Text and photos by Laurel Smith I left teaching to become a photojournalist almost four years ago and I didn’t look back. I never expected to return to it and I certainly did not expect to fall in love with being a teacher all over again. When the pandemic hit, I found myself suddenly back […]
Laurel Smith
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
A rough return to in-person learning
On Oct. 26, Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) fourth through eighth graders stepped out into 11 inches of snow and walked to their school bus stops for the first time since March 13. The storm that brought several road closures and blackouts throughout Roaring Fork Valley was not the school district’s only hurdle. This first […]
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Farm to Table brings money to CRES
The Baiardo family moved to Carbondale in July and began planning a way to continue a family tradition of using cooking to support their kids’ schools. Jonathan organized a dinner selling tickets to teachers and other parents through a silent auction at the annual Ladles of Love fundraising event. Food from Erin’s Acres, Sustainable Settings, […]
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Schooled in a barn
Updated Sept. 17, 2020 On Sept. 16, Roaring Fork School District hit the brakes on their plan to resume in-person learning for K-3 students citing the recent uptick in COVID cases. The increase in cases moves Garfield County from a level one to a level two risk indicating that a more cautious approach to in […]
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Can we ask schools to do the impossible?
When I was a second grade teacher I set my watch’s second hand to match the clock in my classroom. Every day, at 30 seconds past 9:28, my students split off into six different rooms to receive their small group reading instruction. As my students left, less familiar faces arrived from other classrooms. I sat […]
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Our Town: Yarely Valasco connects cultures
The Sopris Sun is conducting a series of interviews with folks you may not have seen in the paper before — a sort of introduction to your neighbors. This week we caught up with Yarely Valasco, a first generation American who was born in Aspen and just graduated from Basalt High School, where she worked […]
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To the class of 2020: I hope we are not forgotten
After four years, last Friday I graduated from Colorado Mountain College with my A.A.S. in professional photography. It has been a long journey starting with taking night classes while still teaching elementary school fulltime and ending with one final Zoom critique at my kitchen table. I can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu. I graduated […]
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Sunlight is closed
Sunlight Mountain announces it is closed to all activates including uphill travel Skiers, snowboarders and uphill hikers fill Sunlight’s parking lot yesterday. Sunlight announced today that they will be closed to all uphill traffic in accordance to Colorado and Garfield County public health recommendations. Local and state health officials recommend maintaining a distance of at […]
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Almost homeless
The growing almost homeless population is a dire situation in the area according to Lynn Kirchner, real-estate agent at Amore Reality and volunteer with the non-profit organization Carbondale Homeless Assistance (CHA). “The recommendation for sustainable and healthy living is one to two years’ worth of savings. The situation is that most people in our valley […]