From left, Los Alamos School Board Vice President Jenny McCumber, superintendent Dr. Kurt Steinhaus and school Board President Jim Hall during a March 15 board meeting. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com

The Los Alamos School Board extended Superintendent Dr. Kurt Steinhaus’ contract for one more year─a year early. His contract will now run through 2018.

The Superintendent is serving under a two-year contract, which began in June 2015. The Board decided, during its March 15 meeting, to extend the contract for another year without waiting for its expiration in 2017.

“The Board is pleased about what Kurt has been doing and this extension reflects that,” recently re-elected Board President Jim Hall said.

“We’re very pleased with his performance,” recently elected Board Vice President Jenny McCumber agreed. “He has exceeded expectations and proven to be a good leader.”

Steinhaus said he was not surprised by the contract extension. “The Board has been giving me feedback all along,” he said. “I’m honored to be superintendent of schools. It’s truly an honor.”

Looking ahead, Steinhaus said his focus will remain on students. “That’s what gets me up every morning,” he said. “What’s making it work is the outstanding teaching staff.”

The role of every staff member is to support students, parents and teachers, Steinhaus said. “The focus of the entire District is on student well-being and student achievement.”

These goals aren’t just talk, Steinhaus said. The District has a specific action set, deadlines and measures of success, he said.

These goals are reflected in the newly revised Strategic Plan. The School Board has taken a leadership role in developing the Plan, Steinhaus said. A draft of the Plan is on the District website here.

“We’ve made incredible progress and we’ll continue to make progress by moving forward with our plans,” Steinhaus said.

The District is conducting a series of public meetings to provide information and get feedback on the Strategic Plan and the new budget, which is due to be delivered May 3 to the New Mexico Public Education Department.

The next public meeting is 5:30 p.m., April 5 at the White Rock Library. Another meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., April 7 in the Los Alamos High School Speech Theater.

“I’m so thankful for the active involvement of the community with the public schools,” Steinhaus said.

There has been a great deal of focus on improving the educational experience and opportunities available for “average” students and for those who may be struggling.

A new program AVID (Achievement Via Individual Determination) will begin at Los Alamos Middle School next year. This program is currently in place in many schools around the country and has a proven record of improving student success, Steinhaus said.

The district is also considering bringing Saturday School, a popular program that provides student homework help at the High School to LAMS. Additionally, summer school is coming to LAHS for the first time.

Tutoring programs are being expanded at the High School, as well as the continuation of the School of Choice and Credit Recovery programs to help students who may not fit the traditional curriculum or have fallen behind.

The Freshman Academy, which aids students in the transition to high school, is being expanded this year, Steinhaus said.

Also new at the High School is the College Career Academy.

“This is a program that provides students with the option of graduating with a two-year college degree or a certificate for industry in a skill or trade,” Steinhaus said.  

The program is geared toward students who want to advance in a particular field or trade and may not be considering a four-year degree directly out of high school, or who just want to explore a particular career option more deeply, he said. The Career Academy is in collaboration with UNM-Los Alamos. The District is recruiting students at LAMS to participate in the program, Steinhaus said.

Other goals for the coming year include an analysis of student assessment through testing and of homework given.

The District will lobby for a new bill in the next legislative session to extend waivers on evaluation and testing currently granted to charter schools to those schools that have achieved an “A” rating from the PED, Steinhaus said.

Steinhaus outlined three focus areas he has stressed during the current year, which will continue next year:

Develop new and innovative ways to help all children succeed;
Improve communication; and
Take time to celebrate our successes.

In the service of improving communication, a new District website will be rolled out this summer, Steinhaus said.

Hall agreed with many of the statements Steinhaus made. He pointed to the successes the Board has made this year:

• Maintaining an excellent academic program in a time of budget cuts;
• Passing the HB33 Mill Levy, which provides public schools with funds for capital improvements expenditures, including student technology, and large maintenance projects;
• The hiring of a new school superintendent who has done very well;
• Maintaining a focus on supporting students and staff.

“All of this represents a Board and staff focus on student well-being and achievement,” Hall said.