The safety of every student and staff remains a top priority at Albuquerque Public Schools (APS). APS officials recently gathered to outline enhanced efforts and safety measures across campuses.
The APS Board of Education held a listening session on school safety on April 27. The session featured key initiatives, including the districtwide “Culture of Care” and the Integrated Support Team for crisis response. Officials also discussed a $60 million investment in infrastructure upgrades to make schools safer.
APS designed the session around community feedback from 180 respondents. Of those, 75% were APS employees and 40% were parents or guardians. Deputy Superintendent of Operations Antonio Gonzales said the presentation was not “cookie-cutter” but directly built on public input.
The presentation addressed seven core areas. These included Culture of Care, behavior intervention, adult visibility, mental health support, bullying response systems, facilities and access control, and drug and alcohol prevention. Gonzales emphasized school safety is dynamic, ever- evolving and multi-layered, calling it the “primary enabling condition” for student success.
Board Members Janelle Astorga, Community Engagement Committee chair, and Joshua Martinez moderated the event.
Emphasis on Culture of Care and Student Support
Associate Superintendent for School Climate and Supports Kenneth Salazar detailed the district’s commitment to its Culture of Care initiative. He defined it as creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment where students feel a strong sense of belonging.
The district is rolling out the strategy through four-day training, with 57 schools projected to finish by year’s end. Salazar stressed that safety begins with strong relationships, and the initiative focuses on restoring them rather than simply using punishment. Salazar stressed that safety starts with strong relationships, and the initiative prioritizes rebuilding them over punishment alone.
A district task force spearheads the Culture of Care initiative in partnership with the Albuquerque Teachers Federation and the University of New Mexico. Key efforts include expanding nonviolence crisis intervention training and establishing an elementary peer mediation program for rollout in August. The district is also developing secondary student success centers modeled after successful sites like Cibola High School. All elementary schools now have a behavior redirector who helps students build skills, habits, and mindsets.
Faster Crisis Response and Increased Visibility
APS Police Chief Steven Gallegos introduced the Integrated Support Team (IST) as a crucial development for immediate crisis intervention. Shantail Miller heads the team.
The IST responds when a student is in crisis, whether on campus or off. It de-escalates situations, offers support, and connects the child and family with necessary resources. The team also manages timely threat assessments.
Regarding adult visibility, School Resource Officers serve all high schools and nearly all middle schools, supported by a 24/7 patrol division. APS improved rapid response by assigning two officers to the Albuquerque Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center. The officers monitor school cameras and immediately relay incident information to responding officers and supervisors, reducing response time.
Investment in School Security Infrastructure
Gallegos reported that the district has invested over $60 million in campus hardening. The upgrade includes fencing, secure gates, vestibules, card access systems, and more than 5,000 managed cameras.
The district replaced classroom door locks, enabling teachers to secure their rooms from inside during critical incidents. Additionally, APS provides all staff with Centegix crisis alert badges, allowing them to call for help from any campus location.
Salazar highlighted ongoing prevention efforts at APS. He noted that an opiate settlement is funding the installation of over $500,000 in vape detectors in middle and high schools by next year.
This funding also expanded the Crossroads program, providing master-level counseling for drug and alcohol prevention to students and their families. APS is one of the few districts in the United States offering this type of counseling program of this kind. The program has served over 1,600 high school and 830 middle school students.