LAPS Superintendent Jennifer Guy. Courtesy photo
By BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos
At their June 24 meeting, the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos hosted Superintendent Jennifer Guy who presented an overview of the LAPS strategic plan, current projects, and future goals.
The LAPS strategic goals focus on three key areas: academic excellence (100% of students will meet or exceed grade level expectations in early literacy, language arts, math, science, and graduation rates), social and emotional wellbeing (100% of students will demonstrate social-emotional wellbeing), and civic responsibility (100% of students will develop the skills and disposition to be productive and responsible citizens and treat each other civilly both now, and in the future).
Guy talked about the Pinon and Chamisa elementary school moves and said she was excited about the students moving into these beautiful new buildings. Currently, the asbestos abatement work is finishing at Pinon, after which the old building can then be torn down. She explained that the district’s summer school program is going strong this year, with a record 193 students enrolled. In line with their academic excellence goal, LAPS held workshops for 250 teachers and staff on grade level standards and instructional practices.
She then answered questions from the audience. When asked how students overall are recouping from the covid epidemic, Guy responded that the biggest issues were social and emotional which are improving and loss of math skills, for which the district is working on adopting a new math curriculum and adding support. She said that about 15-17% of the LAPS students live outside Los Alamos County. The district does have non-US citizens and is working with counselors to create plans to address their issues. She added that ICE officials are not allowed to come on to any LAPS campus.
Questions were then asked about career and technical education (CTE), staffing and enrollment, and sale of school property. Guy said that they are shifting CTE pathways to better support their students and are also working with LANL to assess needs. She added that staffing levels are doing well compared to the rest of the state and they expect enrollment to maintain at current levels or increase slightly. All of the school district’s property is now leased and the schools do rely on the income they generate. However, an assessment is being made to explore the feasibility of selling property to create housing. She added that income from sold property cannot be used for recurring costs, like teachers’ salaries, but only for one-time projects.
