APS Awarded $50,000 Moonshot Grant to Enhance Community School Impact

National grant fuels innovation in eight APS middle schools to better integrate community assets into the classroom.

Albuquerque Public Schools has been awarded a $50,000 National Moonshot Grant for an innovative project titled, "Extending the Educator Team: Embedding Community in the Future of Learning." 

The grant was awarded by Remake Learning, a Pennsylvania-based network that works to bring together a diverse network of stakeholders to imagine a more engaging, relevant and equitable future for learning.

The funded APS initiative, set to run from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, represents a collaborative effort between APS, Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce (NEW), and the ABC Community School Partnership of Bernalillo County.

The core objective of the project is to support the ongoing evolution of the Community School Strategy and the role of Community School Impact Coordinators. Positioning coordinators directly on instructional teams signals a shift from a primary focus of providing wrap-around support to directly impacting rigorous, community-connected classroom instruction. This resource will enhance a shift already underway that ensures that community assets and cultural knowledge are woven into the very fabric of classroom teaching and student learning.

Implementation will center on eight community middle schools participating in the APS Middle School Redesign initiative. Throughout the year, partners will engage in three to four design sprints to refine the Community School Impact Coordinator’s involvement and prototype AI-enabled tools designed to supplement asset mapping and community expertise coordination.

The project is expected to have a significant reach, directly impacting eight Community School Impact Coordinators, 32 classroom teachers, and 656 middle school students. It will also engage about 10 parents and caregivers alongside 16 community partners, creating a more holistic and supported educational environment for Albuquerque's youth.

"Moonshot Grants create space for bold experiments that push beyond today’s assumptions and explore what learning could become,” said Tyler Samstag, Executive Director of Remake Learning. “This year’s projects stood out by embracing curiosity, collaboration, and the courage to test ideas that could help shape the future of learning. We’re excited to learn alongside these grantees and share what emerges with communities across the country."