BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
The Los Alamos School Board members face an important decision Tuesday evening at their regular meeting when Supt. Kurt Steinhaus along with Los Alamos High School and Los Alamos Middle School administrators will present schedules for possible hybrid schooling. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. and may be viewed by using the Zoom link below.
The two schools have been conducting surveys to determine the number of parents who are interested in having their students return to campus and how soon. Each staff member is being contacted individually to discuss their teaching schedule and needs. A review of emails sent to the School Board to be included in public comment during the meeting indicates a very divided community, with strong opinions on returning to school, hybrid learning and the need for students to be able to participate in sports.
Many staff members have expressed their desire to receive the COVID-19 vaccine prior to returning to any kind of in-person learning. To date, some 232 LAPS staff members, or about 31 percent have been vaccinated with 94 percent of staff having indicated they are willing to receive the vaccine.
Presently, the governor will only allow schools to go to the small group/hybrid model of learning and if schools don’t choose this model, they will have to stay in remote learning. LAPS has been working to meet the extensive requirements established by the Public Education Department for opening middle and high schools for hybrid learning. Much of that work is reflected in slides contained in the School Board agenda packet (https://laschools.net/leadership/schoolboard/ for Tuesday’s meeting. If the School Board decides to open up LAMS and LAHS, a PED site visit and issuance of a “certification of opening” will be required before the two schools can open for hybrid learning.
The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom. Use the following link and passcode to attend this meeting https://zoom.us/j/94879399484?pwd=aU5SWXZPYWVlcld6VXMyOFlzVkEzUT09 Passcode: lapsboard
To dial in by phone: Dial in: 1-346-248-7799, Meeting ID: 948 7939 9484 and Passcode: 88583473