Gabriella Durán Blakey wants the public to know that leaders are working to keep students safe in Albuquerque’s classrooms, despite recent instances of guns reported at schools.
Blakey, superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools used her biweekly newsletter to remark on security within the district and the efforts officials are making to avoid incidents like the Sept. 4 mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, in which four people were killed and nine others were injured. CNN reported last week that 24 people have been killed and 66 injured in 50 school shootings in 2024.
She noted that firearms have been found on two APS campuses since the school year started Aug. 7. No one was injured and district officials were unaware of any threats in either case. Each student was taken into police custody.
“I don’t write this to frighten you, or to cause undue worry,” Blakey states early in the letter. “Those simply are the facts, and we can’t minimize or hide from them. In our schools today, we face situations that would have been unimaginable in years past. No one is happy to hear that, and I’m saddened beyond measure to have to write it.”
However, she wrote, the district has taken a proactive approach to safety. She offered several examples.
Before the school year even began, APS mandated that every employee wear a Centegix badge, which contains a button that when pressed can summon school police.
APS now has an integrated support team that conducts threat assessments and follows up with case managers. The team also monitors social media. Blakey said the team’s goal is to provide immediate support to students in crisis.
“The key question the unit seeks to answer is whether a student actually poses a threat,” she wrote, adding that members look at several factors when making that determination, including whether there’s any evidence the student has taken steps to carry out the threat.
The assessments include conversations with school personnel, classmates, parents, and others.
APS Police work alongside the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in determining the credibility of online threats.
Blakey wrote that none of the threats staff have investigated this year have been deemed credible.
“While it’s a huge intrusion on the learning process, we will continue to take each one seriously,” she stated.
She also touted the district’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign, which has been credited with the Sept. 17 discovery and confiscation of two weapons at Volcano Vista High School.
“I am grateful to members of our community, including our students, who’ve reached out to let us know when something is amiss,” Blakey wrote. “It’s made a huge difference.”
That effort is expanding. In the coming weeks, APS will be collaborating with the Metro Crime Stoppers program to improve the way students and staff submit anonymous tips.
Blakey also called on community members to do their part in improving the environment in which students are growing up.
“Encourage youngsters to treat one another and adults with respect,” she wrote. “I grew up in Albuquerque. I was the beneficiary of an environment that valued people’s feelings, property and future.”
She emphasized that she believes this is a wonderful place to live, and schools should be the example of all that is loved about Albuquerque.
“That’s absolutely doable, but all of us — school personnel, students, parents, loved ones, and yes, even those not affiliated with the schools — must bond together to model the best forms of humanity,” she said in the newsletter’s conclusion. “We need to care about one another — regardless of background, regardless of the situation. If we do that, I know we can keep our schools, students, teachers and staff safe and secure.”