The Secretary of the Department of Education (DE), Elba Aponte Santos, has indicated that, as stipulated in the academic calendar, courses for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year will resume on Monday, January 11, 2021, while school staff will begin work today, January 8th
“We are very happy and excited about the beginning of the second semester of the school and, for me, it is an honor to work with her directly as secretary. Initially, the courses will be in distance mode, but we will work with a detailed plan together with the Department of Health and the National Guard for the vaccination process against COVID-19 and thus we will be able to reopen the schools in a staggered manner and, above all, safe our children, young people and staff. It is a responsibility that I assume firmly and decisively “, said Aponte Santos.
Courses in the public education system continue in distance mode, mainly through the Teams platform, so the secretary urges parents or guardians to have their username and password at hand.
Regarding the vaccination process, Aponte Santos recalled that DE conducted a survey in which 71% of all employees of the agency participated. Of this total, 88% expressed a desire to be inoculated. Staff will be duly informed of the days on which they must attend for the administration of the vaccine.
In turn, the secretary reminded that from January 11 he will start generating and sending the Students’ Academic Progress Report by e-mail. Submission will be in classes, starting at the primary level and continuing with the secondary level. It will take about five days to be sent in full. Parents or guardians must verify that the email that was registered on the online registration platform is available to receive the notes.
“It is also important to mention that you can contact the school if you did not receive the bulletin by January 15 or if you have questions about it,” he added. If parents do not receive the notes, they must notify the school and the principals will establish their individual plans for the delivery of the notes in person, protecting the virus prevention measures.
As part of the start-up agenda for teachers, two discussions will be offered through the Teams platform focused on managing and controlling emotions. The first conference, to be held today, January 8, by school psychologists, will be aimed at school staff and will address issues of emotion management, change management and identifying students who need special attention. The second discussion will be offered to students of all levels and will aim to manage emotions.
“We invite the whole school community to participate in these discussions which are very useful for everyone. In a pleasant way, three school psychologists shared their knowledge so that we could work on those areas that probably affect us in our daily lives. In the same way, our schools have school psychologists who are available to assist in any situation and to offer support to all members of our schools “, concluded Aponte Santos.