The cancellation of classes at Cortez’s Southwest Open School on Thursday prompted controversy on social media, but school director Charlotte Wolf tells KSJD she believes it was the right decision.
In a statement on its website Wednesday, administrators said that day had been a tough one in schools around the country, including SWOS, and “allowing time and space for all SWOSians to step back and away, would be a meaningful response”. Wolf told KSJD the recent suicides of three young people, two in Montezuma County and one in Durango, had troubled the charter high school’s attendees, some of whom had connections to the victims. She said the presidential election then “threw something else into the mix”, although it was not the main factor. Following several incidents and generally heightened tensions, administrators opted for a day to “step back and breathe”. Staff met Thursday, but students stayed home. The decision prompted a rancorous debate on Facebook, with many people enraged about the closure, and numerous others backing SWOS. Wolf said the decision to take one day off was in line with the school’s anger-management philosophy and parents were largely supportive. She said problems can’t always be solved by “being in-the-face with things” and it is important to be thoughtful. Classes at the four-day-a-week school resume Monday.
