Around the world, the 2020-21 school year promises to be like none other. Albuquerque Academy is committed to providing the world-class education our students and families have come to expect.
At this reimagined Albuquerque Academy, we have created an environment that will allow students to flourish while keeping them as safe as possible as we face an unknown future.
Our plans to reopen for the 2020-21 school year are guided by our strong collective desire to return to campus and informed by the Academy’s deepest educational values and our commitment to preserving the Albuquerque Academy experience. Every decision we are making is focused on these two guiding principles:
- Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
- Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community
School begins one week earlier than originally scheduled, on Thursday, August 13, 2020. It is our intent to hold classes on campus as long as we are allowed by health and government officials and we meet our own internal standards. Further details are available below and will be updated regularly.
About COVID-19
The emergence and global spread of COVID-19 forced Albuquerque Academy to close campus in March 2020, to be joined shortly by nearly every other school and university around the world. The Academy community quickly adapted to an online learning model that was an effective solution for the remainder of the academic year. The Academy return to campus plan can be adapted to whatever current health conditions our school community, city, or state is facing.
Guiding Principles
This plan represents the work of the campus reopening task force, based on survey data from faculty, staff, students, and parents; guidelines from local and national health organizations and the New Mexico Department of Health; research into measures that schools worldwide have implemented or are considering; and the unique needs of our students and setup of our campus. It is a plan that invests heavily in a safe return to campus, including a robust set of stringent health and safety measures, and is designed to allow the Academy to adapt to the changing conditions of the pandemic and still provide for the continuous education of our students. At all times, we can calibrate our school operations and teaching to public health conditions.
Albuquerque Academy is committed to the ongoing growth and learning of our students. This summer, our dedicated faculty and staff are redoubling their efforts to prepare for the new school year through professional development, contributions to this plan, and adaptations to their lessons that will maximize the class blocks that comprise our trimester calendar. We cannot wait to see our students again and look forward to a healthy and successful year ahead.
The decisions we have made for our reopening plan have been framed by four critical factors.
Health and Safety
The Academy’s highest priority is the health and well-being of its community. A healthy environment is, ultimately, a secure environment, one in which students, teachers, and staff can thrive and put their focus on learning. We also have an obligation to support the health of the broader community – from our own Academy families to those around our state. At all times, we will align our measures with guidance from the New Mexico Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On-Campus Instruction
The Academy recognizes that the optimal learning environment for children is one in which they are learning from their teachers and fellow students in person. To the best of our ability, and in accordance with official health guidelines, we will seek to provide as much on-campus instruction as possible for all students every day.
Academic Coherence and Excellence
A continuous educational experience is vitally important to achieve the academic excellence for which the Academy is known. While health circumstances may necessitate certain changes or restrictions to student life, our ultimate goal is to support our students’ learning and development as seamlessly as possible.
Flexibility and Adaptability
The 2020-21 educational plan must be flexible and adaptable to respond to external health conditions beyond our control. Our goal is to create a continuous learning structure that is durable enough to adapt to possible future coronavirus infections, while allowing us to provide as much on-campus instruction as possible.
The Commitment from Families
We understand there are families with higher-risk members in their households. As a community that prioritizes health and safety, we must all do our part to adhere to state health recommendations and regulations to control transmission and potential future outbreaks. Moreover, there may be times when we ask families to comply with broader safety measures, and we greatly appreciate your cooperation in this regard.
Community Expectations
By enrolling your student at the Academy, you agree to the following requirements.
Follow federal, state, and local orders: All families are expected to adhere to the directives of applicable federal, state, and local government health departments, including the CDC, regarding social distancing in public and other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 testing and notification: If your student or someone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, you must notify the school nurse as soon as possible.
Stay home when sick: If your student is sick, you are expected to keep them home from school. Rules regarding sick policies for students and employees will be enhanced and strictly enforced.
Stay home if exposed to COVID-19: If anyone in your household has been notified by the State Health Department that they were in contact with an individual infected with COVID-19, you are asked to notify the school nurse. You may be asked to keep your student home from school for 14 days. During this time, your student will be able to continue classes by distance learning.
Avoid unnecessary travel: The New Mexico Department of Health requires a 14-day quarantine following out-of-state travel. Any student who must quarantine per NMDOH guidelines will continue classes via distance learning. Please view the latest NMDOH guidelines here.
Temperature checks: School staff will regularly check temperatures of students and employees upon arrival. If your student presents with a temperature that is higher than 100.0 F, they will be sent home.
Personal protective equipment: Students and employees will wear face coverings throughout the day. Coverings, masks and shields, will be provided by the Academy, or students may bring their own masks.
Hygiene: Practice and reinforce good hygiene practices at home, in particular, the importance of frequent hand washing and washing for 20 seconds.
Limit students’ personal items: Limit the items your student brings onto campus each day and reinforce policies around the sharing of food, supplies, and other items with other students.
Submit medical forms: You must complete and submit all required student medical forms prior to the first day of school and make sure that the emergency contacts listed in Magnus would be able to come to school right away if your student presents with a temperature or becomes ill during the school day.
Investments in Our Community
Health and Safety
With safety as our highest priority, the Academy is investing approximately $750,000 ($600+ per student) in enhanced COVID-19 safety measures, including:
- Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for all students and employees
- HVAC changes to improve air quality: the highest air-cleaning filters, continuously running on fresh air by day and mixing fresh and recycled overnight to clean
- Portable air filtration systems for each classroom
- Thermal scanners for fever detection
- Plexiglass barriers and partitions in offices
- Hand sanitizer stations in hallways, classrooms, and offices
- Touchless water stations
- Two eMist EM360 ionized aerosol disinfecting units using COVID-19-neutralizing disinfectant to be used in bathrooms throughout the day and in classrooms at night
- Amplified cleaning practices focusing on high-traffic areas
The school day and our classrooms are also being reimagined with new schedules and smaller, discreet cohorts in order to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus. In the event of small numbers of infections on campus, this will enable us to have the affected cohort learn from home for two weeks without requiring that the entire campus close and revert to distance learning. This planning for safety and durability will require additional staffing for continual supervision and monitoring throughout the day.
With more teaching spaces needed, classrooms and other areas are being reviewed and prepped to ensure that all students will have the best learning experience. Given the uncertainty of the health situation in our community and on campus, classrooms are being set up with additional technology, including remote cameras, which will assist students who may need to learn from home and a quicker pivot to a distance learning format, should the need arise.
We have also invested in additional professional development this summer, at a cost of $80,000, to help faculty prepare to best teach students, no matter what conditions we are facing.
Tuition Assistance
To support families who are adversely affected by COVID-19, the Academy is providing additional emergency tuition assistance grants that will allow us to maintain our student body despite unforeseen financial circumstances. We are grateful to the many generous donors who made this possible by contributing to the Academy Endurance Fund.
The Academy Community
There would be no school without our faculty and staff. The Academy is committed to retaining all of our employees to the best of our ability. To accomplish this, we have made financial sacrifices, such as an across-the-board salary freeze, deferrals of many capital projects, and significant cuts to nonessential operational expenses. We believe these are necessary steps to take in order to keep our community whole and intact.
Additionally, the Academy applied for and received a PPP loan, which is designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. As defined by the loan terms, the Academy will use the money for payroll, primarily, and utilities. With 376 employees, including seasonal employees, their employment is important to their families, the school, and the Albuquerque economy. Keeping our employees on the payroll maintains our strength for the long haul, and it supports the greater community as their compensation makes its way into the local economy. More details about the Academy PPP loan is available in the FAQs (May 19, 2020: Is the Academy participating in any governmental COVID relief programs?).
Campus Status Levels
Four-Level Campus Status System
The color-coded status will be shared at aa.edu, and any changes in status will be communicated to families by email immediately. We will strive to provide families with as much preparation time as possible for any potential changes to our status. Click here for a printable description of our four statuses and their conditions and educational environments.
Health and Safety Measures
Face coverings: Students and employees will wear face coverings throughout the day. Coverings will be provided by the Academy, or students may bring their own.
Physical distancing: Movement on campus will be controlled to reduce the mixing of students through cohort locations and one-way passage through hallways. Classes will be limited to 12 students or fewer and will be well spaced in their classroom areas.
Decreased student mixing: Academic schedules will be designed to keep students in small, consistent groups throughout the day, and arrival/departure times will be staggered to limit mixing and crowds. This will allow us to quarantine/present online lessons to a small group of students should someone become infected or exposed.
Food service: Lunch will be delivered to students in their cohort areas. We will work directly with families to meet allergy requirements and other needs.
Other classroom safety practices: Teaching methods will be adjusted to minimize shared equipment or learning materials among students, and classroom practices will reduce the transfer of objects between home and school. Infrastructure will be put into place to minimize surfaces that cannot be easily disinfected.
Large group gatherings: Based on guidance from state health officials banning gatherings of more than five people, all large group gatherings will be held virtually.
Off-campus trips: Off-campus trips will be limited but not eliminated to allow for potential athletic contests and specially crafted Ex Ed trips and other classroom experiences.
Hygiene: Students and employees will follow a regular schedule of hand washing or use of hand sanitizer throughout the day. Hand sanitizer dispensers will be available in every classroom and every entrance.
Enhanced cleaning: Daily cleaning practices will be compliant with CDC recommendations, including the types of cleaning products used and the frequency of cleaning. Special attention will be given to the cleaning of high-touch surfaces throughout the day. Nightly deep cleaning will include ionized aerosol disinfection of every classroom.
Health screening: Families are asked to monitor household members for symptoms, including fever, and avoid bringing sick students to school. Regular temperature and symptoms screening will be conducted for all students, employees, and campus visitors. Students with symptoms will be separated from other students and need to be picked up as soon as possible.
Updated sick policy and enforcement: Rules regarding sick policies for students and employees will be enhanced and strictly enforced to minimize the number of sick people on campus and allow continuity of learning for those who are mildly ill or asymptomatic. More details will be shared later this summer.
Quarantine and contact tracing: If a student or employee has COVID-19, school officials will support efforts for contact tracing and enforcing quarantine for those infected and their contacts. Provisions will be made to support continuity of learning from home during quarantine.
Self care and well being: We will put greater attention on student mental health to build resilience and cope with the extra stress and anxiety students may be experiencing during this time. Family heads, advisers, and counselors will also be available to work with students and families as needed.
Visitors to campus: We will reduce the number of visitors allowed on campus to keep our community safe. All visitors to campus (not including student drop-off and pickup) will be screened upon arrival. In an elevated health status, visitors may be required to make an appointment prior to a campus visit.
Travel: The New Mexico Department of Health requires a 14-day quarantine following out-of-state travel. Provisions will be made to support continuity of learning from home during quarantine. Please view the latest NMDOH guidelines here.
The Academic Calendar
School begins Thursday, August 13, 2020 (one week earlier than previously announced).
In order to reduce the chances of closing campus to all students if there were to be an outbreak at the Academy, we have designed a calendar that will limit the mixing of students, making contact tracing simpler and limiting how much of the community might have to quarantine.
Students in grades 8-12 will take two academic classes each trimester in the 2020-21 academic year. A trimester course will be the equivalent of a full year of learning both in time and content. The 6-7 division schedule will be developmentally appropriate, allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience. If we have to return to online learning at some point during the year, it will be easier for students to manage their assignments when taking fewer courses.
Each trimester will be 55 days long, running from August to November, November to February, and February to May. The last day of school is May 25, 2021 (no change from the original calendar). There will be breaks between each trimester as well as our traditional Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks. Additional days off are aligned with Albuquerque Public School holidays with the exception of Election Day and Veterans Day. View the trimester calendar and breaks here. The new Calendar at a Glance and our website calendar are available here.
Updated Absence Policy
In our old year-long system, students could miss up to 10 classes per course per semester without risking losing credit. In the trimester system, students in grades 8-12 will follow this policy:
A student can only have a maximum of five absences per trimester or they risk losing credit for the course. This is not an absence due to illness, but an absence due to a trip and the like. Five days is the equivalent of 15 days in a year-long course.
The School Day
The 6-7 division schedule will be developmentally appropriate allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience.
Students in grades 8-12 will take two classes a day that meet for two hours each day for 55 days. During a student’s third period, 8-9 students will have PE, health, Experiential Education, advisory, study hall, or athletics; 10-12 students will have health class or College Knowledge seminars during their lunch period. Class times will be staggered to reduce congestion at drop-off and morning health screenings and to reduce crowding between blocks.
The full-day, five-day-a-week schedule allows us to reduce class sizes to 12 students or fewer and will allow parents to better manage their own work schedules.
Extracurriculars, Including Sports
Athletics
Athletics guidelines at the Academy are determined by the New Mexico Activities Association in combination with our campus health status and general health recommendations by the state and national health and governmental organizations. Some sports have begun socially distanced, small group or online conditioning; coaches have been in contact with their student-athletes. We have also posted preliminary plans for fall athletics practices/tryouts here.
Student Clubs and Groups
Plans for other student groups and organizations are still being evaluated, but for now, most will have to be conducted remotely in order to minimize contact between students beyond their cohort.
Student Support
We are also aware that feelings of anxiety can be heightened in situations such as this. The Academy has a team of counselors assigned to dedicated divisions who are here and ready to help. Please contact our counseling department with your questions and concerns.
As always, the divisional learning specialists will be available full time to students.
The Reopening Task Force
- Andy Watson, Head of School through June 2020
- Julianne Puente, Head of School beginning July 2020
- Stephanie Lipkowitz, Associate Head of School
- Bruce Orem, CFO
- Chris Dineen, 6-7 Division Head
- Martha Palmer, 8-9 Division Head
- Christine Lenhart ’94, 10-12 Division Head
- Amy Keller, Director of Admission and Enrollment Management
- Becky Richards, Director of Communications
- Mary Jo Carrier, Director of Human Resources
- Rolf Lokke, History Department Chair and Academic Dean
- Janet Wilson, Mathematics Department Chair and Scheduler
- David Kim, Science Department
- Shelby Parsons, School Nurse
- Jennifer Anderson ’89, Attorney and School Legal Counsel
- John Pederson ’91, Physician
The work of the reopening task force is supplemented by the academics, campus safety, communications, and human resources/staffing subcommittees.
8/7/20: Back to School Webinar Recording
8/6/20: Fall Trimester Materials Pickup August 10-12
We are excited to start school and to welcome you back virtually and, we hope, on campus soon. I am writing now with instructions and information about how to pick up your student’s books and learning materials for your fall trimester classes. The pickup will take place on the evenings of August 10, 11, and 12. Please bring your student’s schedule to reference.
You may choose any of the three designated evenings, but you should arrive in your car according to your last name:
- 5-6 p.m. Last names: A-H
- 6-7 p.m. Last names: I-P
- 7-8 p.m. Last names Q-Z
Families may enter at any of our three gates and then proceed to the station(s) that pertain to your student’s first trimester schedule. You will drive up to the station, and an Academy community member will come to your window, ask for your student’s name or class, and then return with your bag of supplies or books. Please wear a mask when your car window is open. Our teams will also be wearing masks and will stay distanced from you. Please see the map below.
- 6-7 students will pick up their bags for their regular academic courses at the 6-7 circle near the west campus by parking lot #5. Please drive along the circle and follow the signs to the pickup station. If you have requested a laptop, it will be included with your supplies. Given the demand on technology, we will do our best to fulfill all requests, but if we have insufficient supply, they will be provided in the order that they were requested until we are able to order and distribute more.
- 8-9 students will pick up bags for English, history, language, and math courses by McKinnon in parking lot #1. Please follow the lane for carpool pickup/drop-off signs to the pickup station.
- 10-12 students will pick up bags for English, history, language, and math courses by Simms Center for the Performing Arts in parking lot #10. Please follow the signs to the pickup station.
- If your student is in grades 8-12 and is taking a science course this trimester, drive to the natatorium, parking lot #6, and follow the signs. There will be tables for chemistry, physics, biology, lab-based elective classes, and Earth systems for eighth graders. There is no pickup for History of the Universe.
- If your student is in grades 8-12 and is taking a visual arts course this trimester, drive to the parking lot behind the visual arts building, parking lot #4, and proceed (in your vehicle) to the specific table for your student’s course (ceramics, drawing and painting, and the like).
- If your student is taking music this trimester, grades 6-12, and will be borrowing an instrument or picking up a folder of sheet music, please drive to parking lot #10. In front of the music building, there will be someone who will bring your student’s instrument or materials to your car. Music teachers will be reaching out about instrument needs and music folders for each class.
The books and supplies in your student’s bags will be charged to their bookstore account. If, however, you arrive home, and there is an item in the bag that you do not want because, for example, you already own a copy of the book, you may return the item to the east campus bookstore, which has been relocated to Mr. Watson’s old office, Room A125, the first week of school from 3-5 p.m. Any item you return to the bookstore must be in pristine condition. If you return to campus, you will need to go through a fever check, wear a mask, and comply with all of our health and safety guidelines.
If you have any questions about the book pickup, please feel free to contact me or your student’s division head.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Lipkowitz
Associate Head of School
8/3/20: A Back-to-School Message from the 6-7 Division Head
It’s monsoon season once again in Albuquerque! While we have finally been visited by some rain over the past two weeks, the real downpour has come in the form of news and updates related to the start of our school year. Our decision to begin classes online means that we will not immediately be together on campus, but there is still a lot to prepare for as August 13 approaches, and we definitely want you to be prepared!
For starters – and by tradition – you will be receiving a phone call from your Academy family head this week. Your family head is super excited to meet you and will be using this phone call as an opportunity to personally welcome you. Important back-to-school information will be discussed, and you will have a chance to ask lots of great questions. Family heads will be following up their phone calls by scheduling an Academy Family Zoom meeting on Tuesday, August 11, where you will have a chance to meet your Academy family virtually and see who you will be in class with this year. New students in both grades: Please know that you are very quickly going to start meeting many of the friends you will have for life – just ask any returning student!
We typically send out a school supply list in the summer, but we are creating supply bags instead for every student that will have items you need to jumpstart the year, and you will be receiving more information about this soon. In addition to supplies, we will also be loaning out Chromebooks to students while classes are online, and we ask that you fill out this request form if you intend to borrow a Chromebook for the start of school. Both the school supplies and the Chromebooks will be distributed August 10-12. Surging worldwide demand for technology and other school supplies means that we will need to be patient as we get our year launched, but flexibility is an Academy trait I know we will all get a chance to demonstrate this year!
Most of us came to realize this spring that online learning requires a different approach, and your teachers have spent a lot of time this summer preparing to create a rich online learning environment. We will be talking more about our expectations, our norms, and our goals for the year when we meet in families and in our classes. Our schedule is designed to be more intimate than ever, giving everyone a chance to be seen and heard, and that intimacy will continue when we eventually transition back to in-person classes, which will hopefully be very soon! While you will still be taking all of your classes this year, they will rotate in regular blocks so you can focus on fewer subjects at a time, and that will be true whether we are online or on campus. You can check out a sample of your online schedule here, and your teachers will go over this with you when they call this week.
One of our most cherished back-to-school traditions each year is the convocation ceremony that kicks off the first day of school. This year, because of COVID-19 regulations, we have decided to do a car parade with our sixth graders and the senior class on Saturday evening, August 15, at 7 p.m. Please save the date, because we are planning a great event, and more information will follow soon.
A lot will certainly be different for our community as the year starts, and our goal is to get back to campus quickly with you and our new head of school, Julianne Puente. But the essence of the Academy experience will remain the same, no matter the format: unparalleled opportunities for educational and personal growth in a wonderfully inclusive and supportive environment. We work best when we work together, and we will be working together this year in innovative ways that are designed to set you up for success. We are here for you and your families, and we want you to feel free to reach out whenever you have questions or concerns. You will soon have an enormous safety net made up of caring adults and wonderful friends, and this place will become your home.
The start of school is always a little hectic, so please focus your energy for the moment on enjoying the last few days of summer, catching up on good sleep, spending some time outdoors, and creating memories with family and friends. Check to see that you have completed your summer reading requirements, but be sure to get in that last Netflix binge as well! We are all super excited to get started next week, but I know there may be questions before then, so please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
I look forward to seeing you all very soon, and I wish you a wonderful end to the summer. Go Chargers!
Chris Dineen
6-7 Division Head
8/3/20: A Back-to-School Message from the 8-9 Division Head
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the new school year in the 8-9 division. While I wish we were starting the year on campus and that I could welcome you in person on the first day of school, I feel fortunate to serve as your division head this coming year. Even though it’s going to be a different kind of year, your teachers and I are excited to work with you and have been busily planning over the summer to make it an awesome year!
In order to get the year underway, class schedules will be available on August 4. When it’s available, your schedule can be found here. You will be required to log in to My Backpack and click on the Student Schedule folder to view your schedule. If you have problems logging in to My Backpack, please contact the My Backpack support line at 858-8877. Due to small class sizes and the trimester model, schedule changes will be very limited. However, if you need to request a change, please submit your request to me via email. Requests will be considered on August 5-7.
There will be one-on-one Zoom meetings with your fall trimester teachers on August 11 (B block/advisory) and 12 (A block). Between August 7-9, please look out for an email from your teachers about these meetings. Be sure to check your Academy email for the times when your teacher will call or Zoom with you to hold these meetings. (You can use these cool Academy campus photos for virtual Zoom backgrounds, if you’d like.) Your adviser each trimester will be your B block teacher, which means you will have a different adviser each trimester. During the school year, there will be an advisory period once a week during lunch, when your advisory group will meet to do activities, hold discussions, and have fun together. Your adviser will tell you more about this in your meeting.
All 8-9 students are required to have a laptop. The eighth- and ninth-grade teachers will use laptops in different ways and in different capacities in their classes. Be sure yours is charged and ready to go each day.
While we don’t publish an 8-9 school supply list, teachers will let you know what you’ll need for their classes on the first day of school. That said, all eighth- and ninth-grade students will use a TI-84 calculator in some capacity during the school year. We recommend the use of a Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus. Any of the TI-84 Plus versions are acceptable. Additionally, you will have an opportunity to pick up your books and materials on the evenings of August 10-12 between 5-8 p.m., depending on your last name. Exact details will be sent by email soon.
As you prepare for the school year (and throughout the year), please visit the 8-9 division page for more useful information. At the back-to-school page, you will find important details for making your first few days easier. Also, to view answers to many common questions, class schedules, and other important information about the 2020-21 school year, please visit the Learning Reimagined webpage.
There will be more information to come as we get closer to the day we can return to campus for in-person learning, which we hope will be soon.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about these details. We look forward to a great year ahead, despite these challenging times. We can’t thank you enough for your continued support.
GO CHARGERS!
Kind regards,
Martha Palmer
8-9 Division Head
8/3/20: A Back-to-School Message from the 10-12 Division Head
I hope that you had a relaxing summer and are excited to start the 2020-21 school year. As we approach a new academic year during this unprecedented time, I find myself increasingly grateful for the support and flexibility of our parents and students.
Please note the following:
- We will post class schedules on August 4. Please access them by logging into My Backpack.
- Please submit schedule change requests to me via email. We will consider requests August 5-7. Due to smaller class sizes and the trimester schedule, our ability to accommodate schedule change requests will be extremely limited.
- Teachers will email their students August 7-9 with details about student orientation. Students, please plan on speaking one-on-one online or over the phone on August 11-12 with your teachers. The objective of these meetings is to start building relationships with your teachers, and they are very excited to meet you!
- Plan to pick up books and other materials on August 10-12 between 5 and 8 p.m., depending on your last name. Exact details will be sent by email soon.
- We will invite our sixth graders, seniors, and their families to a convocation event on the evening of August 15. Since a gathering of this size continues to present social distancing concerns, convocation will take the form of a car parade.
- For the first trimester, the deadline for dropping and adding courses is August 25.
- I value parent communication and consider it vital to student success. In lieu of the Tea with Christine opportunities I would normally host, this year I invite you to join me for regular Zoom gatherings. The first one will be at 7:30 a.m. on September 1. Watch your email for the link.
This year, to reduce contact points, students’ B block teachers will serve as their advisers. This means student advisers will change each trimester. If a student does not have a B block class, we will assign them a faculty adviser.
We continue to consider the logistics of creating a safe school environment in the hopes of bringing students back to campus soon. This school year, in order to reduce density on campus, we will permit 10th- and 11th-grade students to go home during free blocks. If students choose this option, we require additional information from parents that we will collect through a survey to be sent after releasing student schedules. Please complete it promptly. Seniors will receive the same privileges as in past years. Due to social distancing guidelines, if 10-12 students stay on campus during free blocks, they will be required to attend a study hall.
To learn more about our program and access important information throughout the school year, please visit the 10-12 division webpage. Also, to view answers to many common questions, class schedules, and other important information about the 2020-21 school year, please visit the Learning Reimagined webpage.
If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 828-3388 or lenhart@aa.edu. Again, thank you for your continued support during this challenging time. Let’s make this upcoming school year a great one!
Best regards,
Christine Lenhart
10-12 Division Head
7/29/20: Details About Beginning School Online
In light of the governor’s recent announcement about schools, orders regarding occupancy limits and group sizes, the rising cases in Bernalillo County, and the increase in cases among New Mexicans ages 10-19, Albuquerque Academy has made the decision to postpone the start of on-campus classes until at least after Labor Day. School will begin online on Thursday, August 13.
In addition to limiting contacts, our trimester plan was designed to make it easier for students to manage online learning, and this summer our faculty participated in professional development to improve their online teaching skills. We are confident in our ability to provide meaningful online learning as well as an environment that will protect our community as much as possible when conditions improve and we can return to campus; the plan we shared at the end of June and on the Academy website is what we will implement as soon as we are able.
In the meantime, here is a timeline of what can be expected in the coming days:
August 3
Welcome emails to students and families from division heads
August 4
Academic schedules sent to students in grades 8-12; please note that we will be able to accommodate only very limited schedule change requests
August 6
7 p.m. Q&A webinar for students/families in grades 6-12 with Academy administrators (registration link provided by email)
August 7-9
Faculty/advisers will call students and send invitations for online orientations
August 10-12
Students pick up books, IDs, and other materials from campus during designated time frames; details will follow
August 11-12
Online student orientations hosted by classroom teachers and advisors
August 13
First day of class following the regular online schedule
August 15
7 p.m. Convocation car parade for sixth-grade and senior students and families only; details will follow
The Academy board of trustees, administrators, division heads, and academic departments continue to work through many details. We will update you regularly by email and through the Learning Reimaged webpage where we have provided answers to many of the questions you have submitted online. Sample daily schedules for online and in-person learning for all grades are available here. Lunch fees will be refunded through Labor Day, and we will continue to provide refunds in blocks (rather than daily) as long as we are unable to offer in-person classes.
Many have voiced support of the decision to start online while others have expressed their disappointment. I think we can agree this is not a situation any of us wants. Please know that we want the same thing you do — the very best for our students.
Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School
7/27/20: Albuquerque Academy to Start School Online
All of us are disappointed by the continuing spread of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent need to delay in-person education through at least Labor Day, as determined by the Albuquerque Academy administration and the board of trustees based on the governor’s recent announcement about schools, orders regarding occupancy limits and group sizes, the rising cases in Bernalillo County, and the increase in cases among New Mexicans ages 10-19. We want to get our students back on campus as soon as possible, but do so safely for our students, employees, families, and the larger community. We have made the decision to begin school online and hope to implement our in-person plan in September.
With the decision to begin school online, we now have certainty about what will happen on August 13, the first day of school. We will share more details in the coming days, including a message tomorrow with information about students’ schedules, orientations, and picking up classroom materials.
When we hired Julianne Puente as our head of school last year, this was certainly not the start to her tenure that any of us envisioned. This year was supposed to be her opportunity to get to know our culture and traditions. Nothing seems to be going as expected during this pandemic. All of our lives have changed dramatically since March 11 when the Academy closed its campus.
Ms. Puente has worked essentially without stop since arriving in Albuquerque in early June, well before her official start on July 1. She has worked with representatives from all parts of the school to develop a plan to reopen the campus safely and productively, which includes a schedule that will be conducive to having some portion of the school year online, anticipating that events could require us to close the campus again. She has continued to work tirelessly with her team to refine the plan as the situation has evolved, keeping the education of our students at the forefront and providing regular updates to me and the board about the thousands of moving parts that must be considered. She continues to brainstorm ways to bring students together safely on campus in small groups to share common interests.
Please be understanding and supportive as we navigate these very challenging times. We do not all agree on what should happen or how, but we ultimately have the shared goal of bringing our community together safely as soon as possible. If we can address the challenges together with civility and empathy, we will be a stronger school and community in the end. Furthermore, we can use this opportunity to set an example for our students as they learn “to serve country and community with wisdom, conviction, and compassion,” in accordance with our mission. In the meantime, please do what you can to slow the spread of the virus so we can get back on campus as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Tom Smidt
Chair, Board of Trustees
6/30/20: The Plan for Reopening of School
Although I haven’t yet officially taken over the reins as Albuquerque Academy’s head of school — my first official day is tomorrow — since I arrived in the U.S. in early June and even long before that, I’ve been working closely with Andy Watson and the Academy administration to ensure a smooth transition, which is especially critical in a time when schools must reimagine all of the things we’d once taken for granted. I’d like to thank Andy for the work he’s done in preparing me for this job and for this most unusual return to school in August.
Normally, a new head of school would spend their first year learning as much as their students before implementing any big changes, especially at a school as highly regarded as the Academy. But these are not normal times, and changes must be made now.
However, I’m not making these changes on my own. The plans for the 2020-21 school year have been shaped by the results of the student, parent, faculty, and staff surveys conducted in mid-June, which strongly indicated a desire to return to learning on campus, and with significant input from the administrators and teachers who know our school and our students best.
Every decision we are making is shaped by these two guiding principles:
- Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
- Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community
We know that no plan to return to campus is without risk. All of us take risks every day, such as riding in a car, though for the most part, they are risks we’ve grown comfortable with and accept as a necessary. Like riding in a car, we’ll all need to follow the rules and take personal responsibility to protect ourselves, and one another, as much as possible from COVID-19. I’m counting on all of you to make this plan a success.
Despite our best efforts to protect our community while holding classes on campus, a breakout could occur at the Academy, or the situation in our city or state may warrant another campus closure. As explained in this video, this plan was designed to be adaptable so we could transition smoothly from in-person to online learning if necessary.
And all of the plans we’ve made so far — and will make in the coming weeks — and all of the messages and videos we send can be found here, at the Learning Reimagined landing page at aa.edu. Although we will continue to send updates directly to your inbox, this is your best resource for answers to your questions, as further details are determined.
Thank you for your cooperation and support as we reimagine teaching and learning together.
Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Head of School
6/10/20: Reopening of School Survey
Although I have been meeting quite regularly with many people from the Academy since October, we have spent the last weeks working in committees to explore ways we might be able to safely reopen the Academy for the 2020-21 school year. Our planning has been informed by the “three Cs” that we now need to be aware of – close contact, crowded areas, and closed spaces – all of which are inherently part of life at a school like Albuquerque Academy. In the age of COVID-19, our traditional classrooms, dining halls, arts and athletics programs, co-curricular activities, labs, and common areas all carry new risks. In order to find a safe path forward for our community, all of those risks need to be considered, and the life of our campus reimagined, in a way that preserves what is essential about the Academy.
This challenge is vast, complex, and unprecedented – and I can think of no community better equipped to tackle it than this one. In helping us create a comprehensive plan that best serves the entire community, I ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey to share your thoughts, concerns, questions, and ideas about how we should reopen school. The survey will close Friday, June 12 at 23:00. We will use this information to inform and refine our thinking and approach, and we hope to share a reopening plan with you sometime in the next few weeks.
Although this was not the start that I had imagined, I am prepared for the challenge. Living in the Middle East for the last 11 years uniquely equipped me to embrace uncertainty and view challenges as opportunities. Starting in July, I look forward to meeting with you in person, on Zoom, or over the phone as I seek to learn as much as possible about this most wonderful school community.
Sincerely,
Julianne Puente
Incoming Head of School
5/11/20: Looking Ahead to the Coming School Year
Our obvious preference is to start school on August 20 together on campus, celebrating our return, welcoming new students, honoring the seniors, and greeting our new head of school, Julianne Puente. But we have to plan to be ready for anything. Our Reopening Committee, with subcommittees addressing academics, campus safety, staffing and hiring, and communication, is considering questions about how we can return to campus safely, with official guidance from the state and the CDC. We will also be informed by research and advice from other professional organizations, brainstorming with school heads from other top independent schools, and lessons learned from our Global Online Academy (GOA) sister schools in Asia and Europe. The committee is strengthened already by the involvement of Ms. Puente; she brings great experience to the table after considering the same issues we face, and more, at her boarding school in Jordan.
Our educators clearly know how to support students under normal teaching conditions, but after diving into online learning this spring and the surge of professional development that we are funding this summer, they will also be ready if there is the need to go back to online teaching in the future or if we must adopt a hybrid model at any point. I have to say, the efforts of our teachers have been simply incredible — they really kept our school strong. We are very fortunate to reap the benefits of being one of the 10 founding members of the Global Online Academy, as their professional development offerings in course design and online learning are the best and most sought after in the independent school world. More than 30 of our teachers will be joining their “boot camp + coaching” program this summer, while the rest of our teachers will be involved with summer professional development grants taught by some of our leading online practitioners. All of this work will strengthen teaching and broaden skills in all learning settings.
Tuition for the 2020-21 school year will not be reduced at this point. If there are net cost savings resulting from any extended alteration of our normal work next year, we will consider a refund, not unlike this spring’s dining hall refund. Such a determination would come after balancing these savings against extra costs (increases in professional development for teachers; cleaning, safety, and security expenses; and technological expenses and possible staffing or alteration of physical space to create social distancing on campus all come to mind). At the same time, we remain committed to supporting families who have lost income due to the pandemic this year and next, thanks to the generosity of our community members who have made gifts to the Academy Endurance Fund. Please email Financial Assistance Officer Emily Kienzle for tuition-assistance questions or Controller Sandy Timmons for payment-schedule questions. We will also continue the discounting that our endowment spending provides every Academy student, ever aware that we need to maintain the strength of our endowment for the years ahead.
As we adapt to current circumstances and plan for the future, there is good news about the strength of our school. As of today, our re-enrollment and enrollment numbers for next year are our strongest in a decade. This might seem amazing to some, but I’m not surprised. I see this as a vote of confidence for the work we’ve done this spring, trust that we have the wisdom and resources to excel in any scenario going forward, and a belief in the strength and stability of our school. It is also an understanding that a commitment to the Academy is a decision about being part of our community for far more than a single year. Finally, it is a signal that our families, some multigenerational Academy families and/or some who hope their next generation will join us someday, remain committed to our mission and to the idea that it is possible to create one of the nation’s top independent school communities here in Albuquerque.
So many people have supported the Academy, and me, during this time of change and challenge. We are very grateful. The fact that this spring of adaptation and planning comes as I prepare to retire from the Academy is immensely fulfilling, despite sadness around the world, as it feels like I am supporting our school and mission right up to the end. It has been joyful to share this work with Julianne Puente as she contends with equally, or more challenging, conditions finishing up her time at King’s Academy in Jordan.
I hope you and your family are all safe, and I hope this letter is helpful.
Thank you for everything, especially now, Chargers.
Andrew Watson
Head of School
UPDATED 8/5/20: What will happen with athletics?
UPDATED 8/5/20: Will there be 6-7 sports?
7/30/20: Why can’t the Academy allow on-campus classes by following the 25% capacity or group gathering requirements?
7/30/20: Can 6-7 students borrow a laptop from the school to use when classes are online?
7/30/20: Will students and faculty be tested for COVID-19 before a return to on-campus classes?
7/30/20: How will independent study classes work?
7/30/20: Is it OK to carpool with other students if they aren’t in the same classes?
7/30/20: Will the grading system work differently due to online learning and/or the new trimester system? What if students struggle with the new format?
7/30/20: When will students receive their schedules?
Sixth and seventh graders will find out which village they are in from their family heads, and that information will dictate what their daily schedules look like.
7/30/20: Will the lunch fee be refunded for the first three weeks of school?
7/30/20: Will there be an orientation?
UPDATED 7/29/20: When will we hear more about the return-to-school plan from the Academy leadership?
7/21/20: Can I opt for online learning if I have health concerns for myself or a family member?
7/21/20: Will there be a senior retreat?
7/14/20: How closely will classroom experiences mirror what we were used to in the past?
7/14/20: Will there be finals at the end of each trimester?
7/14/20: Can students meet with teachers outside of class?
7/14/20: Does everyone on campus need to wear a mask?
7/14/20: Can students bring their own lunch?
7/14/20: How will restrooms be managed?
7/14/20: How will behavior and adherence to protocol outside of school be managed?
7/9/20: Will students be prepared for AP exams in the spring?
The AP exam registration deadline is November 13, 2020. Prices have increased by $1. There will be no fee for canceled exams as long as the exam is canceled by March 12 or indicated as unused by MyAP before the invoice is generated. These changes in policy indicate that exams are likely to be digital in 2021, but this has not been confirmed.
7/9/20: Will music practice rooms be open for students to use during breaks in the day?
7/2/20: How will students retain information from classes, specifically classes like languages and math that build upon skills from year to year?
7/2/20: Will performing arts and PE classes be held?
7/2/20: Will students use lockers?
7/2/20: Will dining halls be open?
7/2/20: Will bookstores be open?
7/2/20: What is a cohort?
7/2/20: If a student must quarantine or even miss one day of school, how can we make sure they don’t fall behind?
7/2/20: Will the school still allow senior privileges?
7/2/20: Will community members be able to use campus trails?
UPDATED 7/2/20: Can my family travel?
6/30/20: Will classes be held in person or online?
6/30/20: How will the Academy protect the health of students?
These measures include social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, and reduced student mixing; class space and building enhancements such as HVAC improvements, air filtration systems, plexiglass barriers, and touchless water stations; and stepped-up cleaning, such as ionized aerosol disinfection and increased cleaning in high traffic areas.
More information is provided in the return to campus plan detailed on this page.
6/30/20: Will students be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at school?
6/30/20: What will happen if someone at the Academy tests positive for COVID-19?
If your student or someone in your household tests positive for COVID-19, you must notify the school nurse as soon as possible.
If anyone in your household has been notified by the State Health Department that they were in contact with an individual infected with COVID-19, you are asked to notify the school nurse. You may be asked to keep your student home from school for 14 days. During this time, your student will be able to continue classes by distance learning.
6/30/20: If I have health concerns for my student or my family, must they attend school in person?
6/30/20: What is the reasoning behind the new calendar and daily schedule?
- Five-days-a-week, full-day instruction, allowing parents to better manage their own work schedules
- A smoother transition to online learning if necessary because students will have fewer classes to manage
- Cohort scheduling and class sizes of 12 students or fewer reduce student mixing, simplifying contact tracing in case of exposure and likely preventing the need to close campus in case of exposure
6/30/20: If school is starting one week early, how are other breaks impacted?
6/30/20: How does the Academy calendar line up with the Albuquerque Public Schools calendar?
6/30/20: If there are only two classes a day, what will my student’s schedule look like?
The 6-7 division schedule will be developmentally appropriate allowing students to attend up to four one-hour classes by cohort each trimester; over the course of the year, they will have the full 6-7 experience.
As usual, students will receive their schedules just prior to the start of school.
The full-day, five-day-a-week schedule allows us to reduce class sizes to 12 students or fewer and will allow parents to better manage their own work schedules.
6/30/20: What other extracurriculars and activities will be available?
6/30/20: Can parents come on campus?
6/30/20: I have additional questions. Whom should I ask?
If you have a question not answered on this page, please use the form below to submit a question that will be answered online. For a question about your student or a class that requires a direct response, please email the appropriate faculty member or administrator.
- 6-7 Division Head Chris Dineen
- 8-9 Division Head Martha Palmer
- 10-12 Division Head Christine Lenhart
6/30/20: How is the Academy making decisions about the 2020-21 school year?
- Supporting and protecting school community health and wellness
- Fulfilling our mission as a school committed to educational excellence and a powerful sense of community
Decisions have also been guided by the results of surveys conducted in mid-June. More than 70% of parents responded to this survey, with nearly 75% supporting an earlier start to the school year. Both parent and student respondents indicated a strong preference for in-person classes, and parents, students, and faculty supported a trimester schedule.
Work continues, of course, on establishing protocols, determining logistics, and designing and scheduling the program.
6/16/20: What news is there about ACT and SAT tests?
Here is your update for mid-June. Can you believe it’s already mid-June? First some news on testing registration. As always, we can’t ensure that these test dates will actually happen, but registration info is as follows:
The SAT: Registration opened on June 8 for SAT test dates during the 2020-21 school year. Those SAT dates in 2020 are August 29, September 26, October 3, November 7, and December 5. Those SAT dates in 2021 are March 13, May 8, and June 5.
The ACT: Registration will open in late July for ACT dates during the 2020-21 school year. Those ACT dates in 2020 are September 12, October 24, and December 12. Those ACT dates in 2021 are February 6, April 17, and June 12. Please note: The registration deadline for the July 18, 2020 ACT is June 26, 2020.
We have been busy planning our end-of-summer and fall programs. Whether we are online or in person, we will have a large array of programs and workshops to help you through the college application process. For those of you who still have not had your first meeting with your college adviser, please reach out to them via email. Appointments are available this summer on a case-by-case basis. We will take time off, but we all have available times this summer.
The College Guidance Office will officially reopen on August 1. We will host several optional workshops in early August, including a Common Application Workshop, a Scholarship/Financial Aid Workshop, and specific workshops for the Apply Texas Application and the ASU Application. Stay tuned for exact dates and times, as well as the format.
Right before school begins, we will again host our Application Boot Camp, which will consist of individual check-in meetings with your college adviser and a half-day workshop on Tuesday, August 18. Please save that date for either a morning or afternoon mandatory workshop.
Our official kickoff program for parents will be the Final Countdown for Senior Parents, which will take place on August 27. Other events for the fall include a Financial Aid Workshop for Parents, the Tri-School Symposium, and more. Again, details will be sent later.
The bottom line is that no matter what happens with the school year itself, we have your backs. We have a long list of programs, workshops, and strategies to help you manage your college application process. We will get you through this.
Let us know if you have any questions, and look out for another update in early July!
A Message from the CGO, June 1, 2020
Albuquerque Academy will serve as a test center on every date possible this summer and this fall as long as we can comply with the state public health orders regarding coronavirus to keep people safe on our campus. We will notify you and your parents as soon as changes occur that are specifically related to Albuquerque Academy as a test center.
The College Guidance Office recommends seniors register for either an ACT or an SAT (the upcoming test dates are ACT: July 18, September 12, October 24, and December 12; SAT: August 29, September 26, October 3, November 7, and December 5). Once you get a spot the testing agencies will view you as one of their customers and should serve you in a professional and timely way. For example, under the guidelines released late yesterday, if you were registered for a cancelled test or test center, you were ahead in line for re-registering.
That said, CGO counselors often do not receive the most up-to-date communiques from the testing agencies until after you do. Thus, we advise you to access the ACT or SAT agencies directly for things like test center changes, test date changes, test payment refunds, etc. Here are the customer service numbers/emails at the testing agencies.
For the SAT (College Board): (866) 756-7346
For the ACT: (319) 337-1270
5/21/20: Are counselors available for support?
In these unprecedented times, your Albuquerque Academy counselors are here for you.
To help, we invite you to join a group on Facebook called QuaranTEEN Life – Summer of 2020. It’s a group designed to bring people together to share their ideas on how they are taking care of themselves and creating new summer plans. If you’d like to join, click this link: QuaranTEEN Life – Summer 2020.
We invite you to let us know if you need any extra support. Feel free to email the Counseling and Human Development Department, and we will be happy to share referral information for local therapists, if needed. Please download the app NM Connect, as it has a wealth of resources. For more immediate concerns, the New Mexico Crisis Line has call and text resources available 24/7.
5/19/20: Is the Academy participating in any governmental COVID relief programs?
When PPP loans were announced, we felt the program would be a perfect fit to help the Academy deal with the financial losses we are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we applied, primarily to support our employees, now and in the future. On April 17, the Academy received a PPP loan of $3.2 million. Since receiving the loan, the SBA has continued to refine its guidelines, laying out plans for greater scrutiny, especially for loans of more than $2 million, and, as we all know, many recipients have been subjected to negative publicity – deserved or not. With this in mind, the SBA gave recipients until May 18 to return loans if they wish. At a board meeting on May 13, after reviewing additional updated guidance from the Treasury Department, issued just that morning, the Board of Trustees voted to keep the loan. We are confident that the documentation we provided in applying for the loan and the tracking mechanism developed by our CFO and controller will prove the validity of our receipt of this benefit.
What is a PPP loan and how will the Academy use it? The PPP is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. As defined by the loan terms, the Academy will use the money for payroll. With 376 employees, including seasonal employees, their employment is important to their families, the school, and the Albuquerque economy. We feel that preserving jobs at the Academy is just as important as keeping anyone in the local economy working, and we avoided layoffs in the initial phase of the pandemic because we received the PPP loan. Keeping our employees on the payroll maintains our strength for the long haul, and it supports the greater community as their compensation makes its way into the local economy. In fact, anything that strengthens the Academy strengthens the local economy, as most all of our spending goes into the community, from the contractors working around campus to the pizzas we buy and then sell in our concession stands and beyond.
Will everyone agree that the Academy should have received a PPP loan? Perhaps not, especially if they are not informed about the school’s financial situation. The tumbling financial markets have had a significant impact on the Academy’s endowment, the fund that ensures the financial future of the school. And while our endowment has dropped, the debt we owe on our bonds and the spending we’ve undertaken, mostly in salary and benefits, to support this year’s operations have not. Neither has our commitment to our students or commitment to our mission.
Income from the Academy’s endowment is used to support a portion of the annual operating budget. In 2019-20, the endowment provided $4,434 of spending per student. Of particular note: We provided $4.7 million dollars in tuition assistance for 281 students. Like many other endowments, the dramatic drop in the stock market had a negative effect on the value of the Academy’s endowment. Additionally, the endowment is not a liquid asset; there are limitations because part of the endowment is held in a trust and some tied up in land. Our basic financial model is a common one across independent schools, and many other independent schools have been awarded PPP loans to help them get through this health and financial crisis. Like other independent schools, we anticipate negative impacts on enrollment, and therefore tuition revenue, immediately and long term. Other revenue streams have been significantly reduced due to the cancellation of our Think Summer program – a $1.5 million loss in revenue – and the inability to provide facilities rentals to local, mostly nonprofit, groups. The Academy also suspended traditional fundraising campaigns, including Chargers Giving Back Day, which we rely on for our operational budget.
Beyond supporting our employees through the PPP program, we launched the Academy Endurance Fund on April 9 in response to the financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary goals of this initiative are to care for our students and families and to keep our Charger community intact as we move through this time of financial setbacks and uncertainties. As of May 13, the fund had received 200+ gifts totaling more than $82,000; however, we already have identified the need to provide more than $125,000 in additional tuition assistance, and this number is sure to grow. We are deeply appreciative of the support for this fundraising effort, but we can’t expect the generosity of our community to make up all of the shortfall; the economic impact of the pandemic is widespread among our families. In seeking both a PPP loan and launching the Endurance Fund, we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the continuity of an Academy education for all of our currently enrolled students as well as the ability to provide for future generations of students.
Other heads of school whose schools have received PPP loans also believe strongly in their employees, their schools, and their families (both now and in the future), and they feel that it is just as important for educational small businesses to receive support as it is for all the other businesses taking part in the program. Shoring up schools and providing educational options are just as important immediately to our economy as saving small businesses and even more critical to the future of our communities. There is no such thing as too much support for education in New Mexico at the moment.
Sending intelligent, informed, caring, independent thinkers into the world, where they will keep this country moving forward in the next decades, is what we do. A big part of our mission is to make such opportunities possible for students from families who were not already economically advantaged. It would be painful, now or in the future, to either make wide layoffs among our employees or turn away deserving students needing tuition assistance because we did not take a PPP loan or ask for community support of the Endurance Fund.
5/12/20: How is the Academy preparing for the possibility of prolonged or additional campus closures?
We are very fortunate to reap the benefits of being one of the 10 founding members of the Global Online Academy, as their professional development offerings in course design and online learning are the best and most sought after in the independent school world. More than 30 Academy teachers will join their four-week boot camp and coaching program this summer, while the rest of our teachers will be involved with summer professional development grants to improve their tech skills and online course design taught by some of our leading online teaching practitioners.
5/12/20: I’ve lost income due to the pandemic. Can my family get help with tuition?
4/23/20: How can I support the community?
To support local nonprofits that work closely with the Academy, see this letter from Director of Community and Global Citizenship Dara Johnson.
Here are some of the ways our community has been making a difference.
- SAGE Dining donated more than 1,400 pounds of fresh food — milk, eggs, yogurt, and produce — to Roadrunner Food Bank.
- The nurse’s office and science department donated 300 masks to UNMH.
- The science department donated 60 goggles to first responders and medical professionals through Goggles for Docs.
- The computing department has manufactured more than 100 mask strap adjusters for Presbyterian, UNMH, and a local nursing home, as well as facilities in New York City, Colorado, and Texas.
- The Desert Oasis Teacher Garden is donating its weekly harvests to Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico and partnering with some APS schools to provide curriculum along with lunch pickups.
- The ninth grade community service club is coordinating a letter-writing campaign in support of medical providers. Learn more here.
- Academy families may attend mask-making tutorials on Thursday afternoons.
- Melinda ’21 created the website ABQ Fight COVID-19 to coordinate efforts in the fight against the virus. Read more here.
- Rosa ’21 has sewn more than 100 masks, donating to at-risk community members, the UNM Cancer Center, and the Farmington Regional Medical Center. She has also started making surgical caps. Visit her website, Random Masks of Kindness.
Online Schedules
In-Person Schedules
7/22/20: How do the cycles in the grades 6 and 7 schedules work?
In grade 6, students will have up to four classes a day, plus performing arts or study hall. In grade 7, students will have three classes a day, plus performing arts or study hall.
7/30/20: When will students receive their schedules?
Sixth and seventh graders will find out which village they are in from their family heads, and that information will dictate what their daily schedules look like.
7/22/20: Why are the 6-7 schedules more complicated than the 8-12 schedules?
7/22/20: With so many classes in the 6-7 day, how many students will each child be in contact with?
7/22/20: Will 6-7 students start at the same time every day?
7/22/20: When will 6-7 students receive their schedules?
7/22/20: What will 6-7 students do during their break times?
7/21/20: How will Global Online Academy classes fit into the schedule?
7/21/20: Will students be able to stay after school in the library, or will they need to be picked up when school ends?
7/21/20: Will siblings have the same staggered start time so they can carpool?
7/21/20: What will students do if they are not able to leave campus during free blocks due to parents’ schedules or a long commute to school?
7/14/20: If a student is taking only five academic courses due to rigor, do they need to register for a sixth?
7/14/20: With two classes per trimester, when will I take my seventh class?
7/9/20: How will semester-long classes be handled?
7/9/20: When will schedules be provided to students?
7/9/20: Will schedules be balanced so a student does not have two intense courses in the same trimester?
With only two courses per day, students will have more room in their schedules to start homework earlier and pursue other activities outside of school that help them recharge.
7/7/20: If classes meet every day for a trimester, why do we need to have a 10-day cycle?
7/7/20: How will advisers be assigned in grades 8-12, and when will they meet?
7/7/20: How will eighth graders be assigned to PE and health classes, and when will they meet?
7/7/20: How will ninth graders be assigned to PE and Ex Ed, and when will they meet?
7/7/20: How will 10th graders be assigned to college knowledge and health classes, and when will they meet?
7/7/20: How will 11th graders be assigned to college knowledge class, and when will it meet?
Spring 2020 Assignments
