LCPS

LCPS: The next plan to finish the fall semester strong

Karen Trujillo
Las Cruces Public Schools
Karen Trujillo

Last Tuesday, the Las Cruces Public School Board voted unanimously to remain in a remote learning model throughout the fall 2020 semester. In addition, the LCPS School Board voted to allow small groups of students, as permitted by the New Mexico Public Education Department and the New Mexico Department of Health be allowed to receive in-person support. I think it is important for parents and students to understand that the recommendation and the decision were not made lightly.

Many of you might be wondering why we didn’t propose a hybrid model transition like some of the districts in El Paso. The simple answer is that different states have different rules and different timelines for re-entry. Months ago, we developed a hybrid plan for all grade levels that was approved by the NMPED. We were excited about welcoming our students back to school, but once the infection rates soared over the summer, it was clear this was not advisable, and we decided to start fully remote.

For local news and commentary, subscribe to the Las Cruces Sun-News today.

The following week, every district in the state was told that the first possible day for students to return to school was September 8, and it was no longer possible to create a plan for middle school and high school students to return — only elementary. By then, we were not eligible to apply for a return approval from NMPED because Doña Ana County was not in a green zone. Even though we are in a green zone now, there are now new requirements for air filtration systems and for surveillance testing of five percent of staff weekly.

I have received numerous letters from parents imploring the district to resume face-to-face learning. They describe the difficulties with the Canvas platform, the frustration from their children, and the loneliness they are feeling. Some letters compared public schools to daycare centers and private schools and asked why they can be allowed to have students attending five days per week, while public schools must remain online. The fact is that every entity works under a separate set of rules, and as frustrating as that is, the rules public schools must follow are the strictest of them all. There are approximately 8,000 students in daycares across the state, and most private schools have less than 300 students. They operate under the small business regulations, which allows them to operate at 25 percent capacity. To compare, there are 24,500 students in LCPS, and some elementary schools have over 700 students. We will do our best to ensure that everything is in place to resume the spring semester with face to face instruction, but, for now, we will focus on making the needed adjustments so that our students thrive during this fully remote phase.

Others are reading:Border Patrol agent and teenager in Juárez play catch across the border

No matter what your feelings are about returning to school or staying online, we all share one common goal – we all want to finish the fall semester to the best of our abilities. Teachers want to ensure they did everything to help their students succeed, parents want to see their children happy, healthy, and well-adjusted in school, and administrators want to feel that teachers were given support in the areas where it mattered most. Education is a shared responsibility, but so is success. Thank you for your continued patience as we work to provide the best learning environment for our students and educators under these ever-changing times.

Thankfully, on Thursday there was some relief for youth activities. Youth programs are now allowed to have practices with nine students for every coach (a total of 10 people). I implore all of our youth sports leagues to follow all the basic rules of masking and social distancing. I also ask that you spend some time with academic support and tutoring for at least part of each practice, just to make sure the children are keeping up with their schoolwork. I have known coaches in the past who ask for report cards and talk to even their youngest players about time management and making education a priority. In some small way, doing this may motivate our students to stay engaged in school and to seek help if they need it.

Keep reading:A look inside Las Cruces Catholic School, which returned to in-person learning last month

Finally, I want to ask each of you to thank at least one educator this week. As I described above, I have received letters telling me everything we are doing is wrong, and board members, principals and teachers receive the same ones. It is much easier to point out where we are falling short, but sometimes difficult to recognize the care and effort being poured into every encounter we have with each child. Your child’s teacher may not be perfect, but we are doing our best to help everyone get better every single day to serve your children. If you get a chance this week, send a kind word in an email, in a text message, or with a quick phone call. They need to hear the good things too.

Dr. Karen Trujillo is the superintendent at Las Cruces Public Schools.

More from LCPS: