News from the Superintendent: January 5, 2009

January 4, 2009

Dear APS Community Member,

Happy New Year and welcome back! I trust you had a restful break and are ready to get started with the new semester. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we can also look back on and be proud of so far.

Though bringing student achievement up to the level we would like will take time, there are signs that we are heading in the right direction. We have expanded partnerships with UNM and CNM for dual enrollment and professional training, and with Intel and Sandia National Labs to create a science-based magnet curriculum to Del Norte High School. We are working on joining forces with downtown businesses including law firms, banks and government departments to create a civics-law magnet school. A pilot project to bring the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) college prep program is in the works.

We have set eight goals toward better education, which you’ve heard me talk about before, and gathered a tremendous amount of enthusiastic feedback from the public through more than 20 community meetings held during the fall. The first key step was setting specific improvement goals for each of the district’s 136 schools. Each school has a target to shoot for, tailored to its unique student body and past results. Faculty and administrators are excited about this and working hard toward preparing students to meet those goals.

The 2009 legislative session also looms closer, now just two weeks away. We have all been bracing for whatever may come during this time of difficult decisions, and working with lawmakers to show them the impact their decisions have on New Mexico’s educational system. All of us at APS need to continue to re-examine our budgets. Most of the APS budget is tied to schools, but we will continue to look at ways to keep any cuts way from schools.

I believe we are in as good a financial shape as we can be, given the state of the economy. We have already implemented a hiring freeze for non-school positions, which is still in effect, in order to save money. My impression is that we will be “held harmless” by the legislature, which means funding from the state should hold steady from last year. That may be the best we can hope for right now. The downside, of course, is that expenses for energy and supplies continue to rise. However, we have a conservative financial staff that is examining all the possibilities and planning ahead for whatever might happen.

The Communications Office will be distributing a publication on the district’s legislative agenda later this month to help keep you informed of our work with legislators. It will also be available on the APS website. We will continue to keep you informed as the session draws nearer.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Winston Brooks, Superintendent
Albuquerque Public Schools