Governor Polis, the Colorado Department of Education, and Colorado Education Initiative are partnering with Rocky Mountain Public Media (RMPBS, KUVO JAZZ, The DROP) to provide students in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade with direct-to-home remote lessons in literacy, science, art, and math through Colorado Classroom: Learn with Me at Home.
Beginning September 7, the program will air for at least 15 weeks on Rocky Mountain PBS stations (RMPBS) across Colorado. Viewers can watch or record the lessons, as they will be rebroadcast overnight on RMPBS to allow for DVR recording.
Monday-Friday Daytime Schedule:
- 8:00 AM – Kindergarten
- 8:30 AM – 1st Grade
- 9:00 AM – 2nd Grade
- 9:30 AM – 3rd grade
- “Math Minute” lessons will run throughout
Colorado Classroom: Learn with Me at Home will re-air nightly from 3:00 AM–5:00 AM MT for families to record and use at their convenience.
This critical learning initiative will be available for children and families across the state who have been affected by the partial opening of schools and remote learning due to COVID-19. The program will be broadcast in English with Spanish subtitles, providing K-3 learners with access to reading, science, technology, engineering, arts, and math resources (STEAM) at home on television.
Accompanying lesson worksheets and online videos will be available at rmpbs.org/ColoradoClassroom. Participating libraries across the state are offering the worksheets to families who do not have internet access. For a list of participating libraries or to request that worksheets in English or Spanish be mailed directly to homes, families can call (800) 274-6666.
To engage students in literacy learning across many different topics — including science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) — Colorado Classroom: Learn with Me at Home will have themed weeks, beginning with "Me & My Home."
RMPBS is thrilled to have master teachers from the spring Colorado Classroom programming returning for fall, including Mrs. Tori Teague, Mrs. Ellie Radue, and Mrs. Marietta Stechmeyer. Mrs. Stechmeyer, a 1st grade teacher at Strive Prep Ruby Hill in Denver, is the beloved “Phonics Queen” who engaged and delighted students from all parts of Colorado with interactive songs and games as part of her spring lessons.
“I am thrilled to be returning to Colorado Classroom this fall! It was a privilege to be able to reach students throughout the state last spring through the magic of PBS,” says Mrs. Stechmeyer. “This experience has reminded me just how much I love teaching and interacting with kids, no matter what the format. I'm inspired every day by the joy and resilience of children across Colorado.”
In conjunction with and as a complement to Colorado Classroom: Learn with Me at Home, RMPBS will air an additional 13-episode series entitled Simple Gifts. Designed for children from birth to 7 years of age, the series combines literacy, music, movement, and language to support early childhood learning.
Simple Gifts was created by Linda Weise, founding CEO of the Colorado Springs Conservatory, along with several of its alumni and mentors, in response to the need for social and emotional learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rocky Mountain Public Media thanks the following partners for their generous support:
Education Reform Now, Colorado Education Association, Bright By Text, Invest In Kids, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Simple Gift Series, Ent Credit Union, Denver Botanic Gardens, The Denver Zoo, National Science Teaching Association, The Space Foundation, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, National Cybersecurity Center, Bemis School of Art, Denver Art Museum, Sangre de Cristo Art Center, Colorado State Library, and Colorado Counties, Inc.