Educators still have questions, worries
Teachers, staff must inform their principals by Thursday whether they’re willing to work on campus
Nic Kolkmeyer is ready to serve his school district and his students, but how many of his fellow teachers in the Santa Fe Public Schools district share his position?
Kolkmeyer, a physical education teacher at Aspen Community Magnet School, likened district Superintendent Veronica García’s call for staff members and teachers to “volunteer” to return to the classroom for the hybrid teaching model on Oct. 15 amid the coronavirus epidemic to being “drafted in the army.”
García’s volunteer request emerged Monday during a pair of town hall meetings the school district held to inform staff, teachers and the public of the district’s plan for reopening elementary schools in accordance with the state Public Education Department.
García said teachers and staff have until Thursday to inform their principals if they are willing to work on campus in the hybrid model as scheduled. It could determine whether the district will meet its start date or if it will delay hybrid learning until January.
Kolkmeyer said he has no reservations about returning to school in October. If anything, he relishes the thought of seeing happy faces — with masks on — getting ready to take on the day’s assignment.
“It’s a very interesting statement because it’s in my contract,” Kolkmeyer said. “Technically, they can tell me to go back to work. But I am more than happy
to go back because I am one of the faces they need to see.”
However, there appears to be a divide among teachers and staff members about the feasibility of returning to the classroom, even if students will do so only twice a week while spending the rest of the week learning from home. At a Sept. 17 school board meeting, almost all of the 47 speakers during the public comment session were teachers; the majority expressed their concerns and doubts about the hybrid model plan.
That continued into Monday’s town hall, as teachers pressed administrators for answers regarding sanitization practices, whether some classrooms can accommodate all students, protocols for a potential positive novel coronavirus test and whether students participating in the hybrid model can quickly adjust to it.
At the core of their arguments was the sentiment the district might not be able to sufficiently protect students, staff and teachers from an outbreak.
“I think it’s too soon,” said Jennifer Warren, a first grade teacher at Nina Otero Community School. “I don’t see the numbers plummeting down with COVID. I think that we are still dealing with a very terrifying disease that we still don’t know much about. It just seems to me premature to jump into being in person.”
Jaclyn Gonzales, a kindergarten teacher at Nava Elementary School, said she will return to the classroom despite some reservations she has about the overall safety of everyone involved. One of her biggest concerns: When cold and flu season hits later this year, how will administrators be able to tell the difference, since those symptoms and COVID-19’s are very similar?
“I work with younger students, and they get sick quite often,” Gonzales said. “So, it is a question of safety for both them and for the teachers in the classroom.”
In the event of a positive test, Gonzales wondered if only those who were exposed to the person will have to be quarantined for 14 days, or if classrooms, wings or even an entire school will have to shut down for that time period.
“We need clarification, we need answers,” Gonzales said.
García said Tuesday that some of those answers could be found in a packet she sent to all district personnel over the weekend that outlined guidelines and procedures regarding the district’s hybrid model plan. García called it “the most conservative plan” the district could devise and exceeds the requirements for student safety.
“I think we have communicated that to principals, and we put a flow chart out,” García said. “Perhaps we should get that out to teachers so they are aware of it.”
Karen Drysdale, a kindergarten teacher at Carlos Gilbert Elementary School, wrote in an email that she is opting to teach in the remote model until “the flu season passes.” If the school district instructs teachers to return to the classroom before then, Drysdale wrote she trusts the administration’s judgement.
However, the last thing she wants is to harm her students with a COVID-19 infection.
“New Mexico children are our most valued commodity,” Drysdale wrote. “They are our future, your future.”
Kachina Walker, a music teacher at Carlos Gilbert, said her concerns are less about COVID-19 and more about the overall mental health of the students. She said students try their best to stay focused during online classes, but she can tell they struggle. Walker said the social component of school cannot be understated, and being in front of a computer screen is not healthy for them.
“School is a social experience,” Walker said. “I know there are a lot of kids who hang out in pods [online], and they do get that social interaction, which is really awesome. But I also think there are kids who are not and they need to be in person, a little bit. So they can say, ‘I actually have friends,’ and feel a little normal.”