Dear SFPS Community,
The highest priority of the Santa Fe Public Schools is to ensure the health and safety of students and
staff while providing a rigorous and stimulating learning program. By listening to our community and
following research and best practices from around the country, the 2020-2021 re-entry plan protects
the well-being of children, employees and families and places high-caliber instruction at the forefront.
We thank you for providing your preferences and feedback on re-entry surveys sent in the summer. Your responses were key to informing our approach to reopening school sites. Parents
communicated equal support for all three models (remote, hybrid or full re-entry), teachers spoke to
their concern for safety and protection for all and students in grades 4-12 clearly stated their desire
to be back in a familiar school setting with their friends.
You have our guarantee that regardless of the model we move forward with in the fall, safety,
instruction and equitable access will be our drivers, our learning plan will be flexible, balanced and
realistic to meet the needs of the community and we will do our best to meet students’ social and
emotional needs.
Regardless of the setting, be it virtual, face-to-face or a combination of both, our goal is to ensure at
least one year’s learning growth for students. To bolster this commitment we will ensure student and
parent access to teachers, coaches and professional development and strive to meet students’
social-emotional needs.
Central to the plan’s guiding principles, which were jointly developed by SFPS and the NEA-Santa Fe,
is doing all we can to close students’ skill gaps that may have developed over the spring and summer
and committing to a revamped remote learning or hybrid program.
Rest assured: The plan for 2020-2021 is significantly different from what we launched at the height of
the crisis last school year. Last year, guidance from the New Mexico Public Education Department
limited instruction time and focused on a few key learning standards. That guidance has been lifted,
with the result being a plan and vision for SFPS in 2020-2021 that moves education forward across
the board regardless of the learning model.
While being cautious and deliberate, our plan is designed to help students reach new heights in
learning. We cannot foretell the future, but we can prepare for what the future may hold. Our
commitment is to provide an engaging and enlightening year of learning and ensure that SFPS will
continue to be a district where remarkable happens every day.
