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Virginia y Josemari
Sep 24, 2020, 5:05:34 PM9/24/20
to Dawn Jalbert, Ellen Ben-Naim, Kurt Steinhaus, Melanie Colgan, Steve Boerigter, c.ber...@laschools.net, j.b...@laschools.net, public....@laschools.net, Craig Washnok
Greetings LAPS School Board Members and Dr. Steinhaus,
Respectfully, I request that you reconsider your decision of opening LAPS with the hybrid model.
Though we all wish to go back to a certain normality, the reality is that we are in an unexpected and undesired situation, a pandemic that requires unprecedented measures. We are continuously hearing in Board meetings “WE ARE READY, WE CAN DO THIS.” We have been hearing this for months but it was not true before and it is still not true now.
We have yet to decide what the hybrid model is going look like. Will it be 2 days at schools 3 at home or 4 half days, or other possibilities in between? We are updating buildings for ventilation, trying to accommodate students in the different cohorts, schedules, written protocols for schools,...... even giving a proper name to the hybrid model. Even if we had a plan in place for reopening schools, do we have a solid plan for the possibility of closing LAPS back again? This to me does not look like BEING READY.
It appears to me as Governor Lujan Grisham said, “If you're a county that started because you could, or that can now start and your possibility rates creep up, we are not rolling back the hybrid in person learning.” Once we are in the school for in-person teaching the going back to remote learning is no longer going to be a realistic option. Once we open the schools closing them again even if we have a lot of cases is going to be very difficult.
Therefore, we better be sure that WE ARE REALLY READY before going back to any kind of in-person learning. We need to be sure all the actions we are taking are the best ones for the safety of our schools and community, minimizing all the risks. Logically, all actions should be in place before starting any kind of in-person learning.
I heard from some people that we cannot consider all the WHAT IF’s because eventually we will have to go back to school. I find this way of thinking disturbing. At LANL, that is known for its high standards in safety and security protocols, when you are going to start a new or modified lab activity, you have to consider all the possible what if’s and give them a solution before you can start work. You have to elaborate a plan in case something goes wrong, get the experts to revise the plan and then, get the authorization or approval to start working. This is assumed to be the best way to be safe and secure.
Surprisingly, the LAPS board has followed the opposite way of actions. The board has been deciding about reopening dates first and then working to meet the reopening criteria in a short time. This has inflicted unnecessary stress to workers, personnel and families, and it has brought uncertainty to the community. Please, get everything ready and in place before deciding about reopening dates.
As of today, YOU CANNOT ASSURE that YOU ARE READY and consequently, going back to school with in-person learning or a hybrid model is not in the best interest of our students, teachers, administrators, staff and community. Dr. Steinhaus in the last board meeting highlighted that “LAPS assures that students’ staff and community safety is preeminent”. I fully agree with Dr. Steinhaus on this statement. We need to make sure that in the middle of this pandemic, SAFETY is our top priority for our schools, students, teachers, staff and community.
Sincerely,
Virginia Olazábal
(parent of an 8th grader at LAMS)
“Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between” (The tragedy of Cordubur by T. Norton and T. Sackville).
Respectfully, I request that you reconsider your decision of opening LAPS with the hybrid model.
Though we all wish to go back to a certain normality, the reality is that we are in an unexpected and undesired situation, a pandemic that requires unprecedented measures. We are continuously hearing in Board meetings “WE ARE READY, WE CAN DO THIS.” We have been hearing this for months but it was not true before and it is still not true now.
We have yet to decide what the hybrid model is going look like. Will it be 2 days at schools 3 at home or 4 half days, or other possibilities in between? We are updating buildings for ventilation, trying to accommodate students in the different cohorts, schedules, written protocols for schools,...... even giving a proper name to the hybrid model. Even if we had a plan in place for reopening schools, do we have a solid plan for the possibility of closing LAPS back again? This to me does not look like BEING READY.
It appears to me as Governor Lujan Grisham said, “If you're a county that started because you could, or that can now start and your possibility rates creep up, we are not rolling back the hybrid in person learning.” Once we are in the school for in-person teaching the going back to remote learning is no longer going to be a realistic option. Once we open the schools closing them again even if we have a lot of cases is going to be very difficult.
Therefore, we better be sure that WE ARE REALLY READY before going back to any kind of in-person learning. We need to be sure all the actions we are taking are the best ones for the safety of our schools and community, minimizing all the risks. Logically, all actions should be in place before starting any kind of in-person learning.
I heard from some people that we cannot consider all the WHAT IF’s because eventually we will have to go back to school. I find this way of thinking disturbing. At LANL, that is known for its high standards in safety and security protocols, when you are going to start a new or modified lab activity, you have to consider all the possible what if’s and give them a solution before you can start work. You have to elaborate a plan in case something goes wrong, get the experts to revise the plan and then, get the authorization or approval to start working. This is assumed to be the best way to be safe and secure.
Surprisingly, the LAPS board has followed the opposite way of actions. The board has been deciding about reopening dates first and then working to meet the reopening criteria in a short time. This has inflicted unnecessary stress to workers, personnel and families, and it has brought uncertainty to the community. Please, get everything ready and in place before deciding about reopening dates.
As of today, YOU CANNOT ASSURE that YOU ARE READY and consequently, going back to school with in-person learning or a hybrid model is not in the best interest of our students, teachers, administrators, staff and community. Dr. Steinhaus in the last board meeting highlighted that “LAPS assures that students’ staff and community safety is preeminent”. I fully agree with Dr. Steinhaus on this statement. We need to make sure that in the middle of this pandemic, SAFETY is our top priority for our schools, students, teachers, staff and community.
Sincerely,
Virginia Olazábal
(parent of an 8th grader at LAMS)
“Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between” (The tragedy of Cordubur by T. Norton and T. Sackville).
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