LAPS Superintendent Dr. Jose Delfin presents an overview of the 2022-2023 LAPS goals during the School Board meeting held June 14. Courtesy photo
LAPS News:
The School Board met last Tuesday in the School Board room and via Zoom. President Melanie Colgan began the meeting by recognizing and thanking the Los Alamos County Council who voted the night before to provide funding in the amount of $7.5 million to expand recreation and other spaces available to the community in Chamisa and Piñon Elementary Schools. The expanded gym space will be available for use by the schools and community groups.
Board members then voted to expand the student liaison program to include 8th grade representatives. School Board Vice President Christine Bernstein presented the item, saying that “it is time to give middle schoolers a voice.” Secretary Jaurigue also proposed that elementary students participate in the liaison program. Colgan and board member Erin Green are on the Student Liaison subcommittee and will begin work to tweak the application process prior to the start of the new school year.
Superintendent Dr. Jose Delfin presented an overview of the LAPS goals for 2022-2023, noting that they are still a work in progress.
Delfin’s goals include:
- Reviewing and refreshing the LAPS Strategic Plan;
- Analyzing and revising the Healthy Schools plan; and
- Developing a comprehensive communication process.
Delfin also plans to review assessment data to develop teaching and learning targets for the school year, revise the organizational structure for LAPS, establish school leadership professional development, and plan and implement interest-based bargaining in time for 2023 union negotiations.
“I want to take the successes and build on them,” Dr. Delfin told the board.
He is already moving forward on evaluating the existing efforts in place to support student well-being and is meeting with local community partners and other contacts.
Dr. Sharon Fogle, LAPS Director of Professional Development, Assessment and Curriculum, updated the board on the adoption of English Language Arts materials for kindergarten through 8th grade. Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, kindergarten through fifth grade will use Amplify CKLA and sixth through eighth grade will use HMH Into Literature. She emphasized that these are the adopted instructional materials, not curriculum.
The adoption process began last September with the formation of the K-8 ELA Adoption team that was tasked with adopting a comprehensive ELA program that supports structured literacy.
Feedback was solicited from teachers and students. In addition, community members were invited to review the materials prior to monthly team meetings.
Dr. Fogle emphasized that the decision to adopt these materials was based on the standards and meeting the needs of the classroom.
“This is going to be the material that is going to teach the next generation of Los Alamos students to read,” she said.
The adopted materials meet the standards for high quality instructional materials established by the New Mexico Public Education Department in that they are content rich, fully accessible, culturally relevant and free of bias, research based, standards aligned and have a clear purpose, structure and pacing.
Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Guy presented the Curriculum Policy (6139 and 6140) to the board to begin the review process, and Policy 5129: Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Free for a second read. Policy 5129 will be included in the consent agenda at the next meeting.
The next meetings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23 and Tuesday, July 12 in the School Boardroom. School board members also will be attending a retreat July 20.