NMPED News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) has released a new school reopening roadmap with updated research, guidance and best practices for school leaders at this stage of the global pandemic and with the flexibility to stay current in the next.
Reopening Roadmap 2.0 was developed to help district, charter school and tribal leaders prepare to offer all students a guaranteed, viable, safe, culturally responsive and equitable curriculum and experience during the next school year.
It’s a comprehensive update to the previous Roadmap to Accelerated Learning and Renewal released in March. Additionally, version 2.0 has moved to a spreadsheet format to allow for interactive work and regular updating as new information becomes available.
“We wanted a document that keeps up as new information emerges and informs new best practices,” Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said. “Reopening Roadmap 2.0 will allow us to share new guidance with school leaders much, much more quickly, and that will help keep our schools safe for our students, educators and communities.”
Roadmap 2.0 is divided into eight content sections, each with its own tab. A timeline offers guidance for planning, professional development and assessment tools and other supports.
Content was determined through regular meetings with school leaders, who indicated which topics were most urgent:
- Academics
- Budgeting
- Communication and Engagement
- Equity, Language and Culture
- Logistics, Scheduling and Extended Learning
- Special Education
- Staffing
- Student Social and Emotional Learning Supports
“During this time of great uncertainty and unlimited potential for our students, families and educators, engagement with this tool can help facilitate a strong reopening experience,” Deputy Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment wrote in the introduction.
Each category includes a topic overview and key steps school leaders can take each month throughout the summer.
The content sections are followed by an FAQ tab and then a list of recent updates to help school leaders quickly determine what has changed. Additionally, the digital format includes lists and links to supporting documents and resources.
“As superintendents and school leaders look toward fully reopening schools in fall of 2021, it’s been vital to have the opportunity to partner with PED to create a roadmap showing how to get there and how to accelerate learning for students who have unavoidable gaps and get them back on track for graduation,” Dennis Roch said, president of the New Mexico School Superintendents Association.
The Roadmap will be reviewed for school leaders during workshops at the July 19-23 meeting in Albuquerque of the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders.