Las Cruces Public Schools will begin offering increased face-to-face learning opportunities following a vote Tuesday by the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education.
In a 4-1 decision, the board voted to expand current in-person learning efforts. While board members discussed the possibility of implementing a hybrid learning model, allowing for students in the classroom twice a week, they ultimately decided to begin with a smaller reopening approach — targeting students most in need of in-person instruction.
Just who will qualify for those in-person opportunities is still being defined by the district, but Superintendent Karen Trujillo says a plan will be presented at the next school board meeting in mid-February.
“I will work with teachers on an individual basis to determine how we can increase opportunities for face-to-face learning for students,” Trujillo said.
School Board Member Terrie Dallman, the only member to vote against increasing in-person learning opportunities, spoke about the need to ensure educators receive the COVID vaccine before entering into any hybrid model, directing her comments at Superintendent Trujillo.
“One of the comments, Dr. Trujillo, that you said was that our employees are employees of the district. And so in other words they have to perform when they're called upon basically,” Dallman said. “Those weren't your words, but that's how I'm perceiving it. But they never did sign up to die. And so, if they are not vaccinated, Dr. Trujillo, I can't even entertain reopening at this point.”
In a survey conducted by the Las Cruces chapter of the National Education Association, 583 educators indicated they would be more comfortable returning to the classroom after receiving both doses of the COVID vaccine, following inoculation. 225 responded they would be willing to return to the classroom in a hybrid model without a vaccine, while 322 did not feel ready to return to in-person learning at all this school year.
Currently, 1,487 district employees have received the first dose of the COVID vaccine. NEA-Las Cruces President Denise Sheehan advised the board to delay full reopening efforts until more educators have the opportunity to be vaccinated.
“It is the recommendation of NEA-Las Cruces, that the board wait until all educators who want the vaccine receive both doses, with the recommended time to reach immunity before transitioning to a full hybrid plan,” Sheehan said. “This adds an additional layer of protection and assurance of a safer work environment…No one wants to return to in-person learning more than the educators who dedicate their lives to help their students succeed, but we must do it safely.”
It’s a sentiment shared by educators across New Mexico, evident by a statewide survey indicating that 75% of National Education Association members surveyed in the state consider COVID-19 to still pose a risk to their health and life.
School Board Member Maria Flores says teachers willing to go back to the classroom should be utilized, but no one should force educators to return before they are vaccinated.
“I don't feel comfortable opening in any way, but if teachers are willing to go back, if they feel safe going back, then they need to go back and work in the small groups that are identified as needing this instruction, that are on the edge, that are not feeling well, kids that are depressed, etc. I understand that, that makes sense to me,” Flores said.
