Take a trip through the APS looking glass
Current school board is a highly organized echo chamber for ATF President Ellen Bernstein
Following education news in Albuquerque often feels akin to what I imagine living on Mars will be like.
We’re short on water, surrounded by mountains and live in a bubble. We take our orders from the same two or three self-appointed leaders. Our dust storms are mesmerizing yet brutal. And outsiders observe us wondering, “How is that possible?”
Despite being on summer break, Albuquerque Public Schools has been no less dystopian. Let’s take recent events in order:
June 7: After a long back-and-forth, New Mexico’s Public Education Department requires APS to hold “school choice” events for parents of students at Hawthorne Elementary (which had received multiple failing grades), informing them of additional school options;
June 18: Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers’ Federation (ATF) for 23-plus years, sends an email to members saying the events encourage parents “to flee to charter schools”;
June 20: With ATF leadership picketing outside the event, APS holds the first of these events. No parents make it inside the school to hear about their options;
June 25: A mere year after welcoming La Resolana Leadership Academy into APS, the seven member board of education votes 4-3 to rescind the school’s charter;
June 26: The governing council president for La Resolana, Rob Leming, announces they will appeal the APS Board’s decision to close the school; and
June 26: State Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque and a longtime APS teacher, former ATF member and current head of our Legislative Education Study Committee, tweets out “Hawthorne is a great community school!”
This series of unfortunate events is as calamitous as the hypocrisy is breathtaking. Though I’m not one usually at a loss for words, even I struggle to unwind this twisted web of old school politics that rules the day in Albuquerque.
Instead of trying to make sense of the indefensible, allow me to share a list of observations:
The “school choice” fairs highlight mostly other APS schools. Nothing in the PED letter requires an emphasis on charter or any other school. Just that they perform better than Hawthorne.
By picketing and using intimidation tactics to frighten Hawthorne families, ATF leadership has reached a new low. How does it feel to be a parent seeking merely to learn more about other options for your child? This is a rather despicable way to treat families.
If the closing of a school is so important to Ellen, why didn’t she make a similar stink about La Resolana’s closure? Well, the answer’s simple: Even though it’s an APS school, it’s also a charter. Hypocrisy and cronyism abound.
La Resolana compares similarly to Hawthorne. Both are underperforming and in need of improvement. Yet, the board decides to get tough on La Resolana while passing the buck on Hawthorne.
As anyone who’s been to an APS board meeting knows, it’s Ellen calling the shots. Don’t believe me? Attend one. Several times a meeting, after a hard question comes up, Ellen begins furiously tapping at her phone. On cue, three or four board members read the text and parrot what they’ve just read. It’s a highly organized echo chamber.
Our education elders have a hard time with reality. I responded to Stewart’s tweet with data about the alarming lack of learning happening at Hawthorne. She blocked me within 30 minutes. The fear of the truth is palpable.
Our so-called education leaders can’t stomach opposing ideas or any thought or data that disrupts their hermetically sealed bubble of bad ideas. Why listen to others when you have the same five or six individuals coordinating behind-the-scenes to make decisions?
I currently have a public records request out to APS about all this. I’m eager for the response because the truth is that, until Albuquerque wrenches ourselves free from this cabal of education mob bosses, we’ll be stuck in a time warp on the wrong side of the looking glass. And it’s students who bear the brunt of this foolishness.