Albuquerque Public Schools
Activities Give Kids a Chance to Shine - and Schools to Rise
In her weekly message, Superintendent Blakey discusses the impact that co-curricular activities have on students.
Happy Friday!
Every once in a while I’ll be representing APS at an event and being there will spark a trip down memory lane. I had that magical experience last week as I was addressing more than 2,000 middle and high school students who were at Cibola High School for the New Mexico Association of Student Councils’ annual conference.
Being around all of those student leaders took me back to my days of serving on Highland High School’s student council and attending state student council conferences. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those experiences as a student leader set me up for success in my professional life.
Many people think of activities like student council, band, athletics and mock trials as extras, but they provide students with formative experiences that shape who they become. I can say unequivocally that being a student leader truly made a difference in my life.
The leadership skills I learned in student council, both in planning events and working with my peers, laid the foundation for my career and my life and helped me become the head of one of the largest school districts in the country. These experiences helped me grow and have been pivotal in my journey.
As educators, we recognize that learning isn’t just about reading, math, social studies and science. It’s also about helping students develop the skills and attitudes that will help them succeed in the future. We want our students to learn when to step up, when to listen, and how to lead with integrity. We want them to understand how their actions affect others. We want them to believe in themselves and their ability to learn and grow. And we want them to keep going even when things are tough.
Student council teaches them this, as do athletics, band, mock trials and a host of other activities.
Of course, these co-curricular activities don’t just happen. At APS, we have a small army of staff who serve as activities directors, coaches, club advisors and band and choir directors. They are people like Jeanine Chavez, the activities director at Cibola, who was recognized as advisor of the year during the state student council conference.
Jeanine has been Cibola’s activities director for 10 years. She’s actually worked at the school since 2002, teaching physics and chemistry and serving as dean of students before becoming activities director. She took the activities job because it afforded her the opportunity to engage with groups of kids doing positive work. She loves working with Cibola’s student senate.
Her dedication was on full display during last week’s state conference. She and the Cibola Student Senate did a spectacular job hosting the boisterous event. The energy there was incredible. There’s no doubt in my mind that everyone who attended the Star Wars-themed conference will remember it for years to come.
Congratulations to Jeanine on this well-deserved award. She and her fellow activities directors, advisors and others dedicate themselves every day to helping our kids develop these important skills, and I’m grateful to each and every one of them for all they do for our students.
I know firsthand how hard they work because I was an activities director at Highland High before I became a principal and a superintendent. I spent a lot of time working with student leaders to plan assemblies, spirit weeks, homecoming, prom and graduation. It was an amazing and rewarding job that I loved.
Again, thank you to all of you who devote your time and hard work to providing these rewarding experiences for our students. I also want to congratulate the many APS student councils that were honored at last week’s state conference for the amazing job they’re doing.
Have a great weekend!