The head of Albuquerque Public Schools outlined the conflicting challenges ahead in preparing students for the future in her annual address this week.
APS Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey gave her annual State of the District Monday, three years after stepping into her role.
Durán Blakey said APS will continue to transition all 13 comprehensive high schools — those that admit all students regardless of academic ability — to an academies model that prepares students for real-world career pathways ranging from health care and engineering to business, public service, digital media, and the arts.
“These aren’t just new programs,” said Durán Blakey, “They represent a new way of thinking about the high school experience. We want our students to be able to answer a fundamental question: ‘Why am I learning this and where can this take me?’”
However, as APS works to prepare graduates for “what comes next,” Durán Blakey said that in the era of artificial intelligence, the nature of work is “changing at a pace that none of us can really predict.”
For that reason, Durán Blakey said that APS is redesigning the student experience at every level — including early childhood — so that APS graduates are “the kinds of people that our world needs: people who can think critically; people who can solve problems; people who can collaborate; people who can adapt; and people who have the perseverance and the self-confidence to keep learning when the answer isn’t so obvious.”
APS serves approximately 65,000 students and employs about 6,000 teachers. An additional 5,000 employees work in supporting and administrative roles, making APS one of New Mexico’s largest employers. This year’s budget, $2.35 billion, represents an increase of 4% over last year. The biggest portion of APS’s budget is for compensation and employee benefits, and that rose by 6% whereas the number of full-time employees fell by 2%.
APS did not immediately respond to KUNM’s interview request regarding the district’s budget.
