APS Welcomes Students Back

Superintendent Blakey, leadership team fan out across city to greet students, staff.

Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Gabriella Blakey kicked off the new school year by welcoming students, families, and staff at Jefferson Middle School, Albuquerque High, and Monte Vista Elementary.

Dr. Blakey, who took over as superintendent on July 1, greeted parents as they were dropping their kids off, chatted with students and teachers in hallways, and popped into classrooms to say hi.

“I just want to wish everybody a great school year, encourage everyone to reach out if there are any bumps along the way, and work together in how we raise up our children,” she said during her visit to Jefferson Middle School. 

As Dr. Blakey was making the rounds at her three schools, the APS leadership team fanned out across the city, checking in on schools throughout the district. 

“At APS, we’re a family and we’re a team. Nobody’s in this work alone,” she said. “We have responsibility for 70,000 students, and we need to do this work together.” 

Dr. Blakey said that’s why she asked members of her leadership team to visit every school in the district in the first two days.

“We’re welcoming families, welcoming students, and seeing if the principals or the teachers need any assistance in anything that’s not working for them to have a smooth start to the school year,” she said. “So, with confidence, we can say that the leadership team in Albuquerque Public Schools will visit every school in the city, and every student will have a leadership team member at that school to address any issues. We have a team of people there that are lifting up our students and staff, and so that’s the work that they’ll be doing these next two days.”

Dr. Blakey said she’s excited about the new school year, noting that teachers have been working hard throughout the summer to prepare for it.

She also pointed out that APS has a new tool called Let’s Talk that makes it easier for students, families, staff, and members of the community to reach out with questions or concerns. The Let’s Talk tool is available at APS.edu.

“We really want parents to know that we’re in this together with them, and, as they find issues along the way, that they can bring them to us,” Dr. Blakey added. “We feel like we can work on those together.”

She stressed the importance of attendance, explaining that students who miss school often fall behind and miss out on foundational concepts.

“We have to make sure that students get to school on time every day,” she said.