As the Albuquerque Public Schools attempt to create a formula for student return to the classroom that would allow APS to compete in athletics, the district will take a close look at how others have accomplished it.
Superintendent Scott Elder told the Journal on Friday that given the ongoing pandemic and associated state return-to-game guidelines, APS hasn’t given up hope that athletics will work for the district, the largest in the state, this semester.
“We are interested in what Rio Rancho is doing and what Las Cruces is doing,” said Elder. Personal learning models for these two cities have been approved by the Department of Public Education, which means that athletes in these districts have the opportunity to engage in sports and activities.
“We want to put our energies into the way we do this work,” Elder said. “We’re really focused on what elements of these plans enough people can return to (to meet the requirements of the PED).”
………………………………………….. …………..
Meanwhile, the GSP Education Committee will meet on Monday and work to draft a resolution, Elder said, to be sent to the governor’s office urging the state to decouple playing sports from a hybrid model. The PED made this mandatory for schools wishing to participate in athletics.
Elder also announced Friday that APS is considering legal action to get the athletes back into uniform. The district decided that such efforts were unlikely to be successful, he added.
“They (the PED) would have up to 30 days to give their first response, and it would be a few seasons by then,” Elder said.
On Thursday Elder said, “GSP is not giving up fall sports yet. We will pursue every path to get our children to play. “
TRANSFER: Student athletes in APS who wish to switch face an obstacle – namely the inability to move to an adjacent district. These include Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, East Mountain, Moriarty, or one of the city’s private schools.
The NMAA said it was concerned about a “mass exodus” of students into districts offering face-to-face learning, and that this could lead to problems with school funding for the 2021-22 school year.
There would have to be a real change of residence that the NMAA can review to get into a non-contiguous district eligible for athletics.
“It’s a very difficult argument. It’s difficult either way, ”said Sally Marquez, executive director of the New Mexico Activities Association. These new statutes are only valid for the duration of this school year.
OPT-OUT LIST: The number of schools that have opted out of participating in Fall Virus Delayed Sports has increased from 20 on Monday to 34, Marquez said on Friday. That’s roughly 21% of the organization’s 160 member schools.
Some of the new names that have been added to the list since Monday are Los Lunas, Belen, Valencia, Pojoaque, Cobre and To’hajiilee.
The other eight additions are Dulce, Monte del Sol, Tierra Encantada in Santa Fe, Peñasco, Tse ‘Yi’ Gai in Cuba, Vaughn, Wagon Mound, and Zuni.
Marquez said 104 schools are in. This leaves 22 unsolved, including the 13 in APS.
EARLY GRADUATES: Students who graduated in December 2020 will be able to compete in athletics this spring, but only if they are still living with the guardians they lived with immediately prior to graduation. Some counties, Marquez said, may not allow such students to attend.
NOTES: Rio Rancho and Cleveland are expected to be merged in one district with Santa Fe High and Capital for the semester – even if APS is late, Marquez said. … The next classification and realignment for NMAA schools for 2022-23 and 2023-24 will be completed by December.
Comments are closed.