Roslyn K. Pulitzer drew her final breath holding the ungloved hand of Kay Lockridge, her partner of 36 years, on the morning of Thursday, April 30, at the University of New Mexico Hospital’s intensive care unit in Albuquerque.

“Roz knew I was there, although she couldn’t talk because of her breathing apparatus and mask,” Lockridge said. “She winked at me and squeezed my hand.”

Pulitzer was the first Santa Fe resident to die of COVID-19, according to the New Mexico Department of Health. She had turned 90 years old the previous Saturday but Lockridge couldn’t celebrate with her in person because Pulitzer was in quarantine for COVID-19 at the Advanced Healthcare Center of...

18 staff members, seven students tested positive.

SANTA FE — The Public Education Department on Oct. 22 announced 25 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Rapid response has been initiated, and all pertinent information has been verified with the schools and school districts. The following new cases have been reported:

Two cases in McKinley County. The infected individuals are staff members who were last on campus Oct. 16 and Oct. 19.

Five cases in Bernalillo County. Four of the infected individuals are staff members who were last on school property Oct. 16. The other infected individual is a student who was last on campus Oct. 13.

One case in Curry County. The...

More educators staying on the job

SANTA FE - New Mexico’s teacher vacancy numbers have dropped for the second straight year as more teachers choose to stay in the classroom now that the education ecosystem has changed to one of respect and support.

New Mexico had 571 teacher vacancies as of Sept. 25 compared to 644 at the same time last year and 740 in September 2018, according to the 2020 New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report published Oct. 13 by the Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center at New Mexico State University.

That is an improvement of 11 percent since last year and 23 percent since the 2018 study.

The study also found that enrollment in and...

Some students are not on school rosters, others are chronically absent

SANTA FE - Three state agencies are joining forces with local school districts and charter schools to track down students who have dropped off school rosters or who are chronically absent from remote classes.

The Public Education Department is partnering with the Children, Youth and Families and Indian Affairs departments to identify, locate, contact and intervene to get students back in school to ensure their safety, and to provide for their continued learning opportunities and well-being.

“This has been an impossibly difficult year for all of us, no doubt about it,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “The...