Schools to Open PK-12 on February 9th

January 27, 2021

Welcome!
From Mr. Cain, Superintendent

Dear Parents and Guardians:
I imagine most of you have already heard that the governor and the New Mexico Public
Education Department (PED) have given all school districts permission to begin hybrid
education beginning the week of February 8th. Although this is not the perfect solution to getting
our kids back in school, it is certainly a move in the right direction. Therefore, Portales
Municipal Schools will begin hybrid instruction in all schools beginning Tuesday, February 9th
.
As a reminder, hybrid education means that one-half of the students in each school can attend
two days each week in person. In other words, one-half of students will attend on Tuesday and
Wednesday and the other half will attend on Thursday and Friday. Students who are not
physically in school on their two days will still attend on-line at the same time their classes meet
in person. Students must attend the online classes on their days off, as teachers will not be
repeating the same class instruction from Tuesday/Wednesday on Thursday/Friday. Some
elementary grades may have slightly different online schedules, but those will be communicated
with parents as soon as possible.

Even though our District will begin in hybrid education mode on February 9th, we also
understand that there are parents who might be uncomfortable sending your children back to an
in-person setting. At the beginning of the school year, we asked parents who had reservations
about sending their children to an in-person setting to enroll with our fully online classes. These
classes will continue through the rest of the year. If your child is not enrolled in the online
program and you would prefer fully online school for the remainder of this year, you may
certainly enroll your child in this program. Please contact your school’s principal or counselor to
complete this process.

If you do want your child to begin attending school in-person on February 9th, that is great, too.
Most students have been scheduled to attend school based upon the junior high and high school
rosters with students whose last name begins with letters A-L attending on Tuesday and
Wednesday, and students whose last name begins with letter M-Z attending on Thursdays and
Fridays. We understand that this may create a conflict in some families where siblings in the
junior high and high schools might not be attending on the same days as their younger siblings.
If this is the case and you have a need for all siblings to attend on the same days, please contact
your elementary school principal so that they can work with the other schools to schedule all of
your children on the same two days.

Upon returning to school, all students and district personnel must follow COVID safe practices
and protocol. Classrooms are arranged to maintain 6 foot social distancing. Students will follow
the same flow in hallways maintaining social distancing. Cafeterias have been arranged to
ensure social distancing while students eat. Restroom and passing period protocols have also
been established and will be explained to students on the 9th.
No one will be allowed to enter a school building without a mask. Every school has cotton and disposable masks on hand for
when a student forgets his or her mask or if a mask is lost or soiled. We will also be distributing
one two layer school logoed mask to every student soon after school begins. Please ensure that
your child has another cloth mask so that while one is being cleaned, the other is available for
use.

Buses will run beginning February 9th.
However, this will mean that students from other schools
will be mixing together for their rides to and from school. To make this safer for all, the fewer
students on a bus will result in less risk of spreading COVID-19. Normally, I would not support
this, but if possible, you may wish to give your child a ride to and from school. Regardless,
buses will follow safety protocols and all students must wear a mask and sit one to a seat when
possible or with siblings. Please reinforce with your child that social distancing at bus stops
should be maintained. It is very important to notify your child’s school immediately if you have
moved and have not changed your address with the school. Buses will be making stops based on
address information in our system as of February 8th.

Athletics and activities need to be addressed. As of today, athletics will not begin until February
22nd other than the 4:1 group activities that are currently in place. Most activities, such as FFA,
BPA, MESA, etc. will be able to meet within their cohorts. Band and choir may meet during the
day in school, but the PED has provided a strict guideline that they may not sing or play wind
instruments at this time. Hopefully, some of the guidelines will change soon. We will keep you
informed.

Finally, the safety of our students is paramount. This means we will follow the Department of
Health, CDC, and PED guidance as we move forward. Every student will have their temperature
take upon arrival at school. Students who have fever, are coughing, have obvious runny noses,
or other symptoms that might be of concern as a sign or symptom of COVID-19 will be sent
home. These students would then have either to have a negative COVID test or remain
quarantined for 14 days before returning. Because we do not want to have to send anyone home,
we ask that you do not send your child to school if he or she is exhibiting any COVID-19 like
symptoms. If your child does suffer from chronic, mild non-specific COVID-19 symptoms such
as allergies please contact the school nurse so that she will be aware of the condition or ask your
health care provider to provide a note that demonstrates that these symptoms are non-COVID-19
health issues. If you know that your child has been exposed to COVID-19 in the home or
somewhere other than the school, the New Mexico Health Order requires that the child be
quarantined for 14 days and may not return to school during that time. Any out of state travel
other than travel to visit a health care provider also requires a 14 day quarantine according to the
order. Please be aware of these requirements and do not send your child to school if either of
these circumstances occur. If a student must be quarantined, the student can still log-on to his or
her classes and submit assignments and will not be counted absent. However, if the child does
not log-in to classes, absences will be recorded and could affect the students grades.
I believe that children will be safe at school. Every school has worked hard to create plans that
will mitigate the chances of the spread of the disease. However, we cannot guarantee that
someone will not be exposed to COVID-19. If a case does occur in a school, all parents of
students in that school will be notified by e-mail and School Messenger in a timely manner. If
your child is a close contact with someone positive for COVID-19, you will be called directly
with information about next steps.