Colorado’s school count day is Thursday, and on Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis and education officials sounded alarm bells for students who haven’t enrolled in school yet this year.

It’s particularly alarming for children in the Pre-K through third grade levels, according to Polis and Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. While they didn’t have hard numbers — Anthes said they were waiting on trends — the urgency isn’t only about School Count Day. It’s also about making sure Colorado’s kids get the academic, social and emotional supports that being in school provides.

COVID-19 has been a real challenge for parents, kids, teachers and school districts, Polis said during a Tuesday news conference. Converting all learning to online “took everyone by surprise” and left families trying to figure out what to do.

The biggest concern for those who aren’t in school is the learning loss, especially for those who are high-risk, including English Language Learners and special needs students, the governor added. “I want parents to take another look at enrolling kids in school. It doesn’t have to be in person, if you don’t like one online program, look at another,” given that the state allows for open enrollment.

“We worry about those lost kids,” and the governor encouraged everyone: parents, business and religious leaders and community members, to help. “We all need to be partners in this effort.”

It isn’t only the learning that kids miss by not being in school, according to Anthes. It’s also school meals and health services. “We cannot let our children’s education become a casualty of this pandemic,” Anthes said. 

Rico Munn, superintendent of Aurora Public Schools said his district — which opened to in-person learning Monday — is one that has seen a sharp decline in enrollment in the younger grades. “We’ve seen significant learning loss in younger ages,” Munn said. Nationwide, students are losing from three months to two years in their academic progress, Munn explained.

The Aurora Public Schools have been planning for the fall since April, investing in new technology, such as laptops for students, and social supports. They’re also relying on mental health professionals in every school, the results of a 2018 mill levy. “Kids are social creatures” who need to connect with other adults and their peers. “You can’t do that if you’re not enrolled.”

Aurora’s pre-school and kindergartners began coming back Monday, and Munn said, “even through the masks, you could feel the sheer joy they had reconnecting with classmates and teachers.”

Dr. Chris Rogers, a child psychiatrist, said that being part of a school and class provides a sense of identity for kids. “School provides structure,” something desperately needed in these times of unpredictable schedules. He said that research points out that children  do best when they know what to expect every day, and school provides that stability, as well as community and identity, every bit as important as the content. “It’s how kids make friendship” and find support from their peers, Rogers said.

Services provided by schools can be a lifeline in this time of stress, Rogers added, particularly in an era where teen suicide is at epidemic levels, even before the pandemic.

But Rogers also asked parents to be flexible and adjust expectations for their children in school. “Every day I see young people struggle to keep up even in classes that were previously manageable,” which Rogers attributes to the stress and trauma of the pandemic.

That trauma impacts focus, concentration and makes learning more difficult, he said. 

Rogers said parents are doing their best to be breadwinners, counselors and teachers, but said that parents who aren’t enrolling their children in school may have given up.

“Things will get better,” Rogers said.

For Thursday, Anthes said the Colorado Department of Education has made adjustments, as have school districts, around how districts can tabulate attendance, including counting students who are doing remote learning. Munn added that they adjusted attendance politics to account for the percentage of time a student is engaged as well as how they perform. 

The other problem schools face in the 2020-21 school year: a teacher shortage, made worse by fears over COVID-19.

Munn said they have told their teachers they are doing everything possible to apply the best science, and relying on advice from Tri-County Health on how to set up classrooms. They’re participating in COVIDcheck Colorado, which allows teachers to receive rapid testing twice a month. “We’re not seeing a spread of the virus within the school environment,” even as case counts are ticking upward statewide, Munn said.

Anthes added that they’re trying to encourage teachers to come into the pipeline but said it is a challenge.