TMS succeeds at tightrope walk

Aside from frontline workers like health care professionals, law enforcement, EMS and grocery store clerks, no other group of people have as much to grapple with in the age of COVID as educators.

And in many ways, school administrators and teachers have the most complex situation to deal with of any profession. They must balance the need to get students back in the classroom with the need to keep them healthy and address the risks to teachers and other staff. They must balance the mental health consequences and lost learning time of keeping students in remote classes, with the physical health risks to students, teachers and their families by holding in-person classes.

In light of the enormous complexities, Taos Municipal Schools have done an excellent job of trying to walk a tightrope between all the needs.

It started with appointing a diverse committee to consider everyone’s needs from parents and students to teachers and support staff. The committee had representatives from those various groups. They listened to concerns and came up with a hybrid model.

Certainly not everyone will approve. This is a situation where finding total agreement is impossible. The rollout of the complex hybrid model of sending groups of students to classrooms twice a week and teaching them online the other two days a week (with one day for cleaning) will require masterful planning. It is sure to have glitches as the district works out the kinks. But the district and everyone involved in planning this from the superintendent to the janitorial staff deserve huge kudos for finding a way to get kids back to in-person instruction.

It appears from the plan that they have thought through every possible aspect.

Air filters will be installed throughout the schools. Windows will be kept open as weather permits.

The number of students on each bus will be limited to one child per seat.

Students will be taught with their “pods” for the rest of the school year, half time in class and half time remote. Masks and physical distancing will be required. Hand sanitizing stations will be in every classroom.

Students can opt to remain in online classes only.

The challenges remain immense. Teachers will have to prepare lesson plans that can be as effective online as in person. The district is looking to hire more than 40 substitute teachers to have enough warm bodies available to oversee classrooms.

Getting students to take the safety precautions seriously in all their exuberance and desire to be with friends will also be challenging.

Hopefully, teachers will be encouraged and have places to hold classes outside as the weather gets nicer – maybe on sports fields or in bleachers or at local parks. Fresh air and sunshine help keep everyone healthy and alert while learning. It would be great if teachers could incorporate more interdisciplinary and hands-on projects for students as well, ones they could do while learning science, math, public speaking and more in ways that apply to real life.

Whatever happens, more than ever, teachers and students need support and encouragement to get through the next few months of the strangest, most surreal school year of our lifetimes.