May 2026 Newsletter
- May 1
- 5 min read
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Celebrations & Announcements |
Elizabeth Gomez Named an April APS Employee of the Month Congratulations to Elizabeth (CSIC, Hodgin Elementary) who was just recognized by the APS Foundation as an April Employee of the Month! Elizabeth leads with dedication and pours her heart into everything she does at Hodgin. If you'd like to read the full feature on APS's website, you can click here. Ángel Ronquillo Named a South Valley Citizen of the Year Congratulations to Ángel (CSIC, Los Padillas Elementary) who received one of several Citizen of the Year awards at the 33rd Annual South Valley Pride Day Celebration this year! Anyone who has had the privilege of working with Ángel would agree that this Anna, Age Eight Grant Awarded to 100% Bernalillo Initiative The 100% Community Initiative, housed in Bernalillo County's Department of Community School Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, applied for a grant of up to $20,000 through the Anna, Age Eight Institute. The mission of the Anna, Age Eight Institute is to ensure that all families can access the ten vital services needed to survive and thrive through the 100% NM Initiative. The proposed projects addressed key community priorities, including youth development, behavioral health, healthcare access, housing stability, and family support. We are pleased to share that we have been awarded the full $20,000. This funding will advance our efforts to increase equitable access, address systemic barriers, strengthen community engagement, and ensure accountability through data and evaluation. |
Community School Bright Spots |
Rigorous, Community-Connected Classroom Instruction In Action! BernCo Park Planning with Polk Middle School Students  Polk Middle School has been building a meaningful partnership with Bernalillo County's Parks and Recreation and Open Space Department around park planning in the Mountain View neighborhood. Students in a land architecture class developed park designs and presented them to county planners. In April, students visited Raymac Park to provide direct feedback on upcoming improvements, and county engineers, landscape architects, and planners have engaged with students throughout the process - offering real exposure to careers in planning and design. Louis Head, Polk's community school impact coordinator, has been instrumental in coordinating this dynamic partnership between the county and the school.  "Our students at Polk have come up with so many cool ideas regarding South Valley parks, including the existing Raymac Park which they audited and initial planning for a new park to be developed off Coors SW," Louis shares. "This work has dovetailed with their Magnet pathway Sustaining the Future as well, whose theme is environmental sustainability, examples being environmentally friendly landscape architecture and also applications such as heat mapping." A community meeting is scheduled for June 3rd at Polk to officially launch the park planning process. Further community input will also be gathered at Polk's upcoming Polk Pride Night, which has become a very popular event for the local community since its inception. |
Events for Community School Coordinators & Practitioners | |
Thursday May 7 Schedule TBA | APS Promising Practices Showcase Berna Facio Professional Development Center All Promising Practice schools are invited to showcase their work in the form of poster sessions for other schools to learn from. Using the provided checklist, you will construct a project board that showcases your systemic achievements, celebratory wins, and actionable next steps after this year of learning. More information on this event and its schedule will be forthcoming from APS. |
Thursday May 7 9am-4pm | End-of-Year Transformation Story Poster Working Time (Optional) ABC Offices (2400 Wellesley Dr 87107) The ABC offices will be open as a quiet work space for community school impact coordinators to work on updating their tools and completing the Google Form for their schools' End-of-Year Transformation Story Posters. |
Thursday May 14 8:45-9:45am | ABC Community School Partnership Board Meeting ABC Offices Click here to access the live YouTube stream |
Thursday May 14 10-11am | 100% BernCo Community School Impact Team Meeting Virtual via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/zgh-vowj-zns |
Friday May 15 9am-12pm | ABC End-of-Year Celebration ABC Offices |
Friday May 22 1-3:30pm | ABC-Coordinator Connection ABC Offices This optional meeting is a follow-up to April's ABC-Coordinator Connection meeting. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to the Google Calendar invite so ABC has an accurate headcount. Please note that Cohort 3 will still be taking place before this meeting. |
Wednesday-Friday May 27-29 | National Community School and Family Engagement (CSxFE) Conference Long Beach Convention Center (300 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802) If you are headed to the CSxFE Conference, we look forward to learning with you! Team members from ABC are excited to be presenting and featured in a handful of workshops at this year's conference. See you in California! |
Community EventsIf available, flyers are included and downloadable. | |
Friday May 15 5:30pm | Polk Pride Night 2220 Raymac Rd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 Polk Middle School's annual Pride Night is on Friday, May 15th. |
Wednesday May 20 4pm | New Mexico Black Leadership Council BLOOM Fiesta 5401 Eastern SE, International District ABQ Kick off summer in the International District with NMBLC! Come to our carnival for a free, fun, fabulous time! There will be DJs, dancing, ice cream, face painting, cotton candy, bubbles, basketball, a bouncy house, a gaming bus, and so much more! Building Leadership, Offering Opportunities & Mentorship… together. The event venue is a City Lot on Eastern & Palomas. Help us bring new life & pride to this space as we activate it for our community! This event is free and open to all! Your RSVP will help us plan.  |
Opportunities & Resources for Students & FamiliesIf available, flyers are included and downloadable. | |
Breaking the Silence New Mexico (BTSNM) - Seeking Applicants for Youth Advisory Group BTSNM is a free mental health education organization that works with youth and adults across New Mexico. They are seeking young people ages 15- to 18-years in the Albuquerque area who are passionate about mental health that can provide feedback on BTSNM's curricula. Along the way, they will learn to be mental health advocates and leaders in their own circles. BTSNM's hope is that students who want to pursue a career in mental health will walk away feeling more prepared. To learn more about the youth advisory group, you can visit their website or see flyer linked below. Application deadline is May 30. | |
BernCo Summer Lunch Program Begins Monday, June 1 Free meals will be served on-site during the summer months for children and teens ages 1 -18 at over 40 site locations in the unincorporated areas of Bernalillo County. No registration required. Click here to view a complete list of sites. |
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