Albuquerque Public Schools board members are set to discuss ways they can better engage with community members.
At its June 5 meeting, the board will discuss the goals of an ad hoc committee formed to address this issue.
The committee, chaired by board member Courtney Jackson, is tasked with identifying goals to improve board members’ involvement with the community, through engagement and outreach events.
Engagement events, according to the agenda, are those hosted by the board, while outreach events are hosted by community members. Either type of event would consist of two-way communication focused on the community’s vision and values.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
WHEN: 5 p.m. June 5
WHERE: John Milne Community Board Room at district headquarters, 6400 Uptown Blvd.VIRTUAL: the APS board’s YouTube channel
The committee has discussed four goals:
- Increasing student presence at community engagement and outreach events.
- Increasing Native American attendance at such events.
- Creating more engagement events specifically aimed at students identified in the Yazzie-Martinez decision and their families. In the 2018 decision, District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that New Mexico was not adequately funding public education as mandated in the state constitution, to the detriment of at-risk students – a group that includes impoverished children, Indigenous students, those learning English, and children with disabilities.
- Having each board member participate in four outreach events each year.
On the consent agenda are changes to labor agreements with the unions representing the district’s police officers, maintenance and operations workers and food-service employees.