Albuquerque Public Schools
In her weekly message, Superintendent Gabriella Blakey celebrates a successful start to the new school year.
It’s been a great week at Albuquerque Public Schools as we welcomed students back and kicked off the 2024-2025 school year!
As all educators can attest, the beginning of a new school year is always a marathon.
I kicked off my week with a gathering of fine arts teachers and nurses from throughout the district on Monday morning, followed that up by welcoming sixth-graders at Eisenhower Middle School on Tuesday, and had the pleasure of visiting Jefferson Middle School, Albuquerque High, and Monte Vista Elementary on Wednesday–the first day of school for first-12th graders. I went to A. Montoya Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School on Thursday, and I’m capping off my week today with a visit to Sandia Base Elementary to celebrate the start of the new year for pre-K and kindergarten students.
We have more than 140 schools at APS, and I’m proud to say that every one of our schools received a visit from a member of my leadership team within the first two days of school.
Ever since I became a central office leader, I have made it a point to spend time in schools. It has given me important insight into what’s going well and what isn’t. More importantly, it has given me the opportunity to step in and help schools remove obstacles they were facing. Admittedly, some problems are harder to fix than others, but it’s a great feeling when you can intervene and make a difference at a school.
That’s why I asked my leadership team to spread out across the district.
I want our students, families, and school staff to know that my leadership team and I care about them and that we’re invested in their success. Everyone, from our Chief Financial Officer to our Human Resources Chief made the rounds at schools. I asked them to address any issue they encountered the way they would if it was their child’s school.
During those visits, we welcomed students and families and checked in with principals and teachers to see if they needed any assistance. At the end of each day, the leadership team met, shared concerns that were raised, and brought those issues to the attention of the appropriate departments.
We did encounter some challenges, and we’re addressing them.
Overall, we had much to celebrate, thanks in large part to the extensive preparation by APS employees this summer. Our schools were clean and in good shape, thanks to our custodians who worked hard over the last two months. Transportation went well. Kudos to our transportation department for accommodating the significant increase in special education routes. Many of our teachers spent the summer working with us on units of study to help align what’s being taught at each grade level throughout the district and when.
Wednesday was truly a great opening day. Teachers were really excited to be back, and they were greeting students by name. We had families taking pictures and helping to carry in school supplies. Teachers were teaching and students were learning on Day 1.
It was just a great feeling! I’m sincerely grateful to everyone who worked so hard to get everything ready for our students.