School board members Wednesday will decide on changes that could alter the future educational courses of children in neighborhoods west of Downtown.

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education is considering a boundary change regarding Duranes Elementary School, near Rio Grande Boulevard and Indian School Road.

Duranes is being converted into an early childhood center. Its students will be re-zoned to Cochiti and Reginald Chavez elementary schools if the board accepts a staff proposal.

Students currently assigned to Duranes who live south of Duranes Road and Rice Avenue and west of Rio Grande Boulevard will be reassigned to Reginald Chavez. Those who live north of Duranes Road and Rice Avenue and east of Rio Grande Blvd will be reassigned to Cochiti.

The changes would affect students for years to come, as those assigned to Reginald Chavez would then be routed to Washington Middle School and Albuquerque High School. Duranes students currently  go to Garfield Middle School and Valley High School, and those sent to Cochiti would continue to do so.

Students are assigned to specific schools based on where they live, but any student may apply to attend a different school, said Martín Salazar, the district’s communications director.

The changes will likely stabilize the new Cochiti and Reginald Chavez attendance areas. District policy calls for the changes to stay in place for at least three years, barring a major change in the student population or some other factor that creates a problem for one or more schools.

According to  APS documents, there are now 191 students living in the Duranes attendance area—a number that is projected to fall to 148 by the 2027-2028 school year.

The proposed changes would send 144 of those students to Cochiti, at 3100 San Isidro Street NW, and 47 to Reginald Chavez, at 2700 Mountain Road NW. The new populations at those schools would be 376 and 285, respectively.

The agenda states that district staff hosted meetings in December and January to discuss the proposed boundaries and their impacts to all three school communities.

If the board approves the changes, they will take place this fall. Duranes preschoolers would remain at that school through construction upgrades for the early childhood center, according to Kizito Wijenje, executive director of APS’ Capital Master Plan.

Calendar 

The board will also consider an academic calendar for 2024-2025. The proposal on the table resembles the current calendar year that began Aug. 3 and ends May 31. Under the proposed calendar, most students would start classes Aug. 5 and have their last day of school May 30, 2025.

The calendar was developed after the district surveyed students, staff, families, and community members, according to APS documents. The stated goal of the survey was to ensure the calendar aligns with community sentiment. 

The calendar committee considered the 13,261 responses during its planning, the agenda item states.

The draft calendar includes 184 days of instruction, which exceeds the 180 instructional days recently proposed by the New Mexico Public Education Department. There are also six professional development days built in.

Other Business

The board is also being asked to approve the 2024-2025 College and Career High School calendar, which aligns with Central New Mexico Community College’s calendar.

The board will also hear the community engagement ad hoc committee’s report.

The meeting is at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in the John Milne Community Board Room at district headquarters, 6400 Uptown Blvd. It will also be viewable on the APS Board of Education YouTube Channel.