Charter School Looks to Change its Image

Photo by David Barnes

Albuquerque Charter Vocational High School

Local Charter School is Fighting for its Future

by DAVID BARNES

Administrators and faculty members at Albuquerque Charter Vocational High School say they are implementing changes that will alter its reputation as a school of last resort.

The school’s new principal, Lisa Myhre, says she is besieged by requests from parents telling her they would like to enroll their children at the school.

Myhre says a recent conversation she had is indicative of the attitude among many parents who are considering ACVHS.

“A parent called me and said ‘My child hasn’t done well at other schools and is mentally challenged, but I really think they would do well at your school,’” Myhre said.

Although Myhre says she is happy to help students who have not performed well in the past, she does not want to encourage parents to believe that ACVHS is a school where hard work is not required.

“This is not a big babysitting service,” she said. “Students have to be engaged in their own education. We’re not in control of their future, they are.”

Before working as the principal at ACVHS, Myhre spent nine years at Albuquerque Academy as a science teacher, and later, as the dean of students.

While Myhre says she enjoyed her time at the Academy, she says that after six years of work as an administrator, she was ready for a new challenge.

“I learned how to be a leader and an administrator but when you’re in education, you want to make a difference,” she said.

Although Myhre has now spent 20 years as an educator, it was not until her senior year of college that she says she first began thinking about a career in education.

“I ended up working at a summer camp in Maine and really loved working with the kids,” she said. “I had a great time and I thought this is fun. I need to find a job where I can do this every day.”

Since ACVHS opened its doors in 2002, the school’s computer-based curriculum has included English, mathematics, the sciences and vocational classes such as construction, automotive repair, and computer technology.

However, the school has continually failed to meet the state’s adequate yearly progress standards. As a result, ACVHS has been placed on probation by the state. The decision could force the school to close its doors.

Photo by David Barnes

ACVHS English Teacher Brian Tafoya

In order to stay open, administrators say that the school had to implement changes. Next year, ACVHS will introduce a new classroom-based curriculum via direct instruction that administrators say will help students gain the necessary skills to find work in the state’s burgeoning film industry.

Myhre says the flexibility given to charter schools such as ACVHS allows the school to rapidly adjust to the needs of its students.

“Charter schools give you the opportunity to make a change a lot faster than at another public school,” she said. “At a charter school, we don’t have to wait for someone else to approve every decision. We can say, let’s do it now.’”

“So many times I think that people see a direction they would like to go with a school or a particular program,” she said. “But they either don’t try because they feel like they will never get anywhere because the monster is too big to move, or they do try, but they have to constantly wait for approval.”

In New Mexico, charter schools such as ACVHS have existed since 1993. As unhappiness with public education continues to grow, Myhre says that many educators around the state are simply overwhelmed by the number of problems facing their schools.

ACVHS’s Director of Student Services, Leslie Kelly, says the perception of the school as a haven for underachieving students is common, but that the school is trying to change that.

Like any public school that receives state and federal funding, ACVHS cannot deny any prospective student enrollment. However, the school does want to attract more committed students.

“We want to become a school of choice,” Kelly said.

The decision by school officials to switch gears next year is reflected in ongoing discussions over a new name for the school. Myhre says that many people think the word vocational has a negative meaning attached to it.

“There is a connotation to the word vocational that implies less academically challenging classes,” she said. “When a person hears the word, they think the school is going to be easier, that the standards are lower, and the classes are easier.”

As one of the school’s three guidance counselors, Susan McKee says she works with many students who are not motivated. McKee says the administration’s decision to change the school’s approach is a good one.

Reflecting the new approach the school has adopted, McKee says one of her new responsibilities will be to develop links with universities and companies in the state who are involved in the film industry. McKee says ACVHS has already entered into a partnership program with Central New Mexico Community College.

While administrators such as Myhre and Kelly are confident that changes to the school will be successful, some faculty members and students are still uncertain about the school’s future.

Brian Tafoya has worked as an English teacher at ACVHS for four years. He says many teachers are not sure how they will incorporate the school’s new emphasis on media arts in their classes.

“We’re on the outside of what’s going on and we haven’t been given any direction,” he said.

Tafoya says he is worried that many of his students will not like the new changes and could leave the school.

“We have such a difficult population of students here,” he said.

Tafoya says many of his students were attracted to the school because they could work at their own pace. He says he is concerned that placing ACVHS students in a traditional classroom setting will cause problems for students who chose the school because of its computer-based curriculum.

Orbin Jimenez is a freshman at ACVHS. Jimenez says he would not be happy if the school decided to abandon the current system. Although Jimenez says he would be interested in media arts classes, he says he prefers to learn through a computer-based system.

Despite the uncertainty over the school’s future, Myhre says she is committed to her students’ success. While she is quick to admit that there are many problems facing public education, she says that charter schools offer hope for the future.

“I don’t believe that public education cannot be saved,” she said. “It’s a big mess, that’s for sure. But I know that you can make a difference.”

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