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School Board Adopts Fourth Goal for District

Posted January 31, 2023, 2:25 PM. Updated August 23, 2023, 2:43 PM.

Measure aimed at fostering soft skills that will help students be successful

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board approved a fourth and final five-year goal for the district and it ironed out some of the safeguards it plans to implement, effectively things it doesn’t want APS to do in its quest to achieve the four goals.

The goal adopted last week is aimed at making sure APS is helping students develop soft skills that will benefit them in life. In the end, the board settled on, “Increase the percentage of students who demonstrate the skills, mindsets and habits most aligned to life’s success: perseverance, self-regulation, self-efficacy and social awareness from X in 2023 to Y in 2029 as measured by an evidence based and aligned tool.”

The board earlier this month adopted three other goals targeting early literacy proficiency, middle school math proficiency and post-secondary readiness.

Board members created the goals based on input received during community conversations held in November and December. That same feedback is being used as the board hammers out so-called guardrails – the lines the board doesn’t want APS to cross as it works to meet the ambitious goals.

Board members reached consensus on three of those guardrails at Wednesday night’s board meeting. They are:

  • The superintendent will not allow the district to operate with inequitable distribution of school and/or community based wraparound support systems.
  • The superintendent will not allow resources to be allocated inequitably.
  • The superintendent will not allow curriculum and instruction that is not district and standards aligned, challenging, culturally and linguistically responsive and differentiated to meet the academic needs of all students.

Board members also discussed instituting a fourth one on engagement, input and transparency and a fifth one related to making sure that teachers and staff have the resources they need to do what is being asked of them.

The board could finalize the guardrails at its Feb. 1 meeting, which will be held at 5 p.m. in the John Milne Community Board Room at the Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex.

FIVE YEAR GOALS

Goal 1: Early Literacy Proficiency
The percentage of third-grade students from student groups named in the Yazzie-Martinez joint settlement plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above on the state English Language Arts (ELA) summative assessment will increase from X in May 2023 through X in May 2028. (Metric to be determined upon receipt of 2023 results from the state assessment but shall not be less than a 10-point increase over 5 years.)
 
Goal 2: Mathematics Proficiency
The percentage of eighth-grade students from groups named in the Yazzie-Martinez joint settlement plus African American students who demonstrate grade level proficiency or above on the state mathematics summative assessment will increase from X in May 2023 to Y in May 2028. (Metric to be determined upon receipt of 2023 results from the state assessment but shall not be less than a 10-point increase over 5 years.)

Goal 3: Post-Secondary Readiness
The percentage of high school graduates who earn credit in two or more Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Dual Credit courses, or earn an industry certification or Bilingual Seal, will increase from X in September 2023 to Y in September 2028. 

Goal 4: Soft Skills
Increase the percentage of students who demonstrate the skills, mindsets and habits most aligned to life’s success: perseverance, self-regulation, self-efficacy and social awareness from X in 2023 to Y in 2029 as measured by an evidence based and aligned tool.”