As a result of COVID-19 and the closing of schools, superintendents and charter school leaders must complete this packet and submit to the New Mexico Public Education Department by Wednesday, April 8, 2020.  The packet contains the following items:

1. Assurances Document 
2. Continuous Learning Plan 

Submission

• All required documents must be emailed as a single package to CL.Plan@state.nm.us by Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
• Please direct questions to Gwen Perea Warniment, PhD, Deputy Secretary for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment at Gwen.Warniment@state.nm.us.

To access Continuous Learning guidance documents and resources, visit the PED website at:

https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/safe-healthy-schools/covid-19-coronavirus/

Good morning Quemado School District parents/guardians/students/and community members,

The New Mexico Public Education Department, in coordination with the Governor’s Office, has announced a school closure for the remainder of this school year.  Please see the following links for the official news release:

March 27th News Release

Frequently Asked Questions About Extended School Closure 

Even though we will not be meeting in the traditional face-to-face school setting for the rest of this school year, our learning will continue.  Teachers are hard at work planning for a transition to a distance learning model for the remainder of this school year.  You can expect our transition process to look as follows:

• March 25^th – 27^th:  Teachers will reach out to families and students to reconnect and determine which students have access to devices with internet capability and consistent internet service.

• March 30^th – April 2^nd:  Teachers will be planning for the transition to a distance learning model and training on new methods to communicate with students and their families.  You can expect to see teachers beginning to organize communication methods and start to roll out guided learning activities.  You can expect communication about how and when students can pick up their school issued computers (7^th-12^th graders) and other personal items from the school.  

• Week of April 6^th:  Weekly learning packets (available on-line and/or hard copies) will be distributed.  Where and when they can be picked up will be communicated to all students via all-calls, the school webpage, and the school Facebook page.  

• Following weeks:  Our staff will work to scale up the distance learning model.  We do not expect everything we try to work the first time.  We will take what works well and grow it while adjusting or disposing of what does not work well.  This will be learning process for everyone involved.

What the Distance Learning Model will be:

• A time for students to learn and grow with engaging and challenging activities provided by teachers and guided by a partnership between parents and teachers.
• A time for students to connect with teachers and classmates.
• An opportunity for parents to be deeply involved in the learning process
• A mixture of online activities and learning packets provided weekly by teachers.
• A focus on fundamental academic skills required to move on to the next level.
• Academic activities the whole family can participate in.
• A time for teachers, students, and families to connect.
• Respectful of work and family responsibilities parents have.

The Distance Learning Model will NOT be a traditional school day.  The time expected for students to be engaged will be as follows:

• Pre-K – maximum of 30 minutes a day
• Grades K-1 – maximum of 45 minutes per day
• Grades 2-3 – maximum of 60 minutes per day
• Grades 4-5 – maximum of 90 minutes per day
• Grades 6-12 – 30 minutes per teacher with a maximum of 3 hours per day

There have been a lot of questions concerning special events like prom and graduation.  The bottom line is we will follow the Public Health Order guidelines issued by the governor.  Special events may be possible if the health order is lifted.  If not, we will postpone the events until a later date.  Only as a last resort will we even consider cancelling the events as our students have worked hard and deserve the recognition.

Although pandemics are nothing new when you study history, this is definitely a first for all of us in our educational careers.  Our commitment is to work together with our community to provide learning opportunities for our students in this unprecedented time.  Together we will focus on the opportunities this event presents us with: new and stronger relationships between teachers and the families we serve, new approaches to how learning is accomplished, and coming together as a community to get through a difficult time, just to name a few.

Please be on the lookout for information over the next week.  Teachers will be seeking information and input from families in order to create a plan that works.  As the plan is developed they will be sharing information out.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

God bless and stay healthy.

David Lackey

Superintendent

Quemado Schools