Santa Fe Public Schools are readying a return to a volunteer hybrid model on Feb. 22. For some students, it’ll be their first time in a classroom since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a switch to remote learning in March.
But many teachers, parents and community members say they’re unhappy with the plan. Some said they want a return to entirely in-person learning while others worried the hybrid model put the health of teachers and students at risk.
District officials broke down the plan for return at the Santa Fe School Board meeting Monday night. The plan would allow elementary and secondary students to take part in a combination of online and in-person classes on a volunteer basis beginning Feb. 22. Students selected to return will have in-person classes two days a week. Exactly how many kids can return will depend on how many teachers and staff volunteer to return as well.
Unlike other districts currently mulling in-person or hybrid learning, such as Albuquerque, the Santa Fe board doesn’t need to approve the hybrid learning model, because it approved a similar model in October.
The district’s last attempt at hybrid learning was canceled two weeks after it launched due to rising COVID-19 numbers at the time, although the district has maintained it is safe for students to attend.
In written public comments, many parents focused on the negative impact distance learning was having on their students and said a wider return to in-person learning was necessary.
One parent wrote that they moved their children to an out-of-state school where full in-person learning is available.
“Our public schools have failed my children, but also failed me as a parent,” the parent wrote.
For some teachers, though, the risk isn’t worth it.
Multiple teachers voiced their concerns during public comment about the district’s plans via written statements.
“Hearing all about the trips and socializing my students are doing… makes the prospect of being in a small classroom with my students feel very unsafe,” first-grade teacher Jennifer Warren wrote.
District data shows 278 teachers and staff have volunteered to return, with Santa Fe High School having the most at 54, as of Monday.
But most other schools have far fewer volunteers. Around 40% of Santa Fe schools had five volunteers or less, many in some of the city’s lowest socio-economic areas, limiting the number of students that can return part-time. Two schools, Salazar and Tesuque Elementary, have zero volunteers.
More than 300 teachers will be medically exempt from returning to in-person classes for the rest of the year, while most still haven’t received any vaccines for COVID-19.
The district will prioritize certain students to return to the classroom, such as those lacking internet access and seniors not on track for graduation.
Superintendent Veronica Garcia told the Journal the number of volunteers changes every day and the district is working to maximize the number of students who can return, mainly by exploring various learning models.
Learning models at each school site will be announced starting Tuesday.
“I understand the hesitancy with people, with the variants and no vaccine,” Garcia said. “I also believe, though, that our buildings are safe.”
