News from the Superintendent: May 4, 2009

May 3, 2009

Dear APS Community Member,

By now, you’ve heard that schools are closed in four districts in New Mexico this week. They are all in the southern and central parts of the state—Carlsbad, Deming, Lordsburg and Socorro. Please do not translate this to mean that Albuquerque Public Schools is next. The opposite is true; the Department of Health and the Public Education Department are taking this step based on probable—not confirmed—cases of the H1N1 influenza in those areas in the hopes of keeping them from spreading further.

In the interest of fairness, the New Mexico Activities Association, which governs school-sanctioned extra-curricular activities, has suspended all activities immediately for the entire state. While it may seem unfair to districts like APS that are not closed, it wouldn’t be right for sports teams here to have practices heading into state playoffs while other teams are being kept apart. It is possible these events can be made up later. Plans will be announced when flu circumstances change.

The suspension of extra-curricular activities does not include co-curricular activities. If your school has banquets, a field trip, an after-school tutoring program or a band concert, those activities can go on as scheduled.

Caution continues to be the watchword. Proper hygiene, including regular hand washing, is still the best prevention tool available. Please instruct younger children about hand washing and safe use of hand sanitizer.

Questions have come up about attendance policy. It will always be better to be safe than sorry. If you are sick, stay home. If your child is sick, keep him or her at home. I’m asking teachers to continue to offer make-up work to students, even if they have more than 10 absences. Those who are ill are asked to stay at home for at least seven days. For APS employees, you will still need to bring back a doctor’s note for absences of five days or longer. Anyone suffering flu-like symptoms should see a doctor.

For now, business will continue in APS as usual. There will be another Celebrate the 8! public meeting to discuss progress on academic goals at 6 p.m. tonight at Garfield Middle School.

On a happier note, I would like to congratulate the 135 fifth-graders and their teachers who participated in the district’s first Elementary Honor Choir at Cibola High School on Saturday. It was a special evening for these students and an exciting new event added to the calendar. This will be something we can look forward to every year from now on.

Congratulations, also, to the 100 high school students whose work is on display at the Albuquerque Museum. The “Focus on Youth” exhibit opened yesterday and will be on display until June 28. Be sure to check it out.

The situation with the flu is changing frequently every day as new information becomes available. We will continue to take our cues from the state Department of Health and PED. All we can do is sit tight until this virus runs its course. Thank you for your cooperation and flexibility as the situation changes. We will keep you updated through the week.

Have a great week.

Sincerely,

Winston Brooks, Superintendent
Albuquerque Public Schools