OPINION: The same old, same old? Hardly

For far too long, art has imitated life. At least when it comes to high schools.

Remember “The Breakfast Club?” Or even “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” They’re funny movies for sure, but they paint an unfulfilling window into life in an American high school. Unfortunately, in many ways, they were spot-on in the ‘80s and alas, have remained so.

It was true here, too, and that’s one reason Albuquerque Public Schools has aggressively pushed to reenvision high school life — working not only to make it academically rigorous but personally relevant as well.

I believe recent improvements in our graduation rates are just the first ripple in what I hope will be wave after wave of success. As the Journal recently reported, our grad rate has significantly improved. We were up by 4.3 percentage points in 2023-24 and our district-wide number now stands at 75.9% in our non-charter schools.

Two schools — La Cueva and Highland — improved by more than 10 percentage points. Among APS schools of choice, Early College Academy posted the highest graduation rate at 99.75%. There are other significant success stories, including schools as diverse as Rio Grande, Eldorado, Sandia and Valley. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Obviously, I’m excited about that news, but the credit for the improvement really belongs outside the superintendent’s office. The people who do the hard, often thankless work in improving the fortunes of our students are our teachers, counselors, coaches, club sponsors, administrators, families.

This is sometimes forgotten, but our pride should really be centered on our students themselves.

They did the work. They pushed through often difficult circumstances. I’ve been to about 100 schools this year, and I can tell you their perseverance is simply breathtaking. Someday, perhaps because of the challenges this era of students has faced, we will call them our next Greatest Generation.

But to be honest, this is only the beginning. This spring and summer, APS will be talking about other initiatives that I believe can help Albuquerque kids reach their full potential — both in the short- and long-term. The momentum for this began a few years ago, when our Board of Education — driven by community input — created four key goals in the district.

Two of those targets — improvement in our college- and career-readiness, and in students’ skills, habits and mindsets — are distinctly themed for high school students. Our other two goals — improvement in early reading and middle-school math — also obviously affect how kids will do as they grow older.

Those concrete foundations are setting the stage. But what lies in front of us, all of us, is the commitment to improve. Though I will never disparage a 75.9% graduation rate, we’re not kidding anyone: We can and must do better. I want to get above the national average of 87% within five years.

I believe we can do it. Why? Because in my time at APS (I’ve been a student, teacher, principal and administrator) I’ve never seen all of us more united or driven to achieve. That’s not about me: it’s about a community that knows finger-pointing is self-defeating and celebrating success begets more success.

We’ve still got work to do, particularly for our Native American and economically disadvantaged students, and work we will. But the fantastic news we received last week is a great sign of things to come.

Bueller? Bueller?

Hardly.

Editor's note: This article was originally inadvertently published without the final five paragraphs.