Albuquerque Public Schools
The Legacy of Service: What Presidents Day Teaches Us
In her weekly message, Superintendent Blakey reflects on leadership and thanks APS employees for the impact they’re having on students.
When I think of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, I don’t think of the powerful titles they held but rather the amazing, battle-tested leaders they became and the incredible foundation they laid for the democracy we live in today.
With Presidents Day approaching, I’ve been thinking about their complicated legacies, which remain relevant 227 and 161 years after their respective deaths.
Yes, Washington was our nation’s first president. But more importantly, he was the person who set the stage for presidential term limits and the peaceful transfer of power. He knew that success or failure of the young country he helped form rested on his shoulders, so he chose to act selflessly and to put the good of the country first, embracing principled leadership and integrity.
Sixty-four years later, Abraham Lincoln took the helm of our fragile nation and led it through the Civil War, one of the most devastating periods in our nation’s history. He held our country together and abolished slavery. Lincoln also delivered the 272-word Gettysburg Address, casting the Civil War as a battle for liberty and equality, which is still considered one of the most important speeches in U.S. history.
Washington and Lincoln weren’t perfect. They were flawed human beings who had moral lapses and made mistakes, but they were nevertheless incredible leaders, and we are better off because of them.
Their legacy is a reminder that leadership is not about titles, but about service, responsibility and stewardship during complex times. Presidents are remembered less for their position and more for how they led through uncertainty, made hard decisions and stayed focused on the greater good.
Here’s the amazing thing. You don’t have to be a president, or a governor or even a superintendent to be a great leader. At Albuquerque Public Schools, leadership lives everywhere: classrooms, buses, cafeterias, front offices, custodial teams, schools and central office.
People like Kenneth Salazar, our Associate Superintendent of School Climate and Supports, who has done a tremendous job helping to focus our district on student social emotional learning. Or Miskee Blatner, a teacher at the Career Enrichment Center who helps students explore the teaching profession through Educators Rising. Or Eder Ortiz, the principal at East San Jose Elementary School who insists that his staff get to know and connect with every student.
Choosing to work in public education is choosing public service, and that work has a direct, lasting impact on students, families and our community.
Our collective legacy will not be defined by programs or policies alone, but by how students felt supported, challenged and believed in because of the adults who showed up for them every day.
Thank you for leading from where you are and enjoy the long weekend.