News from the Superintendent: August 25, 2008

August 24, 2008

Dear APS Community Member,

I would like to start off today by saying thank you to a member of the Board of Education who is stepping down. As you are probably aware, Gordon Rowe announced his resignation at last week’s meeting, effective in September. He had represented District 7 in the Far Northeast Heights since 2003. I only worked with Mr. Rowe a short time, but his deep commitment to Albuquerque Public Schools and his community was obvious to me immediately upon meeting him. Please join me in thanking him for his years of service to the board.

At Friday’s special board meeting, members put a plan in place to appoint a successor to Mr. Rowe, who will serve until the election on Feb. 3. There is an ad in today’s Albuquerque Journal soliciting applications for this interim position. A notice also has been placed on the APS website (www.aps.edu). If you know anyone who lives in District 7 who is interested in serving on the board, please encourage him or her to submit an online application.

As we continue toward meeting the goal of student achievement I talked about last week, we are working on building relationships with the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College on a comprehensive plan that covers education from kindergarten through four years of college. Some pieces are already in place, such as dual enrollment for students in high school who also take courses at CNM. However, we would like to take it a step further, where all three institutions—APS, CNM and UNM—look at what we can do to provide seamless transitions from one grade level to the next. This would carry students all the way through a college education. We believe the best educational opportunities can be provided by working together. Stay tuned for more information in the near future.

Building relationships like this outside APS makes a nice introduction for the second of the 8 Essential Goals Toward Better Education that I wanted to tell you about this week. I believe that the best way to change the perception and build the confidence of APS is to build relationships between the board, the superintendent, district staff and community stakeholders. That includes other educational institutions as well as students, parents, business, government, non-profits, the media, charter schools and the military.

Simply put, we are committed to working with our diverse stakeholders to create the best educational opportunities that meet the expectations of the whole community. A quality education is a universal need that these interests have in common. By reaching out to them and forging new partnerships, they will see how serious we are about showing a new—and more focused—APS.  

Albuquerque’s unique strength lies in its diversity. That’s what attracted me to this community, and that’s what should drive us toward making APS a key contributor to its future.

Have a great week and a safe Labor Day weekend.

Sincerely,

Winston Brooks, Superintendent
Albuquerque Public Schools