Albuquerque Public Schools
Two Eldorado Students Take National Stage
Senior, sophomore among panelists at town hall in Dallas exploring issues important to young people ahead of the presidential election.
Two Eldorado High School students weighed in on gun violence, chronic absenteeism, and the need to create more opportunities for Indigenous students as part of a national town hall in Dallas moderated by NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd.
Kaylee Bahe, a senior, and Charlie Wills, a sophomore, were among seven students discussing their concerns ahead of the presidential election. The town hall was part of the Council of the Great City Schools Fall Conference.
Following the town hall, Bahe and Wills expressed their gratitude for being selected as panelists and for the opportunity to address issues important to students.
“It went really well,” Wills said. “It was a lot easier to speak in front of the crowd once you get going because they’re topics that I really feel passionate about.”
He said he’s particularly concerned about chronic absenteeism, calling it a serious problem at his school. He said it affects students he never dreamed would be grappling with the issue.
He suspects part of the problem is the lack of mental health resources.
“We have probably like 1,200 students at Eldorado and we have like six counselors,” he said. “It’s not the counselors’ fault. They can’t keep up with all these kids missing class and getting one-on-ones with them. It’s just not enough resources for a lot of students.”
Wills also touched on the growing trend of prohibiting the use of phones during class time. He argued that schools should embrace technology.
“We have to start coming at it with more of an optimistic mindset and an open mindset rather than pushing it down and making students feel bad for going on their phone when there’s probably more information on their phone than on any textbook,” Wills said.
Bahe – who is Navajo and plans to become an attorney focusing on federal Indian law and international Indigenous peoples' law – advocated for building up Indigenous students’ resiliency and strengthening their education.
“I was able to provide some insights on my experience as a student in Albuquerque as well as my concerns for Indigenous students,” she said. It’s vital that schools build future generations of leaders for tribal nations, Bahe added.
In addition to gun violence, student panelists also tackled such topics as school resource officers and whether over-policing is happening at schools, reproductive rights, and why so many young people aren’t voting.
Bahe said it felt great to be included in the panel, which also included students from Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Atlanta.
“I’m really happy and grateful that the superintendent was able to recognize my past contributions as a student representative for Indian education,” she said.
Wills said he’s glad Albuquerque is finally being represented at events like the Friday town hall.
“There had never been a student representative (from Albuquerque) at one of these conferences before this year, and this year there were two of us, which I think is really amazing,” he added.