Board Meeting Dates

Additional Details

District and Community Relations Committee Meeting

AGENDA

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

5:00 PM

DeLayo-Martin Community Room, Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, 6400 Uptown NE

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Minutes of the District and Community Relations Committee Meeting

Board of Education

Albuquerque Public Schools

A District and Community Relations Committee meeting of the Board of Education of Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) was held Tuesday, November 27, 2012, beginning at 5:00 p.m., in the DeLayo Martin Community Room, Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE.

I.          Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 5:02 p.m.

1. A. Roll Call

Present:  Paula Maes, Analee Maestas, Lorenzo Garcia, David Peercy and David Robbins; by phone were Martin Esquivel and Kathy Korte

Absent:  There were no members absent.

1. B. Adoption of the November 27, 2012, District and Community Relations Agenda and the Approval of the October 23, 2012, District and Community Relations Minutes (Discussion/Action)

Chairman Lorenzo Garcia asked for a motion to adopt the agenda and approve the minutes.  Dr. Peercy made the motion; Mr. Esquivel seconded the motion.  Board members unanimously adopted the November 27, 2012, District and Community Relations agenda and approved the October 23, 2012, District and Community Relations minutes.

II.         Public Forum

Participants for public forum were Mr. Robert Heckman and Ms. Candelaria Patterson of Families United for Public Education.  They expressed a desire to defer comment concerning Item V until after committee discussion.  The District and Community Relations Committee agreed to their request.

III.        Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council (SuperSAC) Report

Joseph Escobedo introduced SuperSAC students Parker Moses from Volcano Vista High School and Corinne Foskey from Del Norte High School.  Mr. Moses and Miss Foskey shared that the discussion topics for the latest SuperSAC meeting included 1) serving on the APS Education Foundation board; 2) the two proposed schedule changes for the 2013-14 calendar; and 3) future career development classes.

One of the proposed changes is to move spring break to April; the students felt this would cause issues with high school proms.  SuperSAC students recommended offering more elective classes at the high school level (specifically art, performing arts, business education, pre-med, pre-law, foreign affairs, religious leader, green environments, SAT and ACT prep classes, and more hands-on), more support for students that need it, and lowering the teacher-to-pupil ratio.

Committee members were appreciative of the students’ willingness to delay spring break until after testing, and will take prom into consideration.  Committee members are in favor of improving career programs already in effect and incorporating some of the other suggested classes.

IV. Male Enrollment at New Futures/Co-Parenting

Monica Armenta, executive director, Communications, and Jinx Baskerville, principal, New Futures High School, showed a video and shared that the school has seen a rise in male enrollment that may have to do with a desire for these young men to be more involved in co-parenting.  There are currently five male students and the interest is rising.

Albuquerque Public Schools may want to consider offering a specialized training program at New Futures that would help prepare the young men for the challenges of co-parenting.

New Futures, founded in 1970, provides support services to help students balance parenting and school, and cannot be matched by any other school in the state.  Services include core curriculum and advanced placement classes, distance learning, full-time day care, health and nutrition, an on-site nurse and clinic (operated by UNM and funded by the Department of Health), and child development classes at no cost.  Equally important is the school’s absence policy that allows flexibility for students’ special needs in 9‑week terms.

Ms. Baskerville reiterated the importance of supporting maternity leave and having enough absences for new parents to care for and bond with their child; this in turn helps to lower drop-out and poverty rates.  Contributing factors for drop out include the frustration of being a new parent, tiredness, babies being sent home and the student isn’t, bad economy, homelessness, living with relatives, and work.  Flexibility is necessary so students don’t fall through the cracks.  Ms. Baskerville has also requested that New Futures be a summer school site this year.

In preparation for post-secondary education, Ms. Baskerville works with juniors and seniors to help bridge them; this includes field trips to see the campuses.

Discussion clarified that the graduation rate is at 61 percent and that most graduates attend CNM or UNM.  There were 58 graduates last year and 68 this year.  Many students can graduate within four years, but five are necessary for those that are two to three years behind.  The program is very meaningful to students; many former students offer their support to current students.

Committee members agreed it is good to support young fathers who want to be a good role model for their children.

V. Update/Progress Report on Bullying and K01 Forums

Dr. Kristine Meurer, executive director, Student Family and Community Supports, Brooke Tafoya, bullying/violence prevention coordinator, and Bernadette Cordoba Martinez, instructional manager for Family and Community Engagement, presented the results from the Bullying Prevention and the K01 Policy Forums.  The September 18 and September 20 community forums addressed two critical issues:  1) Bullying Prevention, and 2) Family and Community Engagement - K01 Policy Procedural Directive.

The forum for bullying prevention included suggestions for bullying intervention approaches and programs, as well as family and community member support.  Forum participants noted the following school actions as supportive:  principals calling parents immediately after an incident occurred; principals and teachers taking a student “under their wing;” and school personnel responding consistently.  The participants also mentioned actions to address conflict:  implement mediation programs; learn how to respectfully disagree; and learn constructive conflict and confrontation methods.

The forum on recommendations for procedural directives for Board Policy K.01:  Family and Community Engagement addressed a safe and welcoming environment (specifically as regards bullying, approachable school personnel, approachable campuses, outreach, and other); expanding communications (specifically as regards home-school communication, and district; relationships and capacity (specifically as regards cultural proficiency); equitable and effective systems.  Special education services and community volunteers were also addressed.

Both forums were well attended and have helped to begin the process of streamlining programs already in place, developing new programs, and analyzing cost.  The information gathered, including that given prior to the forums, will be made available on the APS website.  The new policy will go into effect after the 2013 legislation.  The goal is to leverage resources into a single program that will address more issues at different grade levels.

Discussion addressed the importance of cultural proficiency and training for administrators and school staff, taking into consideration limitations and that teachers are already overwhelmed.  Programs should focus on building good character and respect, increasing the tools that teachers and administrators have to work with, and ensuring that victims are not treated the same as a perpetrator.  Emphasis needs to be on students to help through ambassador programs, student leadership, etc.  There are examples in the community of successful cultural proficiency programs that can be used as a springboard (Highlands University is one).  The committee emphasized focusing on just a couple of things and doing them really well—they would like to see two specific initiatives identified for the next meeting, detailing what are, how they relate, and how they may be implemented in terms of numbers.

Chairman Garcia invited Public Forum participants to speak.  Mr. Heckman suggested that training for teachers be incorporated into the training they receive up front and that cultural proficiency be imbedded into everything APS does.  He closed in saying their desire is to help teachers and administrators and that they are committed to this as a process.  Ms. Patterson provided a list of supporting agencies to Dr. Meurer.  Superintendent Brooks mentioned there is a program being considered that is successfully being used in a large urban school district.  The committee agreed to have discussions with UNM about including cultural proficiency at the education preparation level for teachers.

VI.       Next District and Community Relations Committee Meeting

Chairman Garcia announced that the next District and Community Relations Committee meeting would be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2012, at 5:00 p.m., at the Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex in the DeLayo Martin Community Room.

X.        Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at ­­­­­­­­6:04 p.m.