The First Week of School - how is it going?

This week, approximately 13,000 Santa Fe public school students are logging into school from their homes and navigating classes, assignments and extracurricular programming. Read below to learn how things are going!

8th Grade El Camino Real Academy

8th Grade

El Camino Real Academy

Alex, CIS Site Coordinator, Nina Otero Community School (PreK - 8th grade): All week, we have been responding to families that need technical support - helping them access school portals with login and password support, and troubleshooting devices that are not working and WiFi that is not connecting. These are issues that require one-on-one help. I've also had several meetings with our school's Wellness Team to develop strategies to check in with high-risk children. When we can't see these kids, it is hard to know if they are managing okay. For the students we know were struggling before COVID, this time is so much harder for them.

Elizabeth, Third Grade Aspen Community School

Elizabeth, Third Grade Aspen Community School

Stephanie, CIS Site Coordinator, Aspen Community School (Prek - 8th grade): We still have a lot of students with spotty internet or no internet at all. One by one, we are working with our school to resolve this challenge. Also, a lot of families are not working or have reduced hours, so I am receiving a lot of inquires about emergency financial assistance. This year, parents are communicating with us more, and our staff at school has been incredibly patient and responsive. Our Gray Wolves school spirit is strong in spite of our vacant classrooms!

Junior student's workspace Capital High School

Luis, CIS Site Coordinator, Ortiz Middle School:

Sophomore student's workspace Capital High School

This first week of school has gone more smoothly than the rough transition into remote learning back in March! I have spent most of this week getting students into a routine - waking up on time, logging in for school at 8:30am. Many parents did not realize their kids had to be logged in first thing and attend remote classes for the entire school day!

The work of Communities In Schools of New Mexico is designed to create greater equity and access for all kids - from Pre-K through the 12th grade, ensuring students can stay in school, graduate and achieve in life. In Santa Fe, many CIS students don't have access to essential learning resources.

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