A Quick Q and A on the Academies of Albuquerque Concept

The academies model is a vision for transforming high school education – and the high school experience – in Albuquerque Public Schools.

Q: In a nutshell, what are the Academies of Albuquerque?

A: The academies model is a vision for transforming high school education – and the high school experience – in Albuquerque Public Schools. Our plan is to make certain APS students graduate with a plan and experience in a career or college pathway that will equip them with the skills, credentials and confidence to thrive the Monday after their graduation. 

Q: I know Highland and Manzano will debut this concept. What about APS’ other comprehensive high schools?

A: All of our comprehensive high schools in APS currently offer a variety of classes and pathways that we can build on. Highland and Manzano will implement the Freshman Academy and train staff in the “through the lens” model at the same time. Cibola also will build on its existing Freshman Academy model. We are looking to these schools to help us learn the best practices of building our model so we can support the academies structure across the district. Our goal is to have academies stood up in all comprehensive high schools by the 2027-28 school year. From there, we will continue to refine and build according to the voice of our students and community. 

Q: Sounds great. But how will it work?

A: We will build on the great programming we already have in several of our high schools. For example, Valley and Rio Grande high schools are magnet schools that offer specialized electives – Valley in engineering and Rio Grande in environmental science, especially related to agriculture. These schools have built programming through the APS Office of Innovation – the place where we “incubate” ideas for replication and scale. 

At the same time, we are supporting our pioneer high schools in creating Freshman Academies that will launch in the 2025-26 school year. All 9th grade students would participate in a freshman academy focused on exploration, academic readiness and relationship-building. The academy would rely on an interdisciplinary team of teachers that know and support freshmen throughout that year. 

During this Freshman Academy rollout year, schools will work with their communities and business and industry partners to determine which career academies they will offer. This decision will be a collaborative effort with student voice at the heart and with a guarantee to focus on high-demand, high wage industries that support Albuquerque and New Mexico. Students will enter the career academy of their choice in the 2026-27 school year. 

Q: OK, but would they learn core subjects?

A: Of course! Students learn their core subjects – for example, language arts, science, math – “through the lens” of the career academy lens. For example, in 9th grade language arts, students focus on the theme of resilience in the face of illness, studying novels such as “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green – a novel that features a teenage character with a terminal disease – and patient narratives that are available in medical collections. This focus helps students explore how individuals cope with chronic or terminal illness by analyzing characters’ internal and external conflicts. They then read first-person patient narratives and write an informational text comparing fictional and real-world accounts, focusing on tone, audience, and emotional impact — skills essential in bedside manner and patient communication. This kind of background would be of great relevance and importance for students in a medical pathway.

We believe the initial Academy experience will give students even more reasons to become engaged and stay in school. Frankly, one of our key issues in public education is attendance, and this model has worked well in other communities. Why? Because students are interested in school on a variety of levels, and often bond to one another and their teachers through engaging topics and activities. 

Q: What happens after freshman year? 

A: Beginning in the 10th grade, students choose a career-themed academy aligned to a pathway of interest. They will integrate academic content with hands-on, real-world learning. Core content teachers present their required curriculum and standards through the lens of a career pathway. 

Q: What kind of career pathways are we talking about?

A: It’s important to note that we are working with business and industry in Albuquerque to determine career pathways. As this is our launch year, there will be much more to come on that front. Two of our pioneer schools, Highland and Manzano, are offering pathways that include culinary arts, teacher education, and theater production. 

Q: What happens if a student decides a career pathway isn’t for him or her? Are they locked in after their sophomore years?

A: Students can change their pathway once if they aren’t loving their choice. However, it’s important that students have the opportunity to finish at least a three-course sequence in their pathway as this is a graduation requirement. 

It’s important to note that students are not choosing what they will be “when they grow up.” Rather, this is an opportunity to help students learn the traditional content of high school through the lens of a high interest field and gain valuable skills that will translate into college and career success, whatever the student’s post-secondary experience looks like. 

Q: Do you have partners in this effort? Or is this all on APS?

A: Partnerships are critical – literally the “secret sauce” to our success. It’s one reason we’re so glad we’ve had the United Way of North Central New Mexico to stand as our anchor partner. United Way will help us make critical connections with business and industry in our community to build the network of partners that will ultimately sustain the Academies of Albuquerque and keep the work relevant. 

Q: APS’ graduation rates significantly improved in 2024. Will this help as well?

A: We believe it will. But graduation is only part of the rationale here. Surveys of our high school students indicate that they – and their families – want rigorous instruction that leads them on a path beyond high school, to career opportunity and/or college, not merely to Graduation Day. The academies model offers that potential.

Q: Where did this idea come from?

A: Initially, it debuted in Nashville, Tenn. It’s very popular there and is being adopted in districts as diverse as Hampton, Va., Anchorage, Alaska and Louisville, Ky., to name a few. 

Q: I understand one of the partners is Ford Next Generation Learning. What is this group’s role?

A: Ford NGL is a nonprofit dedicated to improving education in the U.S. Ford NGL is providing coaches, expertise and a trove of background that helps us inform decisions we make for Albuquerque students and our community. Nashville’s model is terrific, but when it’s complete, Academies of Albuquerque will be uniquely ours and a reflection of our city’s values and opportunities. By empowering our youth early, helping them build their skills and networks, and elevating their value in our community, we will set Albuquerque up for lasting economic and social success.