Ad
TOP OF MIND: Should U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján support the House-passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections?
Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey talks during an interview at her office at the Albuquerque Public Schools headquarters on June 25. Blakey officially took over the reins from former Superintendent Scott Elder on July 1.
Top of Mind is a weekly question about an issue affecting New Mexicans.
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION
What advice would you offer Gabriella Durán Blakey, the new superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools?
“Remember it’s all about the kids. Focus on educating them, not indoctrinating them on ridiculousness. Don’t pander to the power-hungry union. Make teaching jobs desirable with top pay and benefits and fewer useless mandates. Think outside the box and have the courage to move forward and be a first.”
— Stephanie Olguin, Corrales
“Put the students’ interests first, provide tutoring resources when appropriate, and turn a deaf ear to Ellen Bernstein and the Albuquerque Teachers Union. Finally, make it your supreme goal to do what you can to put an end to social promotion.”
— Robert Ferguson, Albuquerque
“My advice to the new APS superintendent is to clean house, make every administrator reapply for their positions. Give parents a seat at the table. She should surround herself with smart, dedicated people, who support her but aren’t afraid to call her out if she’s wrong.”
— Pamela Cox, Los Ranchos
“The best advice for Gabriella Durán Blakey to take would be to dismantle the bloated bureaucracy in central office. Another issue facing Gabriella is not having enough teachers that can instruct students not speaking English as a first language, and the list could go on and on.”
Ad
— Harry Hart, Albuquerque
“None. Let her do her job. She knows what needs to be done and will do her best to get it done.”
— Diantha Swoboda, Albuquerque
“My advice for the new Albuquerque Public School superintendent is to not get your hopes up. We have a 40% absentee rate in the city. Since so many parents apparently don’t care about their kids’ education, why should you? Shame on them.”
— DeAnn Zwight, Albuquerque
“I’m not sure why the superintendent would need public input or advice on how to run the school district. If educators have not figured out how to fix the problems in APS, is there really an expectation that the public can make a real difference?”
— Ricardo Flores, Albuquerque
“APS is too top heavy. Gabriella can start by trimming down the communicating department. Like other departments, too many lieutenants.”
— Lorenzo Valdez, Albuquerque
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
Should U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján support the House-passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections?
Submit your response at: https://www.abqjournal.com/site/forms/online_services/top_of_mind/
Responses must include your name and city of residence to be published.
