Skip to main content

Personal tools

Translate

Note: This news item is more than a year old. Browse for more current news.

APS District News

APS Principal Roster is Set

Posted August 1, 2025, 10:00 AM. Updated August 1, 2025, 10:00 AM.

Eight new leaders named over the summer eager to begin the school year.

Albuquerque Public Schools leadership changes are now complete for the 2025-26 school year, with eight schools naming principals over the summer.

The new principals are:

  • Brian Ver Ploegh, who will head Longfellow Elementary School following a successful stint as an assistant principal at Chaparral Elementary.
  • Ashley Nkebengeshe, who will take the reins at Mary Ann Binford Elementary School on the city’s southwest side. Her previous post was at Rudolfo Anaya Elementary, where she was an assistant principal.
  • Jess Wiltamuth, the new leader at the Highland Autism Center. He had served as an assistant principal at the Stephen Moody Special Education Complex.
  • Kimberly Crabtree, who has been promoted to lead Jackson Middle School on an interim basis after serving as an assistant principal there.
  • Matt Kraus, the former assistant principal at College and Career High School, will take over at Madison Middle School.
  • Andrea Tarr, formerly the assistant principal at Grant Middle School, is succeeding Kelly Boersma at the school after Boersma was named an assistant superintendent over the summer.
  • Monica Gonzales, formerly an assistant principal at Taft Middle School, has been tapped to lead Bel-Air Elementary School.
  • Pam Ostler, who had served as an assistant principal at Dennis Chavez Elementary, is now the principal at Chelwood.

The new principals join a list of more than a dozen previously announced leadership changes in the district following the completion of the previous school year. APS has more than 140 schools throughout the city and Bernalillo County.

“We’re excited for our new principals to begin their journeys at their schools,” said APS Deputy Superintendent Antonio Gonzales. “We understand the critical roles they serve in a school community, because a good principal is a key component to having a good school. We’re confident our new leaders will provide a steady hand and a spark in their new assignments.”