Latest news with #GabriellaBlakey
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
APS to roll out new career-readiness initiative at these three high schools
May 15—Beginning next school year, all freshmen at three Albuquerque Public Schools will have their courses tailored to a potential career path they select as the district implements a new program to prepare students for life after high school. The initiative will launch a concept called "Career Academies" at Manzano, Cibola and Highland high schools. APS plans to eventually expand the initiative to all the district's major high schools to help students decide on a focused career path. It is "working with business and industry in Albuquerque to determine career pathways," according to information on the district's website. The move comes as part of a broader effort to improve student outcomes and increase college readiness in the largest district in a state which regularly ranks last in the country for education. Some 30.2% of the population above 25 years old has a bachelor's degree or higher, according to U.S. Census data. The career academies were announced Wednesday morning by APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey to a ballroom full of business leaders and a handful of elected officials at an Economic Forum of Albuquerque event. "It's very hit-and-miss with our students who are engaged in their learning and our students who are disengaged, and really we need to look at how we can re-engage our students," Blakey said. The three schools were selected because they have "well-established school climates and cultures of support and collaboration," according to APS spokesperson Phill Casaus. "We will work with all our comprehensive high schools to look at workforce data trends and needs in Albuquerque and determine next steps for implementing the full academy model at their schools," Casaus wrote in a statement. "You can expect more schools to be incorporated in 2026-27, though at this early juncture it's premature to say which ones." In 2023, the APS Board of Education adopted four goals to improve student outcomes based on community feedback. One of those goals was post-secondary readiness, and Blakey believes the academies can help make that goal attainable. "Having a strategy like this on how to make school relevant for students, how they're learning perseverance, how they're learning to change their mindset of what it means to work hard, is really important," Blakey said. During Wednesday's event, one of the APS board members expressed her support for the initiative. "We have given a task to Gabriella (Blakey) as far as setting our goals, we've given her the task to now implement," said Courtney Jackson, vice president for the APS board and executive assistant for the Economic Forum of Albuquerque. "I think she recognizes that things weren't going very well, and for her to have made these strategic changes, structural changes within Albuquerque Public Schools so quickly has been a testament to her ability to rally the troops, to rally the community." United Way will partner with APS and serve as both a convening and fiscal partner in implementing the academies, according to Rodney Prunty, president and CEO of its North Central New Mexico chapter. He told the Journal on Wednesday afternoon that the organization is aiming to raise $500,000 over the next five years to get the initiative started. "Every single student will have an opportunity to engage in this particular model," Prunty said to the room of business leaders. "So it's not specific to a group of students, but for every single student at every single high school."
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Albuquerque Public Schools board passes largest budget to date despite enrollment decline
May 8—The Albuquerque Public Schools is set to spend more than ever despite an enrollment decline of more than 20,000 students over the past decade after its budget for the upcoming school year was approved Wednesday. The district's Board of Education approved a $2.25 billion budget for the upcoming school year on a unanimous vote, marking a roughly $104 million increase from the previous year and topping the $2.16 billion approved for the 2023-24 school year, which previously held the record for APS' largest budget. "I really have to give credit to our budget team, primarily for getting this work done at the same time as schools were planning, and I think it's one of the first times I've seen that really work in conjunction," APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey said during Wednesday's board meeting. "I think this might be the earliest we've ever submitted a budget to the Public Education Department." The budget now goes to the PED for approval. Operational costs, which cover day-to-day needs such as teacher and faculty salaries, supplies and the costs to operate schools, accounted for $1.08 billion — nearly half the budget. Capital outlay, covering construction and building maintenance costs, is allocated some $660 million, the second-highest expense in the budget. "Just like for families, inflation has also hit school districts," Mandi Torrez, education reform director for the self-described bipartisan think tank Think New Mexico, told the Journal. "It's not a bad thing when budgets see a growth to meet those needs, because the last thing anyone wants to see are essential student services like counseling or special education support being cut to make up that difference." The cost per pupil is jumping from around $32,000 during the 2024-25 school year to $35,000 for the upcoming year as the district faces a $4.7 million deficit and projects student enrollment below 65,000. But that deficit is covered by reserve funds, according to the district. "The budget has continued, as it has in recent years, to be bloated. They're still not delivering the outcomes that students need, the quality of education, which is the primary objective of the existence of Albuquerque Public Schools," Patrick Brenner, president and founder of the Libertarian think tank Southwest Public Policy Institute, said. "Students continue to leave, enrollment is down, they're educating less students for more than ever before." The national average cost per pupil was around $17,700 according to a February study from the Education Data Initiative, which also found New Mexico was spending around $14,687 per pupil. While APS enrollment has dropped since the pandemic, the trend isn't out of line with districts across the country. Since the pandemic, enrollment in U.S. public schools has gone from 50.8 million in 2019 to 49.6 million in 2025. "One question to ask is if student enrollment is declining, are districts in turn decreasing their administration numbers," Torrez said. "So getting as many dollars down to the classroom level, where daily instruction takes place, should be a priority."
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Albuquerque Public Schools discusses nearly $2 billion budget for upcoming year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Facing higher costs, fewer students, and a shake-up in federal funding from Washington D.C., Albuquerque Public Schools is figuring out how it's going to budget more than $2 billion in expenses over the next year. Story continues below Podcast: What Will Voters Do With $1.5 Million? Entertainment: These movies were filmed in Las Cruces. Have you seen them? Crime: ABQ man charged federally for arson attacks at Tesla, Republican Party headquarters Weird: Peacocks spotted in Albuquerque neighborhoods. Where did they come from? 'We have come a long way in a year but we have come a long way but this is just the beginning,' said Gabriella Blakey, APS superintendent. That's how Albuquerque Public School leaders are describing their next budget, as APS continues to face a wide range of challenges from costs to how many students are part of their schools. 'We still face challenges like our declining enrollment, a trend that we are seeing across the country,' said Gabriella Blakey, APS superintendent. APS is projecting an enrollment of about 65,000 students for 2026. With state funding determined by the number of students, an enrollment drop means less money. District officials expect this year's budget to be similar to the last, roughly 2.1 billion. APS is also projecting an increase in the State Equalization Guarantee, which will help fund a four-percent pay hike for all employees. Ahead of a final vote on the budget, some board members are worried about potential federal funding impacts under the trump administration. 'There's so much influx right now, it's hard to, there's so many buckets,' said Josefina E. Domínguez, APS Board of Education member. However, APS administrators say so far, they're not worried about any losses to federal dollars. Other key issues, including putting more focus on program evaluations this upcoming fiscal year, and if a program isn't working, top administrators said that's where the district should consider faster changes. 'We need to be bold and we need to be able to say that we are going to strategically abandon some of those initiatives,' said Dr. Antonio Gonzales, Deputy Superintendent for Leadership & Learning, APS. The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the final budget early next month. Right now, they're on track to use nearly $5 million in reserves to cover some of their costs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
