sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The state of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools is 鈥渟trong,鈥� according to Superintendent Gabriella Blakey.

Delivering her second annual address Tuesday morning 鈥� just weeks after the start of the school year 鈥� the district鈥檚 chief executive touted milestones in student achievement, noting that students are meeting interim the school board established in 2023 to improve students鈥� academic performance.

The event took place at the district鈥檚 Berna Facio Professional Development Center as the band from Eldorado High School played and over 200 guests trickled in. The event was emceed by a student from Del Norte High School and another from Valley High School.

鈥淲e have a lot of work to do ahead of us, but I am certain that we have taken the steps forward to plan a new path,鈥� Blakey said. 鈥淲hat is the state of the district? sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools is strong, and we are building on the momentum that we have created.鈥�

She discussed the district鈥檚 collaborations, including one with to develop a new model to 鈥渞ethink the middle school experience鈥� and career-focused academies at three district high schools, which began this school year in conjunction with the local chapter of United Way.

鈥淎 few years ago, when the state was pressuring us to close struggling schools, we took a different approach,鈥� Blakey said. 鈥淲e redesigned them, working hand in hand with the community and teachers.鈥� She added that the district was no longer taking a 鈥渙ne-size-fits-all鈥� approach.

However, APS, the largest district in a state ranked 50th in the country by for pre-K and K-12 education again this year, is still struggling on some fronts.

Blakey told the Journal that was APS鈥� most pressing issue before the start of the school year. Two weeks into the school year, campus officers recovered five guns in one day, and enrollment declined for the fifth year in a row, falling below 65,000 students 鈥� from during the 2019-20 school year.

During her speech, the superintendent acknowledged the district鈥檚 attendance woes.

鈥淲hile the rate of chronic absenteeism is slowly improving, still, about a third of our students are missing too many days,鈥� Blakey said. 鈥淲ith each absence, we lose the chance to reach our students who need us the most.鈥�

In an interview with the Journal following her speech, Blakey said she believes the most significant challenge she鈥檚 facing in her second school year at the helm will be building on the momentum and progress of last year.

鈥淚 think, in the past, we鈥檝e been a little wary of celebrating schools 鈥� that are doing really well,鈥� Blakey said. 鈥淟ike any change movement, you have to really see that second year of really having to push on the momentum behind it.鈥�

Before the superintendent spoke, APS Board President Danielle Gonzales said the district was 鈥渓eading the state with our approach, our focus on goals鈥� and added that Blakey and her staff鈥檚 reports on academic success were measurable, achievable and relevant.

鈥淲e鈥檙e at the halfway point of this work, and I can unequivocally say that student outcomes focus has fundamentally changed the way we鈥檙e operating as a district,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淭hese reports are keeping us, the board, the district and the community, laser focused on what matters most: our students.鈥�

While the superintendent claims the state of the largest school district in New Mexico is strong, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein said it depends on how you look at it.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 strong in terms of there鈥檚 a lot of really good stuff happening programmatically in APS; we鈥檙e breaking away from the one size fits all,鈥� Bernstein said in an interview following the address. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see us break away more from the over-testing of students.鈥�

Bernstein commended Blakey for thanking and acknowledging educators during her speech and said she appreciated her 鈥渓aying out a vision鈥� for the district. However, she did take issue with the emphasis on the board鈥檚 established goals and guardrails as indicators of success.

鈥淣ot everything that鈥檚 important is measurable. In fact, an awful lot is not,鈥� Bernstein said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to talk to the people in the classrooms to get a real measure of how our schools function.鈥�