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Mesa Public Schools Shares Successes, Challenges Of First Week Of In-Person Instruction

Last week, Mesa Public Schools students returned to the classroom on a limited basis. They are attending school for two days and online for the rest of the week. 

During their Monday meeting, governing board members heard that students and staff are happy to finally be together again. Schools are reporting that students are wearing their masks and following safety protocols, but officials didn’t paint a completely rosy picture. 

“One concern was that there was a lack of substitutes as Dr. Driscoll talked about earlier which didn’t allow us to provide staffing to support our learning models in schools," said Monica Mesa, an assistant superintendent. 

The issue was reported at the district's primary and secondary schools. James Driscoll, assistant superintendent of human resources, said the sub issues is more prominent at some schools, but isn't necessarily districtwide. 

Teachers at secondary schools said they were struggling with having to teach their in-person and online students at the same time. 

One suggested solution is increasing compensation for subs. Driscoll thinks that could make Mesa more competitive against other neighboring districts who are also reopening schools or reopened before it did. 

"A lot of subs that we were waiting for us to start in an in-person setting went to other districts," Driscoll said.

Other ideas include more hours for instructional assistants. 

The board also discussed possibly allowing students to be in buildings all week, instead of only two days, starting Oct. 12. 

Superintendent Andi Fourlis said this would only happen if the district’s positivity rate remains lower than 6% for two consecutive weeks. The latest data puts the district rate around 5%.

“We don’t see this as a permanent solution. It’s temporary," she said. "But moving into these five days, I think that’s one that’s going to be with us for a very

The board has not voted yet on the proposal. Fourlis said regardless of what the board decides, students who want to continue distance learning will be able to do so. 

→  Get The Latest News On COVID-19 In Arizona 

Rocio Hernandez was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2020 to 2022.