High-caliber teachers, administrators working at our schools

This past week we received exciting news. A message from the New Mexico Public Education Department indicated Secretary-Designate Christopher Ruszkowski would be arriving at Sandia Elementary School to celebrate our schools receiving an “A” on our state evaluations.

Overall we’ve done well; many schools went up a letter grade; others are working on specific strategies for addressing needs and improvements. Details regarding the criteria for school grading can be found on the NMPED website.

It’s always tough to look in the mirror to identify what needs work, and then plunge headlong into developing plans to achieve clear-cut objectives. That’s what we do, which is why we are proud to have moved from only two schools receiving an “A” in 2016 to five schools in 2017.

NMPED believes the same, thus the creation of their “Straight A Express” as “a celebration of New Mexico’s best schools.” Traveling throughout New Mexico to personally recognize “A” schools, Ruszkowski congratulated our principals and lead teachers from all five schools, presenting giant, personalized banners. It was a joyous event, a wonderful opportunity to connect with our state education leaders, and enjoy their interaction with students.

Our five elementary schools represented were: Barry (David Fredericks, principal); Arts Academy at Bella Vista (Shelly Norris, principal); Mesa (Julie Howell, principal); Sandia (Matt Vetterly, principal); and Zia (Shalei Bennett, principal).

We have incredibly dedicated principals, teachers, and staff throughout our district. All too often, it’s these, working tirelessly to create the best learning environments for our students, who frequently remain in the background, untold hours invested, often unseen and unacknowledged.

I witnessed a perfect example of this a couple of days ago. Receiving word that two of our elementary principals — Vetterly and Norris — were headed to Clovis-Carver Public Library to present a gift, I headed over. Touched by the quiet, but moving presentation of oversized paper quilts to Library Director Margaret Hinchee, I learned our elementary principals had organized this gift made by students from all elementary schools to show love and support for our public library.

Lingering, after Vetterly and Norris headed back to school, I learned something else. Once our public library reopened after the recent tragic events, a number of our principals, teachers, and school librarians simply appeared and went about dusting and re-shelving books to help restore order.

That’s the caliber of folks teaching our kids; good to know.

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools. Contact her at: [email protected]