Santa Fe middle, high school students can return for voluntary hybrid learning on Feb. 22

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Santa Fe Public School Board announced that middle and high school students can return to the classroom starting Feb. 22.

On Monday, the school board met to discuss the voluntary hybrid model.

“We’re not figuring it out, we’ve figured it out,” said Dr. Veronica Garcia, SFPS Superintendent.

Dr. Garcia also had a message for the New Mexico Department of Health about staff vaccines: "I can’t stress enough of prioritizing teachers," she said.

278 educators have volunteered to come back, but there’s still questions about whether that will be enough for students.

“Obviously we want to bring everyone back or everyone that wants to come back,” Dr. Garcia said. “However, I have 300 staff members who have medical accommodations for the rest of the school year, so we may not be able to bring everyone back even if we want to because of that.”

If needed, SFPS said they’ll prioritize students in the following programs:

• Specialized programs
• English language learners
• Students without reliable internet
• Students failing or disengaged
• Seniors who are not on track to graduate

School officials will continue to contact families this week about returning to school.

SFPS also said schools are scheduled to be deep-cleaned on Wednesdays and on weekends. Required testing and COVID-safe rules still apply to all staff.

For more information about the district’s hybrid plan, click here.