Roswell schools say things are running smoothly one week into in-person learning

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Roswell Independent School District has been back to in-person learning for a week now.

“It’s been a year, it’s been a long time," said Michael Gottlieb, superintendent of Roswell Independent Schools.

After a little over a year, the district officially welcomed back students and called their first week a success. However, the process of getting there was a long one.

Superintendent Gottlieb said there was a lot to consider.

“We had to send a plan to the state, which went from air quality to cleaning to masks to all those points of what’s going on, how we do the filtration of the air, how we’re using Chromebooks, how we’re using textbooks,” he said.

After what felt like endless weeks of logging on for virtual learning, school officials said students are glad to be back on campus for in-person instruction.

Jennifer Cole, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said the overall mood was excitement.

“I think that it’s an exciting thing for the community and the teachers," Cole said. "I think they’re happy to have the kids back in the classroom. The students are certainly happy to be back. One of the things that students are saying is that they enjoy being with their teachers, so they can actually have someone there to help them."

The school district has also had a successful vaccination process for staff.

“We were very fortunate we were able to start our vaccines earlier than most. We have 783 of the 1198 employees vaccinated, so we feel very good about that. That’s about 60%,” said Gottlieb.

They say so far, so good for the return to in person learning.