[Excerpt]

A family in the San Luis Valley has made an X in masking tape on the kitchen counter. It’s the only place a remote hotspot works so the children can access remote school lessons. A mother who runs a hair salon in Commerce City brings her daughter to work with her. It’s the only place she can access online learning using her mother’s hotspot. But it means the mother has problems running credit cards at the same time. A third of students in the South Routt School district south of Steamboat Springs don’t have internet access. Teachers, parents and school superintendents told these stories during the Internet Access Summit Wednesday calling for affordable and universal internet, faster download and upload speeds and higher data caps, and training to ensure families can access quality connections.

The virtual summit, sponsored by Coloradans for the Common Good, a coalition of education, labor and faith-based groups, included teachers, school officials, elected officials, and representatives of internet service providers Comcast, Verizon and T-Mobile. “It’s frustrating,” said Toby Melster, superintendent of the Centennial School District in San Luis, Colorado. He estimates about 30 percent of his students are falling behind simply because they don’t have a high-quality internet connection. He said companies have donated some hotspots but because there are multiple people in a family who need to go online, “they’ve got to make a decision about who gets access to the hotspot...”

As Colorado Schools Reopen, Thousands of Students Still Don't Have Reliable Internet, Colorado Public Radio [pdf]

[Additional background from the Colorado Sun:]

In March, Comcast began offering [a] discounted service for free for 60 days to new families. The service usually costs $9.95 per month and caters to low-income households. Comcast also increased the service’s internet speed to 25 mbps and plans to continue making it free for 60 days to new eligible customers for the rest of 2020. The company is also offering free public Wi-Fi through the end of the year.

But the Internet Essentials program didn’t necessarily appeal to everyone who qualified. Coloradans for the Common Good this spring approached Comcast to ask the internet giant to modify its application, which asked for Social Security numbers even though other forms of identification were acceptable.

That deterred some immigrant families from attempting to enroll in the service. Coloradans for the Common Good — composed of churches, community organizations and teachers’ unions — reached out to lawmakers and Comcast’s corporate leaders pleading for change. After a series of email exchanges and Zoom meetings, Comcast adjusted its application nationwide to better reflect the variety of identification forms accepted. That change took effect in June, said Marilyn Winokur, co-chair of Coloradans for the Common Good.

“We want to get as many, many families that don’t have internet access to have the access that they need in order to participate in remote learning should it happen again,” Winokur said.

[Photo Credit:  Kathryn Scott, Special to The Colorado Sun]

Colorado Gears Up For Online Learning With Digital Access Push — And One Victory for Undocumented Families, Colorado Public Radio [pdf]

Online Classes Aren’t Going Anywhere, but Thousands of Colorado Students Still Don’t Have Internet Access, Colorado Sun [pdf]

Big Wins on Internet Access, Fair Wages for School Workers, Coloradans for the Common Good

[Photo Credit: Nathan W. Armes/Chalkbeat]

[Excerpts]

Comcast has made its low-cost program, called Internet Essentials, free for two months to families that qualify for programs such as food stamps or subsidized school lunches. But....undocumented families may not have the identification required to sign up for free internet service or may not feel comfortable providing it.

“We want to work with you to ensure equity of access for all of our students,” said a letter that the advocacy group Coloradans for the Common Good sent to Comcast executives Monday. “We hope to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss potential solutions.”

The letter was signed by faith leaders and the president of the Colorado Education Association, as well as the presidents of several local teachers unions, including Denver and Jefferson County....

To sign up for Internet Essentials, Comcast asks for a Social Security number. If a person doesn’t have one, Comcast instructs that person to take a picture of themselves holding their identification or to bring that identification to a company store.

Emilio Ramos, a social worker who works at two Denver elementary schools, said he’s heard from families where the parents are undocumented and don’t have a Social Security number.

He said parents are afraid that if they admit they’re undocumented and also provide their photo and personal information, that information could be flagged in Comcast’s system and shared with the government, making them a target for arrest or deportation.

...

Originally, the free internet was available to families who signed up by mid-May. Comcast has extended the deadline to June 30, a step praised by Coloradans for the Common Good, the coalition of labor union and faith leaders that pushed for the change.

Remove Internet Barriers for Undocumented Families, Colorado Teachers Urge, Chalkbeat [pdf]pdf]

Some Undocumented Families Don’t Feel Safe Applying For Free Internet, Making Remote Learning Even More Difficult, Colorado Public Radio [pdf]

Wi-Fi holdup: Social Security question still a barrier, Colorado teachers say, Chalkbeat

Press Conference Video, Coloradans for the Common Good

[Excerpts]

In an attempt to bridge the gap between renters and landlords, as well as the banks that play a critical role in the housing market, Anderson has joined forces with Coloradans for the Common Good, which describes itself as "a broad-based, non-partisan network of organizations, affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation — the oldest and largest community organizing network, organized for ordinary people to have a powerful voice in the decisions that affect their lives and communities...

....

“Even during normal times, it’s not unusual for someone to spend 50% to 60% of their monthly income on housing. But now, that’s untenable,” said the Rev. John Anderson of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Arvada.

“In 2008, taxpayers bailed out financial institutions,” Anderson said. “So banks are in a strong enough position today to help take the lead on this solution. And if landlords were given help with their mortgages, then they also ought to — in return — help their tenants.” He added that he hoped landlords and banks would contact the coalition, Coloradans for the Common Good, but that there was no active effort to push for an executive order or legislation to mandate the group’s goals...

[Photo by twinsterphoto]

Faith-labor coalition calls for keeping people housed during pandemic, CP Colorado Politics [pdf]

Covid-19 Colorado rent crisis: Landlords says they're victims, too, Westword [pdf]

At the urging of Coloradans for the Common Good and the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), Governor Jared Polis expanded the consideration of "essential workers" to include food and grocery store workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis. The protections include emergency paid leave and child care, and will benefit 20,000 grocery store and commercial food processing workers across the state.

In a meeting with the Governor, faith and labor leaders successfully made the case that grocery store workers are essential and should be eligible for supports then-available only to front-line medical workers.

[Photo Credit: Mykal McEldowney / IndyStar]

Colorado Emergency Child Care Expands to include Grocery, Construction Workers, Chalkbeat [pdf]  

What About Grocery Store Workers? Advocates Push Colorado to Extend Emergency Child Care, Chalkbeat [pdf] 

With 500 leaders from 22 member institutions, community delegates gathered on a Thursday night to publicly launch and celebrate the founding of 'Coloradans for the Common Good.'

“We are not relying on special interest groups to define our agenda,” proclaimed Pastor Del Phillips, of the House Worship Center and the Colorado Black Leadership Coalition, “so we are going to make financial commitments -- as member institutions -- so that we are our own special interest.”

New member institutions were joined by a dozen guest organizations from Denver, Aurora, Commerce City and Jefferson and Boulder counties.

Leaders also conducted some nonpartisan public business with Denver School Board candidates, asking 12 individual candidates if they would support a community-driven agenda, including recruitment and retention of teachers of color, investment in students’ social/emotional support, and support for a traditional, comprehensive high school in the Denver far northeast neighborhood.  Almost all candidates agreed.

Press Statement, Coloradans for the Common Good