Schools making plans to reopen

The Tucumcari and Logan school districts are looking at a hybrid model of in-person classes and online learning when the school year opens in August amid the coronavirus pandemic.

San Jon, meanwhile, likely would go entirely with in-person instruction because its student body is small enough to meet the state’s 50% classroom occupancy requirement.

The New Mexico Public Education Department last week released its guidance for all districts that include requirements for social distancing and face coverings for all students and staff.

The plan is posted online at webnew.ped.state.nm.us.

The plan

Education Secretary Ryan Stewart, in announcing the plan, stated “profound uncertainty” remains about the pandemic’s effect on the 2020-2021 school year.

“This will not be easy, but it will be worth it,” Stewart said. “While this year will undoubtedly look and feel different than any that has come before, the brilliance, curiosity and resilience of our children will serve as beacons of hope amid ongoing turbulence.”

A phased re-entry, created in a partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory, will rely on up-to-date epidemiological models and put regions into three phases of operation:

• Full re-entry, with all students eligible to be in classes up to five days per week;

• Hybrid, which caps capacity to 50% or whatever allows 6 feet of social distancing for each student, and has students not in the building engaging in remote learning;

• Full remote learning, with limited groups eligible for in-person instruction if feasible.

When overall state data indicate it is safe to proceed to a full school schedule, all five regions would be able to do so. The preference is to move together as a state to full re-entry, but if a region’s data suggests opening would be unsafe, that region may be held back until its numbers improve.

Quay County belongs to the Southeast Region with Curry, Roosevelt, Guadalupe, Lincoln, De Baca, Chaves, Eddy and Lea counties.

Eight entry requirements in the plan include:

• A requirement all districts can operate under at least hybrid guidelines as detailed in the plan;

• A surveillance and rapid testing program for all staff;

• Adherence to social distancing requirements of each phase;

• Avoidance of large group gatherings;

• Face coverings for all students and staff, including transportation. Exceptions are while eating, drinking and exercising, and in limited cases where a mask is unsafe for medical reasons;

• A daily staff screening that includes a temperature check and review of symptoms, along with a plan for contact tracing. While not required, a contact-tracing plan for students is recommended;

• Meals must be provided during all phases. Under remote learning, school buses can function as meal delivery vehicles. For in-person meal service, schools are recommended to use disposable plates and utensils, designate proper distancing through floor markings and extend meal periods if needed;

• On school buses, students may sit up to two per bus seat but all reasonable steps should be taken to limit seats to one student each.

Districts are advised to consider the needs of students and staff who may fall into high-risk categories and provide ways to accommodate them.

Tucumcari

Tucumcari superintendent Aaron McKinney said in a phone interview last week his district likely would use a hybrid model with online learning and 50% capacity classrooms.

He said he’d confer with other area superintendents to help come up with a plan. Each district must submit a plan to the state by Aug. 1. McKinney said he likely would have a clearer picture on that by the next school board meeting in mid-July.

“We weren’t sure what to anticipate” from the state’s initial plan, McKinney said. “And it could change once fall rolls around. It depends on the number of (COVID-19) cases and everything else. There are too many unknowns at this point. Everything’s subject to change.

“The anxiety level of all superintendents went up to a new high,” he added.

McKinney said one thing he was unsure of was shutdowns of schools during a local COVID-19 outbreak. He said he was uncertain whether it would mean shuttering the district’s entire system or one building. Tucumcari contains separate buildings for its elementary and high schools.

One thing he was sure about, however, was the necessity of mask-wearing.

“The teachers have to wear them, and that’s all day long,” he said.

Logan

Logan superintendent Dennis Roch stated in a letter Thursday posted on the district’s website it would design “a local plan” that “takes the PED’s guidance into account but also considers our building capacity, parent input gathered through a recent online family survey and infection rates in Quay County and the region.”

He stated the district is considering bringing all students back with social distancing or a schedule where students might learn at school two days a week and from home two days a week.

Roch added the Logan district would provide a fully online options for students at greater risk of infection.

He noted self-contained classrooms may alleviate the need of students wearing masks. However, teachers would be issued masks, and preventative measures such as taking temperatures of staff and students would be done daily.

Logan may also create staggered schedules for transportation and meal service to foster social distancing.

“While the uncertainty can be frustrating, please know that our continuing goal is to establish and communicate clear procedures which honor our community’s desire to resume school for our students, staff and their families while still keeping everyone safe,” Roch stated.

San Jon

San Jon superintendent Janet Gladu said last week she anticipated in-person instruction for virtually all her students even with the 50% occupancy limit.

“We operate at a 48% capacity right now, so it’s a moot point for us. Our classrooms are big enough to seat the kids 6 feet apart,” she said during a phone interview. “The only thing I have a question about without talking to staff, without talking to my board and without looking at the document, is pre-K.”

She said the plan might necessitate one more school bus route for students near Tucumcari, but even that may not be necessary.

“That’s assuming all the parents send back our kiddos in the fall,” Gladu said. “Some parents are nervous (about the virus), and I get that.”

Gladu also noted the PED document states the guidelines are “requested.”

“There’s nothing in there that says ‘required,’” she said. “Even with the testing of staff, if you have someone who’s a conscientious objector, I’m not touching that; I will not violate civil rights.”

An email to House superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot requesting comment wasn’t returned.

The Eastern New Mexico News contributed to this report.