Albuquerque Public Schools
Looking Back at the Foundation We've Laid
In her weekly message, Superintendent Blakey reflects on her first five months leading APS.
We’re two weeks away from the start of Winter Break, a busy time of year for all of us as we wrap up the first semester and prepare for the upcoming holidays with family and friends.
My first semester as superintendent has been incredibly busy and I’m grateful to my Cabinet, the APS Leadership team, and each of you for the hard work all of you have put in. Over the last five months, we’ve worked collectively to lay the groundwork that will enable us to achieve our goals: improving reading and math proficiency rates, preparing our students for college or the career of their choice, and helping them develop the skills, habits and mindsets they need to succeed in the world.
Here are some of the things we tackled together.
Refining the strategic plan: The strategic plan is our roadmap for achieving our goals. When I took over as superintendent, it was already in place, but one of my top priorities was refining the plan to make it more actionable and to better align it with our goals.
Assessing district operations: When a new leader comes in, there’s often a temptation to keep doing things the way they’ve always been done to avoid ruffling feathers. That wasn’t an option for me. The Board of Education hired me to improve outcomes for our students, and in order to accomplish that, I knew I needed to disrupt the status quo. I brought in outside consultants to review and make recommendations on improving several departments, including special education, finance, federal and state programs, leadership development and performance management, Teaching and Learning and school scheduling. These consultants have provided us with valuable insights into what we could be doing better and where we’re already strong.
Improving how we serve students with disabilities: This is a big one. We know we need to do more to serve our special needs students. We began by revamping the department’s organizational structure. We’re also being more deliberate with IEPs, spelling out the support and resources students need. And our Special Education and Teaching and Learning Departments are working to better serve our gifted students and those with disabilities.
Establishing an Office of Federal and State Programs: One of my goals has been to break down silos and to use the resources we have in the most effective way possible to serve our students. We get significant funding from the federal and state governments, and we need to make sure we’re spending that money coherently to improve outcomes for our students. This new office will help us eliminate duplication of efforts. But, even more importantly, it will help us figure out if the way we’re spending this funding is making a difference for students. If it’s not, we will pivot to something that moves the needle on student outcomes.
Improving communications: One of the things I heard repeatedly is that APS needed to do a better job of communicating with families and the community. To accomplish this we have shifted the focus of our communications office and even renamed it the Communications and Engagement Office. The office is now spending less time on crisis communications and more time engaging with families and the community and highlighting the wonderful things our students and staff are doing. We’ve also launched Let’s Talk, a communications platform that is making us more responsive to our students, families, community and staff.
More Advisory Committees: When I became superintendent I began looking for ways to expand opportunities for members of our community to tell us what’s on their minds. We’re fortunate to have a Superintendent Student Advisory Council, made up of students from each APS high school, that we meet with monthly. To build on the success of that program I am establishing advisory boards for families, businesses, teachers and principals.
School Schedules: We want our students to have access to enriching opportunities so we’re evaluating the electives, internships, mentorships and initiatives like Genius Hour that we offer. Our goal is to provide experiences that allow our students to explore their interests and develop the skills they will need to thrive.
I know it’s been a lot of work, but I promise you the investment is paying off. I’m already starting to feel the momentum!
Again, thank you for all of your hard work and for partnering with me on this journey.