the district, said the community ultimately took the hit for the strike.

"That's not putting education first," Tiscareo said.

In an interview with Sheridan School District Superintendent Gionni Thompson, he agreed students and families are now the priority as they work toward the ultimate goal of filling classrooms back up.

"It's important that we all put these differences aside. There's no winners, there's no losers," Thompson said. "It's going to take a lot of lot of healing."

Superintendent Gionni went on to say making sure students' needs are met is the priority now.

"It's important that we focus on our students, making sure they get everything they need in the classroom, and that we're creating environments where they can thrive and it's conducive to their learning," he said. "I think at this point, we do some restorative justice, not only for the adults, but also the students, and making sure that the focus is on them continuing forward and that we don't."

"We do not look in the past of our differences, but look forward in our commonalities and how we can come together to serve our students," the superintendent said.

According to a statement from the Sheridan Educators Association, "all parties desire for staff to return to Sheridan classrooms on Monday, April 27. Educators plan to return on Monday presuming the Board is able to ratify the agreement before Monday; the agreement is not in effect until the Board votes to ratify."

The board's next scheduled meeting in Tuesday, April 28.

Sheridan educators could return to the classroom after the district and educators who have been striking for the entirety of the month reached a tentative agreement, the governor's office announced Thursday evening.

The agreement comes after Gov. Jared Polis intervened, imploring both sides to reach an agreement.

"Im excited to share that both sides have come to an agreement to get kids back in classrooms right away," Polis said. "I urge both sides to officially ratify the agreement quickly to avoid further delay. These students have already missed critical classroom time, and each of them deserves a great education and to be back in school." 

The strike began April 1 over new contracts, better pay and concerns over retaliation. It's already the longest teachers strike in more than four decades, our media partners at the Denver Post report.

While details of the agreement weren't shared Thursday evening, a statement from the educators association said it met the union's demands.

"We are proud to report to the Sheridan community that we have finally achieved an initial agreement ... that meets our demands to reinstate our contract, a path to recognize classified staff, and an end to the retaliatory and restrictive policies that have caused instability in our schools," the statement reads. "Once this policy is ratified by our membership, we are ready to get back into our classrooms and be with our students with the dignity all educators deserve."

Earlier Thursday, Denver7 reported that Sheridan educators could be losing their employee-sponsored health benefits starting on May 1 and that employees may need to pay the district back for premiums they have covered during the strike, per a district-wide email.

School district officials said they were "thankful" an agreement had been reached and said the "highest priority" was getting students and teachers back in classrooms.

"We share the Governors urgency in moving forward toward swift ratification to avoid further delays and ensure students return to a stable, consistent learning environment in which each student can thrive, Gionni Thompson, superintendent of the Sheridan School District, said in a statement.

The educators association is expected to vote on the agreement Friday, and the Sheridan School Board is expected to vote on Tuesday, according to the governor's release.

Teachers and employees that have been on strike in the Sheridan School District may lose their employee-sponsored health benefits starting on May 1, according to a district-wide email sent to employees on Wednesday.

The email, which was obtained by Denver7, offered employees the opportunity to move to COBRA coverage, adding some employees may need to pay the district back for premiums they have covered during the strike.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the difficulty and uncertainty that many of you have experienced over the past 15 days, wrote Jamie Romero, the Districts director of human resources, in the email. This has been an incredibly challenging time for our entire school community, and I recognize the personal and professional strain that this situation may be placing on you and your families. We have reached a point where there may be financial implications related to employee benefits. Depending on your individual benefit elections and coverage, there is a possibility that you may be responsible for reimbursing the District for your portion of benefit premiums that have been paid during this time.

WATCH: Denver7's Dan Grossman talked with an employee in the wake of the announcement

Nathan Miller is one of the many employees who would be directly impacted by the change. A 5-year technician in the school districts IT department, he says he currently pays $120 for a three-month supply of his epilepsy medication to prevent seizures. If he loses his healthcare coverage, Miller says the price for the same three-month supply will jump to $2,000.

[Seeing that email gave me] panic, a little bit, he said in an interview with Denver7 on Thursday. I do have epilepsy and a general panic disorder, and if I go without my medication for even a short period of time, I can start having grand mal seizures again.

The strike began on April 1

over new contracts and concerns over retaliation. Teachers and support staff told Denver7 employees have been disciplined or even laid off for speaking out about district issues.

The educators association wants the district to rescind what it's calling the retaliatory practices encompassed in a policy known as policy H.

On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis intervened, urging both sides to set aside their differences and reach and agreement.

He elaborated in a press conference Thursday, saying, I really care a lot about some of our needy kids in Colorado that are not getting the education that they deserve right now. I continue to encourage both sides to be able to resolve what can be resolved, and agree to disagree and figure out the rest at some point in the future, after the school year is over.

On Thursday, the Sheridan School District responded to the district-wide email regarding health benefits. In a statement to Denver7, it said it has been covering the full cost of employee healthcare benefits since the strike started, leading to $30,000 in unbudgeted expenses it quote, simply cannot continue to cover.

We have a responsibility to the entire community to be good stewards of tax dollars and all public resources, the statement read. The practice of continuing to pay the full cost of benefits coverage for employees not reporting to work is not fiscally sustainable, and it is not fair to our entire staff nor to our entire community.

Miller said he hopes a deal is reached sooner rather than later for the sake of his mental health, physical health, and finances.

It's been very difficult having to think about what my finances look like in the future, he said. It's just difficult to feel like the district's trying to punish us with [the email regarding benefits], but then I do still love this district, and I want to help. I want to be back doing what I've been doing for the past five years.

Last August, at the beginning of the school year, Denver7 interviewed computer science students at Metropolitan State University of Denver about being in the middle of a major shift because of artificial intelligence.

They discussed how AI was changing their classes, the job hunt and the industry as a whole.

PREVIOUS STORY: From 'stable' to 'a little scary,' AI is changing computer science class and the job hunt | Denver7 Your Voice

This week, Denver7 followed up with two of those students, both seniors now ready to graduate.

They said they are seeing AI more often in school and are getting more used to working with it.

I still think it's a tool, and I still think that there's a lot of hype around it, senior computer science major Monica Ball said. I think that it can be useful, but we need to be thoughtful in our application of it."

I think when it comes to generating code with large language models You're losing some of the critical thinking and you're not spotting bugs before they come up, she added.

Finding a balance, especially as a student, has been difficult, fellow senior Angela Fleenor said. Because I want to, like, exercise my brain on the base materials and really figure out the concepts and, like, have a solid foundation. At the same time, I know if I use AI, I can do an assignment faster. And with time pressure, what it is sometimes, that's the path I choose. And so I think I've been really intentional about thinking through, What do I really need to learn?

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The students said this year, theyve seen instructors change how theyre evaluating their classes, focusing more on the process to get an answer rather than just the answer alone.

I've noticed some teachers give paper handouts now, Ball said. They're trying to make it harder for students to be able to just copy-paste something into an LLM [large language model], which is interesting. I've also noticed that some professors are being more thoughtful in their approach to layering a problem, to kind of force a student to think through it, instead of just skipping to the end.

The skills we need aren't to write a line of code, Fleenor added. The skills we need are to see what the AI gives us and evaluate the veracity and the quality of the information.

Both Ball and Fleenor are evaluating their post-graduation plans, saying the job market is crazy and volatile, with a lot of hiring, firing and competition for a limited amount of entry-level developer roles. But they said theyre still optimistic about the future.

I think our school, Metro, is doing a good job at adjusting to AI's presence, Fleenor said. I think the teachers are very responsive to what they're seeing One of our strengths is flexibility.

I am happy that I studied computer science, because it's really fun and I really like it, Ball said. And I think that the industry is so disrupted right now [But] I think it's exciting to be on the cutting edge, and there will be new stuff to do, and I'm excited to do that.

DENVER Responsive Arts & STEAM Academy FNE (RASA) students participated in a music video that was shot on Wednesday morning with counterculture hip hop artist Saxon Kincy, also known as Old Man Saxon.

The music video, which was produced by DCI Tour, was for Kincys song called "We Are Enough."

It's a song I made a while ago, but it was good to have these kids, they've been singing it for, like, a couple of years. And it's good to have a music video be made for it, Saxon said.

Watch more of our conversation with Saxon Kincy in the video player below:

Saxon, who was featured in the Netflix series Rhythm + Flow, said the song was inspired by his childhood and relationship with hip-hop.

When I was growing up, there were songs that I would listen to in hip-hop. They were always kind of making me worry about my future. A couple of them were Ice Cube Today Was a Good Day, right? He said hooked it up later, as I hit the door, thinking, will I live another 24? I thought, as a kid, he meant 24 years. He just meant living to the next day. Coolio, a couple years later, Gangstas Paradise, he says I'm 23 now, will I live to see 24 the way things are going? I don't know, Saxon said. I remember being like, 8 years old and being like, Man, that's not a long time.

Saxon said he decided he wanted to make music that helped kids think more positively about the future.

I started to think about the importance of imagination in songwriting. And I made a lot of songs for kids, and then this one specifically is talking to children to get them to say that, Hey, you dont have to worry about your future; right now, you're enough, Saxon said.

First grader Nasir Jefferson said participating in the music video was fun.

"We were practicing this song... it's a song about saying we are enough, and it's true, because we are all enough," Nasir said.

Two years ago RASA 1st Grade ELA-E Teacher Angela Govig invited Saxon and professional harpist Calvin Arsenia to mentor students. They took first and fifth graders to a recording studio to record "We Are Enough" and it became the schools theme song.

Responsive Arts & STEAM Academy FNE is a new Denver public school that focuses on arts-integrated, STEAM-based learning for diverse students. The school serves students from preschool to second grade, and students from every grade participated in the music video.

Over 1,167 Columbine High School students led the 10th annual Day of Service on Monday, breaking the schools participation record with 70% of the student body volunteering.

Students participated in 60 outreach service projects around metro Denver.

Monday marks 27 years since the shooting at Columbine High School, which took the lives of 12 classmates and one teacher. In 2025, another student died from her injuries sustained in the shooting.

On the day of observation, students and staff do not attend classes.

The annual Day of Service was started to bring together students, staff, and alumni to perform acts of kindness for first responders, senior citizens, local organizations, and other places in need of service.

Annual Day of Service sees record participation from Columbine High School students

In 2019, Gov. Jared Polis proclaimed April 20 as a Day of Recommitment, a day to pause and remember the 13 who lost their lives and to recommit to acts of kindness.

A group from the Columbine Student Senate spent Monday afternoon drawing chalk art on the sidewalk of Childrens Hospital Colorado South Campus in Highlands Ranch.

This day for me is probably one of my favorite days of the school year. As tragic as it is, I think it gives us a chance for all of us to come together and give back to something greater than what we do every day, said Reese James, a Columbine High School junior.

A talented artist, Reese drew images of Winnie the Pooh and other childhood characters, which left children who walked past with huge smiles.

I just think that Winnie the Pooh is such a delicate character, Reese said. "He is a really relatable character as you get older, because he just lives in the moment, and that's what I think we forget to do sometimes.

Over the last 10 years, the Columbine Day of Service has had 10,337 volunteers and 594 projects, spanning seven continents.

Gov. Jared Polis and state lawmakers are weighing in on the Sheridan teachers strike as it is about to enter its third week.

Dozens of Sheridan Educators Association members marched to the state Capitol with signs in hand Friday morning, taking the weeks-long strike to the state level.

"We're here today to speak to our representatives and senators to ask them to communicate with our district to try to get us working back towards an agreement," Rebecca Renz said.

WATCH: Sheridan educators take to state Capitol

Renz is a special education teacher at Sheridan Early Childhood Headstart.

I'm a member of the bargaining team, so I've been in lots of meetings, some that felt like they went really well, where we felt like we were getting some movements, Renz said. Our most recent one felt like the answer is no for moving forward.

The educators wrote letters and spoke with lawmakers while at the Capitol on Friday, including State Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Jefferson County Democrat, who listened to their demands.

"When it comes to that level that they're willing to walk off the job and protest and to stand together to meet their demands, I believe it is our obligation as lawmakers to stand alongside with them and draw attention to their cause," Danielson said.

The march happened just a day after Polis spoke with the Sheridan Educators Association and the superintendent. Their last bargaining meeting on Wednesday ended in an impasse.

"I really encourage them to work together," Polis told Denver7. "Of course, the teachers have the right to organize. They have the ability to make sure they can agree on things, but let's get everybody back to the classroom and then maybe hash out any disagreements they have over summer, hoping they can make some real progress on that in the next couple days."

Sheridan educators say the district will not budge on their demand for union representation to include not just teachers, but all school employees like bus drivers, janitors, and paraprofessionals like Sandy Shelafo, a severe needs paraprofessional at Alice Terry Elementary School.

"We want to be represented and be able to have a say in our work calendar and things that are important to us, like, for example, like our medical benefits," Shelafo said.

Denver7 spoke with Sheridan Superintendent Gionni Thompson Friday afternoon about where things stand.

"I was actually going to reach out today [to SEA] to see if we can kind of come to another agreement," Thompson said.

While Thompson would not comment on the ongoing negotiations, he did respond to the growing pressure from state lawmakers as the strike continues.

"That just shows you how things like this affect the entire state, and everybody's looking at that, and we do want to make sure that we're addressing those issues and getting teachers back in the classroom," Thompson said.

Educators say they cannot wait to come to an agreement and get back to the classroom.

"I miss my students, and I'm just, we're ready to go back. But we need to move forward on this," Shelafo said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. Hundreds of students from the Colorado School of Mines gathered Friday to take part in a 91-year-old tradition: pulling an ore cart down Colfax Avenue.

They traveled seven miles from Lakewood to Denvers Sculpture Park to connect with the schools mining heritage and to get a well-deserved break from the heavy student workload. The ore cart pull is part of E-days, a three-day engineering celebration.

Watch as students takeover Colfax in the tradition of 91 years

Its about a break from being a student and just getting to have fun with everyone that you normally go to school with and are doing work with, said Laney Casper, a junior in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Both students and staff understand this is your time, and you get to do whatever you want with it.

The tradition, which dates back to 1934, has students taking turns to pull a mining cart by holding onto a large rope.

It is very nice to actually get to be able to pull very near the cart, said electrical engineering Senior Bryce Miller. Its a lot of watching for ankles, because this has come for my ankles a couple of times, actually.

For many students, the event is about community and honoring the past.

E-days is one of my favorite things about the school, Miller said. Getting to join in, to be with people who have been here long before me and people who will be here long after me its really cool to be a part of this continuing tradition.

Some students decided to make the trek a little more difficult by pulling a U-Haul trailer featuring a student playing a piano they found on Craigs List for free.

We needed to pull something else. The ore cart wasnt really enough, said Dylan Smith, the sophomore who provided tunes along the walk to Denver.

The students safely finished their march to Denvers Sculpture Park, but not before getting caught in the snow.

Its a great time to be outside with everyone, Casper said. The energy is great.

A group of kids in Parker will soon be competing on a world stage after building a presentation brick by brickLEGO bricks, that is.

The second, third and fourth graders will be competing at the FIRST LEGO League Challenge at the FIRST Championship in Houston, which runs April 29 to May 2. The event bills itself as the largest K-12 robotics event in the world.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Denver area students prepare for FIRST LEGO League Competition in Texas

The team of students, who are part of an after-school robotics and coding program at Wize Computing Academy, are celebrating the special opportunity.

Its the teams third straight year going to the competition. Denver7 also caught up with the team before their competition last year.

When we just got the email that we were going to the World's Fair, we like partied all night, fourth grade student and team mentor Madhav Somani said. Teams from all over the world come to compete, and out of like, lots of teams, Colorado chose us to go.

This year, the team chose a dinosaur theme. Their LEGO robot dinosaurs include sensors, motors and gears. Coding from their own tablets, the students can make their dinosaurs move or make noise.

We have to show coding, core values, which are teamwork, innovation, impact, inclusion, fun, discovery, said Somani, who has been a team member the last couple of years before becoming a team mentor this year.

I think personally, it's more fun because you can help, and I really like to help others, he said.

Now these students are ready to see that help and hard work pay off.

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo.  Adams 12 Five Star Schools which serves all or parts of Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster could soon see changes as enrollment continues to drop.

Enrollment at the district has dropped by more than 6,000 students over the last decade. This school year, the district saw a decline of more than 1,300 students, the second-largest since 2020.

Its a trend all too familiar across the state. Denver7 spoke with Boulder Valley School District officials, who said they started seeing a decline in 2017.

Over the last 10 years, we've had about 3,600 fewer students than we had previously. As we project forward for the next five years, we're seeing about a 1,700-student decrease as well, said Randy Barber, the district's chief communications officer.

BVSD is exploring possible school consolidations or closures and will hold several community meetings where families can provide feedback.

Denver Public Schools has also seen a decline over the years, according to Denver Public Schools Executive Director of Enrollment and Campus Planning Andrew Huber.

We saw about a 1,200-student decline from October, said Huber.

For Adams 12, they are also no strangers to student decline.

Its because of declining birth rates and because housing in places like Colorado has become really expensive, said Chris Gdowski, Adams 12 Five Star Schools superintendent.

Gdowski says only about 70% of their elementary schools and 60% of their middle schools are currently being used.

We have a lot of underutilized space, and we're going to address that, said Gdowski.

Last year, the district cut 150 jobs due to declining enrollment. Its also driving nearly $9 million in budget cuts, which could mean fewer teachers, fewer programs, and changes in class sizes.

That's going to continue for us and for everyone in the region if this declining enrollment trend continues, said Gdowski.

District leaders emphasize that no final decisions on school consolidations or closures have been made.

We're doing a lot of evaluation about possibilities. We're still actively in that process, said Gdowski.

An Adams 12 parent wanted to know what an ideal state funding solution would look like and what barriers there are to attracting more families to the district.

Denver7 took those questions straight to the superintendent.

In terms of declining enrollment, so much of it is caused by demographic changes. There are lots of young people who are choosing not to have children, have fewer children, or are delaying children. That's something that I think goes beyond state policy.

Gdowski also added that, on the fiscal side, K-12 in Colorado has been starved for resources for a long time.

We're $3.5 billion to $4 billion underfunded a year, said Gdowski.

Gdowski said adding more services and supports for public schools could attract more families to public schools.

If our legislature can muster the right strategy moving forward, and it's probably going to require us as voters to say yes to some things or invest more in our schools, Gdowski said.

Denver7 asked Gdowski what he would tell parents who are concerned that their child's school could be closed or consolidated.

I understand the worry, but we're really committed that when kids go to their next school, we're going to have all the resources there and a really welcoming staff and to build a community that makes it an outstanding place and the next best place for their kids to travel on their educational journey, said Gdowski.

District leaders say they will continue gathering feedback from families before presenting a final plan this fall.

The other thing we're going to do at the end of the month is have a webinar with our community and just share more about what we're thinking, why we're looking at this, and get their feedback about things they want to make sure that we take into account in this process, said Gdowski.

Implementation of any potential changes could start as soon as the 2027-2028 school year.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. - Land once slotted for an elementary school may be developed for affordable housing in the future after the Douglas County School Board voted 6-0 on Tuesday to declare a piece of land near the Meridian Village community as surplus.

Douglas County School Board Director Brad Geiger said the district does not want to hold onto land it will not use. He noted there is an elementary school to the east of Meridian Village, another school being built to the west, and a separate piece of land in the area that could be used for a school in the future if needed.

"We don't want to be a land bank," Geiger said.

WATCH: Denver7's Tyler Melito reports on what the change could mean for the community

One popular proposal for the surplus land is to build multifamily, affordable housing for people who work in the county, including school and road workers.

"We need multifamily, we need more affordable housing," Geiger said. "This is not Section 8, this is not poverty housing, but it's an ability for  the people who work in our county should be able to live in our county, the people who service our schools, people who service our road."

Meridian Village resident Michael Pritchard agrees with the idea of building affordable housing for teachers.

"I would probably be in favor of affordable housing for teachers. My daughter's a teacher, actually, and I understand how important that is, and how crucial teachers are, and sometimes how housing has gotten unaffordable for people in those types of positions," Pritchard said. "You should be able to afford to live in the community where you work.

Shea Properties, a developer that owns more than a dozen apartment complexes with more than 3,000 units across Colorado, has already submitted a proposal for the site. According to the company, 28% of its apartments are designated as affordable housing.

A spokesperson for the company declined an interview request to provide more details.

Geiger views the potential housing project as something that will help Douglas County and the school district grow in the long term.

"The more housing is a little bit more affordable, the more students we get, the more families we get. Families get priced out of Douglas County, and particularly in that area," he said. "And if we can bring in a few more families, and our schools are healthier, our funding is healthier. Again, it can be a win-win for everybody, as long as you listen to all the stakeholders."

Rising gas prices are tightening the Denver Public Schools (DPS) budget with buses that rely on diesel.

DPS operates nearly 300 buses with diesel making up 82% of its fleet. DPS officials said the district has seen diesel prices jump by about $2 per gallon compared to last year.

Right around the end of the calendar year, we were paying about $2.44 for diesel per gallon, and now we're paying for $4.33, so we've seen a 44% increase, Denver Public Schools Executive Director of Transportation Albert Samora said.

Samora told Denver7 that even on years when the district is not seeing a fuel increase, they track fuel prices anyways to get the best pricing.

We know those vendors generally know when there's going to be an increase, and so we had already been warned that there was going to be some big increases coming. We've been spending some extra time watching them now, Samora said.

While there is no immediate impact right now, the district is already preparing for what could come next.

We haven't seen a long-term effect yet, but we're already planning, because we've seen some increases that are, of course, concerning, Samora said.

This comes as President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz.   

Denver Public Schools spends around $1.2 million on fuel every year.

While the district said it has enough padding in its current budget to get through this school year, rising fuel costs could force some tough decisions.

Im padded right now, and Im not in a place where Im concerned that I think Im going to have to go after money yet. Transportation has a total budget and if we run over in some in some area, Im expected to find cuts in other areas in transportation, Samora said.

Tthat includes cutting spending in other areas of the transportation department or even considering adjustments to bus routes, according to Samora.

There's nothing planned right now. I think that if this was going to be prolonged, let's say that this was going for another year, there's a possibility that the board would look at whether or not there needs to be change. In order to find savings, for instance, walk distances to schools could be changed. Long-term, it could absolutely affect transportation," Samora said.

Budgets for the next school year have already been set, Samora said, but if prices stay high, the district could make adjustments in December.

DPS is also working on a long-term solution like adding more electric buses to its fleet but officials say fully transitioning from diesel could cost tens of millions of dollars.

Sheridan School District No. 2 reopened for the first time since educators went on strike April 1. Teachers remain on strike though, hitting the picket line at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Early Childhood Center (ECE), Alice Terry, Fort Logan Northgate, SOAR Academy and Sheridan High School all welcomed students Tuesday, according to an email to families from District Superintendent Dr. Gionni Thompson.

Bus transportation and food services returned to normal operations Tuesday, Thompson said.

"We understand that an educator strike can disrupt daily routines, create challenges with childcare and work schedules, and cause uncertainty or stress for both students and families," Thompson said. "We sincerely appreciate your patience and flexibility during this time. Please know that our priority remains supporting students and maintaining a safe, welcoming, and engaging learning environment."

Thompson said the school district is working to get temporary staff to keep schools open during the strike, while working with the Sheridan Educators Association (SEA) to come to a resolution.

The strike began over new contracts, better pay and concerns over retaliation. Teachers and support staff told me employees have been disciplined or even laid off for speaking out about district issues. The educators association wants the district to rescind what it's calling the retaliatory practices encompassed in a policy known as policy H.

Despite schools re-opening, many teachers were still on the picket line Tuesday.

"It definitely hurts a little bit. But luckily, we do know that theres not very many students in those buildings right now," said Hannah Johnson, Instructional Support Assistant. "So theyre just spending money for subs when they could be using that to negotiate with us and come back to the table and actually give these kids the correct education they need right now."

The president of the SEA told Denver7 the district is paying substitute teachers a daily rate that's higher than some teachers get paid. We reached out to Superintendent Thompson to ask if that's true. We have not yet received a response.

Related coverage:

Another school district is now facing a tough reality. Declining enrollment is forcing Poudre School District in Fort Collins to consider how its budget could reshape schools across the district.

Everything is on the table. I can't, in my position, ignore some of the more sobering facts that are in front of us. The loss of students, the loss of birth rate, all that is coalescing at the right time, Poudre School District Board Vice President Kevin Havelda said.

PSD said it still has approximately 10,000 empty seats across the district and is projected to have 654 fewer students in its schools next year. The district cites fewer school-aged children in the area due to declining birth rates and fewer younger families moving into the area due to housing costs.

This pattern reflects larger demographic shifts across Northern Colorado, the state, and the nation. Data from the Colorado State Demography Office show that birth rates in Larimer County have declined for more than a decade. While there was a brief, modest uptick in births following the COVID-19 pandemic, overall fertility rates remain well below replacement levels, and current projections do not indicate a sustained rebound in the near term, the school district said.

But district leaders want to be clear that while it's a possibility, no school closures or consolidations have been decided just yet. Before making any final decisions, district leaders want to hear from the community.

Denver7 was there as parents brought their concerns to the districts first community meeting last week, raising questions about programs, staffing and how changes could impact their kids.

I think a large part of what makes up a school is the community of teachers and people who work there, one parent said.

I think we've just gotten to enjoy such a diversity. Each school has its different kind of programming or flavor. So, Im reimagining what programming could look like, another parent said.

The district will continue community meetings through this month. Here is a detailed list of the upcoming meetings.

PSD said at its April 14 board meeting, the district expects to have more clarity on what the states budget proposal means for the district and will share an update on those impacts.

We will then present a preliminary budget to the Board of Education on April 28, a proposed budget on May 12, and a final budget after the state legislature concludes its work later in May. The district is required to adopt its final budget no later than June 30, 2026, the district said.

PSD officials also added they will continue to share information and engage with the community in the months ahead.

Our focus will remain clear and unwavering: providing the highest-quality learning experiences for every student, every day, the school district said.

The school district also added that conversations about enrollment bring understandable anxiety into the community.

Two years ago, PSD engaged in discussions about potential school consolidation. Those conversations were postponed, but I know many people still feel the weight of that experience, the district said.

There are also several local school districts facing this same issue.

Denver Public Schools and Boulder Valley School District are some of the school districts that are either in the process of exploring school consolidations or have already closed or consolidated schools in recent years.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The educator strike at Sheridan Schools entered its fourth day Saturday after a planned meeting between the Sheridan Educators Association and the Sheridan Board of Education ended without an agreement, as the board was absent from the meeting.

Educators association representatives told Denver7's Tyler Melito that only Superintendent Dr. Gianni Thompson and his lawyer attended the meeting.

They said the Board of Education needs to be present to approve a deal to end the strike.

"It was our understanding that we were coming today to come to an agreement to get back into the classrooms on Monday, when we walked in, and only the superintendent and his lawyer were here. They came back with no movement," Lori Ann Chacon, who has taught math at Sheridan schools for 12 years, said. "We decided that they weren't ready to move, and we aren't either."

The educators association is holding strong on its demands to reinstate contracts, recognize all workers, and rescind what they call retaliatory practices encompassed in a policy known as policy H.

"We want to retract all retaliatory measures that have been taken. We have lost, at the high school level, our dean of students. We have lost our athletic director. These are highly qualified, seasoned educators that were pushed out or simply fired," Toby Nitschke, a Sheridan High English Language Development teacher of four years and Sheridan Educators Association representative, said.

Chacon and Nitschke said they think it's unfortunate that students and parents are getting caught in the middle of the strike. So far, three days of school have been called off as a result of the strike.

"We want students who want to be here at school. We want teachers who want to teach here, so that we have a community of happy teachers, happy students, happy parents," Chacon said.

After the meeting with the educators association, when Denver7's Melito was able to meet with Superintendant Thompson, he shared only a prepared statement and would not answer further questions.

"The Sheridan School District Number Two leadership appreciates the opportunity to collaborate this morning and open to productive dialog. The School Sistrict Number Two Board of Education is willing to recognize one or more bargaining units through the recognition process that has been established by the board," Thompson said.

Denver7 also reached out to board secretary Juanita Camacho, who is the office manager for the building where the meeting took place, but she did not return a call or text message before Denver7's deadline.

In a post on the districts website, Thompson said school will be in session on Monday, April 6 at the Early Childhood Center, Alice Terry Elementary, SOAR Academy and Fort Logan Northgate.

Thompson said they are working to secure temporary staff to ensure the rest of the schools will be able to open soon.

"We understand that the Sheridan Education Association (SEA) strike has disrupted daily routines, created challenges with childcare and work schedules, and caused uncertainty for both students and families," Thompson said.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Friday marks the third day of the Sheridan Educators Association (SEA) strike, where the conversation around the future of their contract has dominated the headlines.

The educators have worked the past school year without a contract, according to the union, which has also voiced concerns around retaliation in the district when it comes to staff members who have spoken out about safety concerns.

Before the strike began, teachers from the district and across the Denver metro area met to prepare the signs seen on the picket line, where those perspectives were reiterated.

"We need to have a say in what we're actually doing, what we want," said Christy DiLuca, a speech language pathologist in Sheridan School District. "Also, I don't feel that things have been safe for the families. I think it's been very unjust what happened to one of my co-workers that she was let go because she spoke out, and it's not right.

For the first time, Denver7 met with one of those staff members specifically, the individual referenced by DiLuca who shared their story hoping it leads to a solution for their former students.

Hear directly from that former staff member who raised the alarm about an issue with one classroom's emergency system in the video below.

Baylee Patterson said she knew since her freshman year of college that she was passionate about social work.

"It is hard work, yes, but it's fulfilling to know that I can be there during the hard times too," Patterson said.

Her first job as a school social worker was in Sheridan School District, according to Patterson, where she started at Alice Terry Elementary School in November 2023.

"Sheridan became my family. They still are," she said with a smile. A lot of the kids that are in second grade now, I've had since they were in kindergarten. So, I've watched them grow up and watched them develop their own personalities, and learn how to handle those big emotions and those hard parts in their life.

During the time that Patterson worked at the school, she claimed the emergency system was not working properly in one teacher's classroom.

"It was one of those things where I knew that if an emergency happened, that classroom would be the first one that I would run to, just because it's tucked away in a corner and she isn't able to call emergency like she should be able to," Patterson explained.

According to Patterson, she was asked by parents about the safety system at the start of the spring semester.

"I wanted them to know the truth and know that it doesn't work properly, because they are asking about the well-being of their child, the safety of their child, multiple parents. And so that is why I felt the need to tell them that it wasn't working," Patterson said.

She continued to tell Denver7 that she informed a parent Julie Blakely about the alleged issue on Feb. 17.

"I told her about the emergency button that didn't work. So when you go to press it, it's supposed to call the front office in case of an emergency, and it doesn't work," Patterson said. "When they press that button, it's supposed to say, 'Lockdown. Lockdown. Lights. Out of sight.' And that wasn't working.

"I feel like they won't get an alert if something serious happens in this school. They won't hear the alarm go off," Blakely told Denver7.

Patterson said that Feb. 17 became her last day working at the district.

"It got back to the superintendent that I had done that, and within three hours, I was called to his office and terminated from my position," Patterson said.

The former social worker provided Denver7 with a recording she claims captured the interaction that ended her contract with the school early. Denver7 has verified with multiple sources that the recording appears to depict the voice of Superintendent Dr. Gionni Thompson.

A spokesperson with the school district told Denver7 that they were "unaware" of the recording, so they could not "verify any voices, or comment on its contents." On March 31, Denver7 emailed a copy of the recording to the school district's communications team and the superintendent, asking to verify the accuracy of it.

Instead of directly acknowledging the recording, the district responded with the following statement:

Denver7 first reached out to Thompson about this story on Feb. 27, requesting a conversation regarding school safety concerns. Instead, a response from the school district was sent over on March 2, declining an interview because they do not comment on "personnel matters, including employment decisions."

The email continued to say that "the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We continuously review and evaluate our safety procedures to ensure they are effective and aligned with established best practices."

"I know that the emergency system at Sheridan School District has not worked properly for multiple years," said Kate Biester, president of the SEA. "I can't say that there was never any attempts to try to fix the problem, but I don't believe that there was ever a full-scale solution to the problem."

Biester, who is also a social studies teacher at Sheridan High School, said she does not feel safe in her classroom.

"I would love to have the speaker in my classroom work properly. I have still not received an announcement in my classroom that I think is audible," Biester said. "The only reason that we're calling attention to this issue is to be able to get it solved and to get it fixed, so that our students are safe.

Patterson provided Denver7 with a document sent to Alice Terry Elementary School that details the "Plan B Emergency Communications Protocol."

It begins by stating that "we recognize speaker audio is not available in every classroom" and that "in-house radios" are the backup method for notifying staff of emergency situations.

For Patterson, she hopes sounding the alarm on this system leads to a prompt response from the district.

"At the end of the day, I was doing what I had to do to make sure the kids were safe, and that's important to me," Patterson said.

College seniors are facing a challenging job market as they prepare for graduation, with the March jobs report set to be released Friday.

Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career and Professional Development at the University of Denver (DU) Liz Lierman said the job market is getting more challenging for students.

"What we're seeing is that the job market has been getting more challenging for students over the last year or two, based on what we're hearing from employers. At this point, we're anticipating that that trend is likely to continue," Lierman said.

However, success depends on the industry. Lierman said students in healthcare, business and finance, engineering and technology have found a lot of success this year.

"So that's part of the reason we come to the advice of having a multi pronged approach, where students may look at more than one kind of option. We're also hearing a lot from employers about the questions that they're working on, as far as AI redefining some of the roles in their organizations," Lierman said.

College seniors are experiencing different sides of the job hunt.

"So that's where I got super lucky. Got my internship. Got my full time position after that," Alex Baribeau said.

"Obviously the search is still going and it's something that I have to kind of put on my priority list because I know that the more I put it off the harder it's going to get," Kaia Sweet said.

As for how students could impact the local community and job market, Lierman said about 70% of graduates stay in Denver or Colorado. In 2024, the university reported the University of Denver alone generated about $2.3 billion annually for the state.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

A lawsuit brought against Denver Public Schools by one of the administrators injured in the 2023 East High shooting can proceed, a federal judge ruled, saying Eric Sinclair has shown district officials seem to have knowingly opened the door for a mass shooting and/or outbreak of gun violence at the school.

DPS appears to have exhibited a shocking disregard for the risk (the student) posed to an entire school full of children, faculty and staff as well as to himself, U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher wrote in his decision last week.

Sinclair, a former dean at the school, sued DPS last year after he was injured in the March 22, 2023, shooting at East High. A student, Austin Lyle, shot Sinclair and another administrator, Wayne Mason, before fleeing and later dying by suicide.

DPS said in a statement Thursday that the judges order does not mean the court found DPS to have violated the law.

At this stage in the proceedings, the court must take what the plaintiff has alleged as fact and make a decision accordingly, the district said. DPS has not had the opportunity to present its own facts and evidence. Denver Public Schools is confident that the evidence will demonstrate that its actions in this case were consistent with legal requirements and looks forward to the opportunity to present its arguments in court in the near future.

Read the full story from our media partners at The Denver Post.

Junior Liliana Rauenzahn and her classmates at Denver South High School are trading their lunch hours for a large stack of sheet music to play in a newly formed Banda club.

The music, which originates from northern Mexico, fills the fifth floor of the school every Friday. Rauenzahn started the club, and the students are all learning the music together.

"Something thats so nostalgic from my childhood and such an important part of who I am and seeing the rest of the school enjoy it and support it," Rauenzahn said.

WATCH THE BANDA CLUB IN ACTION

Band teacher Kyle Dobbins supports the student-led initiative by providing a rehearsal space and even joining in on the trombone.

"I basically told them Ill play trombone and Ill give you a spot to rehearse," Dobbins said. "They have run the rehearsals. I dont know anything about this music."

Rauenzahn appreciates the support from her teacher to explore a genre totally different from what the band has done before.

"Its just really special," Rauenzahn said. "Not a lot of students start something like this. I think it shows a lot about Mr. Dobbins. 'Hey I want to start this new Banda, something totally different than weve done before,' just so supportive and on board with it."

"Im so proud of them, theyve done an amazing job," Dobbins said.

Dobbins noted that the school's connection to the genre isn't entirely new.

"Weve even had students here that play Banda music in the parking lot at lunch," Dobbins said.

Rauenzahn, who drives a stick shift pickup to school and occasionally has to hunt for a parking space, enjoys a wide variety of genres.

"I like to listen to a lot of stuff, country," Rauenzahn said.

But on Fridays, the focus is entirely on Banda, even if it means skipping a meal.

"It's weird Id rather be here than eat lunch," one student said. "Im starving, but it's all good."

Sheridan School teachers are on the picket line Wednesday, prompting the district to cancel classes for the rest of the week.

Teachers across the district, including at Sheridan High School, are striking to demand a new contract, better pay, and to express concerns over retaliation. They have gone without a contract since the beginning of the school year.

In December, both the district and the Sheridan Education Association claimed the other side would not cooperate with contract negotiations.

Denver7 was there Tuesday when the school day ended and staff walked off the job. Community members gathered with signs and cheers of support outside district headquarters, where Superintendent Gionni Thompson called an impromptu board meeting.

Sheridan Education Association President Kate Biester, a social studies teacher at Sheridan High School, met with Denver7 prior to the strike. She said the "ideal situation" would be a positive resolution before the strike began.

"Nobody wants to strike in the school district," Biester said. "It's not the thing that gives the children the best education they deserve, but it is the long term goal to get a better school district for Sheridan students."

However, Biester followed up Tuesday night over text saying teachers were not allowed inside the board meeting.

"I think [the strike] goes until we are having substantive conversations about the path out of the predicament that we're in, and that could look many different possible ways. This is the first strike I've ever been a part of, so I don't really know how it's going to go, and I hope that it is resolved as quickly as possible to be able to get the kids back to school, get us back to work, and like I said, do the right thing for our community," Biester said.

Thompson denied interview requests.

The district said in a statement they remain committed to working with the Sheridan Education Association to reach an agreement. Last week, the district said their focus is on stability, respect, and the best interest of students.

For families in need of meals for their children, boxed meals are being handed out at the Fort Logan Northgate campus.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Sheridan teachers walked out of school Tuesday ahead of an official teachers strike set to begin tomorrow.

The district canceled classes for the rest of the week as teachers begin the strike over new contracts, better pay and concerns over retaliation. Teachers and support staff told me employees have been disciplined or even laid off for speaking out about district issues.

Community members, staff and students cheered the educators on as they walked out Tuesday afternoon in their fight to reinstate their union's collective bargaining agreement.

Teachers immediately headed to an impromptu board meeting at district headquarters which was called by Superintendent Gionni Thompson Monday night where things quickly escalated.

Denver7's Adria Iraheta covers Day 1 of the Sheridan teacher strike in the video below

The teachers planned to picket outside district headquarters in the minutes leading up to the meetings 5 p.m. start time, but when 5 p.m. rolled around, the doors remained locked. Educators continued to picket as they voiced their concerns over the closed-door meeting.

About 10 minutes later, police showed up. After some back-and-forth, it was determined that the educators could sit in on the meeting until the executive session started.

Denver7 has been following this story for a while. The issue stems from union contract negotiations between the Sheridan Education Association and district leaders, which expired last year.

Earlier this year, we spoke with Thompson, who said he believes teachers are being heard and hoped to keep the tensions away from the classroom.

We tried meeting with Thompson today, but our interview request was denied.

In a statement, Sheridan School District 2 told me the district "[remains] committed to working in good faith with the Sheridan Education Association to reach an agreement."

Teachers say they want district leadership to come back to the table with a new contract with increased pay.

Community members say they are fully in support.

"Were all one community. I think its important to let these folks know that their district might be small, but theres a whole community rallying behind them that want the teachers to get exactly what theyre asking for in their CBA," Tim Hernandez said.

For families in need of meals for their kids during the strike, meal boxes are being handed out at the Fort Logan Northgate campus.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.