Dozens of new educators at Albuquerque Public Schools spent part of their summer break honing their skills through the New Teacher Academy, Albuquerque Public Schools said in a news release.
The academy, now in its 11th year, is hosted by the district’s Mentor/Peer Assistance and Review team and gives Level 1 teachers hands-on professional learning to build confidence and strengthen instructional practices. It runs for three weeks each June, with weeks covering classroom management, instructional strategies and student engagement. About 60 teachers from Pre-K through 12th grade take part each week and are paid while they learn, collaborate and plan.
APS PAR Coordinator Stephanie Garcia said the academy aims to help teachers prepare for the school year and to support teacher retention. Naanibah Eddie, a middle school special education math teacher, said the workshops gave her ideas for making math more student-based, and third-grade teacher Erick Martinez said he valued the workshops on proactive classroom management and behavior support.
Garcia said surveys show that 100% of the teachers who attended the previous year said the academy positively affected their decision to stay at APS.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story was revised to cite the Albuquerque Public Schools news release it is based on. Learn how Brant.One reports in our editorial standards.
