Dear Canutillo community,
I want to start off by thanking those of you for making a concerted effort to learn about the 2021 Canutillo ISD bond, what it meant for our District, campuses and students and getting out to vote to support projects and initiatives deemed critical by our Just For Kids Committee to efficiently meet the needs of our kids.
Unfortunately, the bond issue was defeated. Now comes the time to make some tough decisions. Our students have made great strides with the electronic devices provided to them when we were forced into remote learning and continue to benefit from them as a supplemental tool in the classroom. Our campuses need essential maintenance and updates to keep our students, teachers and staff safe as well as cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Funding to meet the fundamental needs has to come from somewhere.
As District leaders, we never want to resort to budget cuts, lose any of our employees, close campuses or force tax increases upon our community but at the end of the day, we need to put our kids first and make sure they are getting what they need first and foremost and then shift focus to try to get them what they deserve.
Our students shouldn’t have to attend class in converted locker rooms, book rooms or teachers’ lounges but that is our reality right now in order to do what we can to open our doors to the growing number of school aged children who now call Canutillo home. We do what we can for our kids.
As a District, we will come together to consider alternative plans and strategies to address capacity concerns and building repairs that were documented by the Just for Kids Committee and the Facilities Masterplan in addition to paying back the cost of devices and infrastructure we needed to support instruction during the pandemic.
We will continue to look ahead and move forward to ensure our students have what they need to succeed today, tomorrow and well into the future.
Veterans Day
On Thursday Nov. 11, the District will be closed in observance of Veterans Day. Students at our campuses will learn about why our service men and women are important and will participate in activities to celebrate and honor the service of those who have served in our nation’s armed forces. Thank you to all our veterans who have served, currently serving and will serve in the future!
National School Psychology Week
During the week of November 8–12 schools throughout the country will celebrate National School Psychology Week to highlight the important work school psychologists do to help students thrive.
We thank our psychologists for all their hard work and commitment to our students.
COVID-19 and Vaccination
We encourage our campus community to stay vigilant and continue to practice safe and healthy practices. There is currently an influx in positive COVID-19 cases in our community and in our city. We will do our part to help keep our schools, students, teachers and staff safe.
We will continue to host mobile vaccination clinics to keep our campus community safe and healthy. Our next clinics will be at CHS on Nov. 10 and AMS on Nov. 11. COVID-19 boosters and the influenza vaccine AFLURIA will be available for all those 12 years and up. We also continue to offer COVID-19 rapid testing for all staff and students as recommended by the Texas Education Agency and the El Paso Department of Public Health. Any student or employee who wants to screen weekly or who was exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual can test at any of our campuses.
On October 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include children 5 through 11 years of age. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that everyone 18 years and older who received the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine two or more months ago, receive a booster dose.
For those who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, certain groups are now eligible for a booster dose at six months or more after their initial 2-dose series. This includes people ages 65 years and older, and people ages 18 years and older who live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or live or work in high-risk settings.
Enjoy the Veterans Day holiday and stay safe and healthy!
Pedro Galaviz
Superintendent of Schools