APS

Albuquerque Public Schools is seeking the public’s input on the search for its next superintendent. It’s hosting in-person “community conversations” this week and has also posted a survey online. APS is asking community members about the qualities they want to see in the district’s next leader.

Albuquerque residents have several bonds on their ballots this election related to education. Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque Public Schools, and city libraries and museums all stand to receive millions in public funding for capital projects. The largest of the three, which will appear on Bernalillo and Sandoval County ballots, is for CNM, which stands to receive $80 million for campus improvements.

Albuquerque Public Schools officially introduced its 5-year strategic plan at a summit Wednesday. Around 200 community members attended the event to hear about the goals and strategies that came out of a year-long process, during which a panel of students shared their thoughts on the plan and other ways APS could improve.

APS has set out four goals in its new strategic plan, Emerging Stronger. The district says it will track its progress toward achieving them over the next five years. But one may be more difficult to measure than the others.

Albuquerque Public Schools has released a 5-year strategic plan for improving student outcomes. The district says over 2,000 students, staff and community members weighed in on the document and it’s the first time its administration and school board have collaborated in this way. Several of the goals focus in on the state’s most underserved students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez ruling.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order in May creating a new Office of Special Education after a bill stalled during the legislative session. Advocates applauded the move, but the state’s largest school district recently announced it’s cutting certain special education classes.

As students and educators continue to grapple with the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s largest school system is seeking public input on its next five-year plan. KUNM’s Taylor Velazquez spoke with the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education president about why this process is different this time around and what issues most concern parents.

Across the state our school semester now is in full swing. However, the school shooting in Uvalde has left lingering anxieties when it comes to systematic training failures. And so far in 2022, the U.S. has seen more than 300 mass shootings that extend outside of school like at supermarkets and parades. Albuquerque Public Schools has a new safety training for students to help prepare them for mass shootings.

Students returned to classes at Albuquerque Public Schools yesterday after a ransomware attack prompted officials to shut down for two days last week.

Albuquerque Public Schools announced Tuesday that it will begin rolling out stronger COVID-safe practices district-wide in response to an uptick in cases. This comes as Santa Fe Public Schools begins a week of remote learning in response to its COVID positivity rate.