Albuquerque Public Schools kicks off the year for students Thursday, but educators got a special kind of welcome back on Monday.Event first of its kind for APS Thousands of teachers from across the city gathered together to teach, learn, and inspire each other as the school year starts at the Albuquerque Convention Center.Transportation was offered via school bus at various pickup sites across the city.APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey told KOAT Monday this conference is part of an effort to create more collaboration across the district. “Sometimes teaching feels really isolated,” said Blakey.”In some of our schools, there might be just one second grade teacher, and here they’re able to see that there’s people all around the city that are doing the work with them, and so they don’t feel as isolated when they’re working all together,” she added.APS is one of the largest school districts in the country with over 6,000 educators, and Blakey says it is very uncommon to see this many teachers band together in one place. Educators praise seminars, networking opportunitiesKOAT caught up with Nikki Baum, the Community School Impact Coordinator for Marie Hughes Elementary.She says some of the skills she learned at Monday’s conference will be utilized on the job starting day one.”That’s kind of what the purpose of this whole thing was, giving the teachers what they wanted,” said Baum. ” wants professional development. From their own and so going back I’m already thinking okay how can we take it to the students that next level. So we’re already brainstorming here before we even go back. So, we’re truly ready for students to come on Thursday,” she added.
Albuquerque Public Schools kicks off the year for students Thursday, but educators got a special kind of welcome back on Monday.
Event first of its kind for APS
Thousands of teachers from across the city gathered together to teach, learn, and inspire each other as the school year starts at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Transportation was offered via school bus at various pickup sites across the city.
APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey told KOAT Monday this conference is part of an effort to create more collaboration across the district.
“Sometimes teaching feels really isolated,” said Blakey.
“In some of our schools, there might be just one second grade teacher, and here they’re able to see that there’s people all around the city that are doing the work with them, and so they don’t feel as isolated when they’re working all together,” she added.
APS is one of the largest school districts in the country with over 6,000 educators, and Blakey says it is very uncommon to see this many teachers band together in one place.
Educators praise seminars, networking opportunities
KOAT caught up with Nikki Baum, the Community School Impact Coordinator for Marie Hughes Elementary.
She says some of the skills she learned at Monday’s conference will be utilized on the job starting day one.
“That’s kind of what the purpose of this whole thing was, giving the teachers what they wanted,” said Baum.
“[APS] wants professional development. From their own and so going back I’m already thinking okay how can we take it to the students that next level. So we’re already brainstorming here before we even go back. So, we’re truly ready for students to come on Thursday,” she added.
