A survey conducted by Las Cruces Public Schools found over 70 percent were against a proposal to extend the school year, with 65 percent of staff against the idea as well. Here is a statement from the district:
On January 7, teachers and staff were asked to watch a video, review a proposed calendar and participate in a survey in order to determine whether or not the proposal should be considered by the calendar committee. 1058 staff members answered the initial survey. The district received an additional 359 responses from staff on the community survey. After evaluating the initial responses, approximately 65 percent of staff who responded to the survey were not in favor of adopting the proposed extended learning calendar for the 2020-2021 academic school year.
On January 9, the district posted the video, the presentation and the survey so that parents, guardians, students and community members could also provide feedback. "We wanted to get feedback from staff and teachers first, because if they are not in favor there is no need to move the proposal forward for consideration," Dr. Trujillo, Interim Superintendent, said. "Unfortunately, once the proposed calendar was posted online, we had to ask for feedback immediately." The district received a total of 5,995 responses from the community survey, and over 70 percent of those who answered were not in favor of adopting the proposed extended year calendar. "We will continue to work with stakeholders from our community to provide the calendar committee with various options to discuss," stated Dr. Wendi Miller-Tomlinson, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction.
After reviewing all of the feedback from the staff and community, the District has decided not to present this calendar as one of the options for the calendar committee to consider. "We are still committed to offering K-5 Plus at all 25 elementary schools, and extended learning at the middle schools and high schools for all students who choose to participate," Trujillo said. "It is clear that having a choice is important to teachers, students and families."
The district is thankful for the suggestions and feedback during this process. If anyone is interested in providing additional input for the calendar committee to consider, there will be a District Advisory Council Meeting on Thursday, January 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Lynn Community Middle School. We welcome students, teachers, parents and community members to join us at the DAC meeting to share your ideas. There will also be feedback boxes at Camino Real Middle School and Zia Middle School because they have an open house on the same night.
All feedback from the surveys and the DAC meeting will be shared with the calendar committee, which includes parents, principals, teachers, administrators, NEA-LC members and CSEC members. The
The school board will discuss the calendar options at the February 18th board meeting and may choose to vote on the calendar that night, wait to vote at the March 17th meeting or call a special board meeting. The school board must approve a calendar before the end of March. All meetings will be posted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
Las Cruces Public Schools is dedicated to serving students and providing them with the best opportunities for a quality education. Moving forward, it is our hope to continue to work collectively with educators, parents and community members to determine how best to serve all LCPS students.