APS rolls out plans to graduate high school seniors

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The 2020 school year is ending in a way no one expected, especially for high school seniors. They learned how they will be finishing their secondary education.

Albuquerque Public Schools said they’re hopeful high school seniors can still finish the year strong, even though it will be at a distance.

“It’s my great hope that we will have even more seniors graduate than usual because of all of the additional support and attention being paid on a one to one basis,” said APS Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Aimee Milazzo.

Seniors who were passing their classes as of April 8th will still need to provide feedback on their distance learning materials and will need to complete an online next steps plan in order to secure their class completions.

Seniors who were not passing their classes have a few ways to earn those passing credits, like completing an assignment from that course’s teacher or by enrolling in an eACADEMY course.

The District said they’re moving to the pass/fail grading system so that it won’t hurt students GPA’s if seniors are struggling in the distance learning transition.

Of course, one of the biggest impacts of the school closures are the graduation ceremonies for seniors.

“I also want to say how it breaks my heart that traditional graduations have been impacted as result of this world pandemic,” said APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy. “Today there is no way around holding a ceremony that brings thousands together in one location.”

The District had to cancel all high school graduation ceremonies that were planned for mid-May. APS said they hope to reschedule the ceremonies if the coronavirus spread comes to a stop and the state’s health order is lifted.

For now, APS is planning a virtual senior celebration. Click here for the full list of what it takes to graduate from APS this year.