Susan Neddeau, Principal of Santo Domingo School

Bryan Craven, Principal of Bernalillo Middle School

Laura Greenleaf, Assistant Principal of Santo Domingo School

Bernalillo Public Schools hires new principals to fill vacancies

Bernalillo Public Schools has named Bryan Craven as Principal of Bernalillo Middle School. Craven replaces Allan Tapia who was promoted to Executive Director of Secondary Education last spring.

“I am excited, thrilled, and honored to be selected as the Bernalillo Middle School principal,” said Craven. “We have everything here—wonderful students, a beautiful campus and talented faculty.”

Craven served as a Assistant Principal for Eastern Hills Middle School in Killeen, Texas, for three years before moving to New Mexico. Prior to this, he served as a mathematics and English teacher in Houston for ten years.

“My vision for the future is to have a campus that puts students and achievement first and one that promotes widespread collaboration at all levels,” Craven said. “We have a great school and I would like to continue to build on its potential to excel in the area of academic success.”

Bernalillo Public Schools has named Susan Neddeau as Principal of Santo Domingo School. Neddeau replaces Co-Principals Bryan Garcia, who was hired as Principal at Rio Rancho Vista del Sol Elementary, and Richard Toralba, who retired in June.

“I am excited and honored that I have been selected as Principal of Santo Domingo School,” said Neddeau. “I am energized as I accept this new challenge in my life. I like the fact that kindergarten through eighth grade will be under one leadership. I feel that this will allow for continuity between the elementary and middle grades.”

Neddeau has been in education for over 30 years. She received national recognition for two Early Childhood and Family Literacy Education programs that she coordinated.

Bernalillo Public Schools has also named Laura Greenleaf as Assistant Principal of Santo Domingo School. Greenleaf holds a master’s degree in Elementary Education and has over 25 years of experience.

“Ms. Greenleaf is a dedicated educator who is impassioned in her mission to provide the best opportunities for student success,” said Superintendent Barbara Vigil-Lowder. “She will be a wonderful support for Ms. Neddeau, the teachers and students at Santo Domingo School.”

LANL Foundation awards $31,112 for robotics, computer, and math programs

The Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) Foundation awarded two grants totaling $31,112 to Bernalillo Public Schools (BPS) for projects aimed at meeting critical education needs in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) areas.

BPS received a LANL Foundation Education Outreach Grant of $15,000 for a “Computer and Math Fun” program and a LANL Foundation Educational Enrichment Grant for $16,112 for a “Robotics Curriculum Enhancement” program.

The “Computer and Math Fun” program will provide an after-school program for students in grades five through eight to learn computer skills at the Intel Computer Clubhouse located on the Bernalillo High School campus. The program also includes Family Fun Math Nights, an evening of math fun for parents and their children. The program trains parents of elementary students to reinforce math skills at home with games using household items.

LANL Foundation funding for the “Robotics Curriculum Enhancement” program will allow BPS to expand its robotics program to the elementary level by providing robotics equipment for introductory robotics to be offered to fifth-grade students district-wide. BPS currently has robotics programs at the middle school and high school levels.

“It has been my goal to expand our robotics program to the elementary level,” said Tricia Steiner, BPS Technology Director. “Fifth grade is an exciting time to introduce students to the real-world application of math and other STEM subjects and the inherent fun in these subjects. It will also benefit the other elementary students by making them aware of robotics and the real-world application of mathematics and science.”

Teacher training and an introductory curriculum will need to be completed before the robotics program can be implemented either in the spring or fall of 2008.

Customers and emplayees of First Community Bank donated 290 backpacks filled with school supplies to students in need at area elementary schools. Shown above are FCB employees Jeff Wagoner, Elizabeth Sedillo, and Sonya Gallegos presenting backpacks to Placitas Elementary School representatives Vivian DeLara, Joshua Mallett, and Miguel Duran.

Attorney General King calls for better school campus safety

Attorney General Gary King is asking federal and state leaders to address serious deficiencies in federal and state laws and educational policies that leave students vulnerable to violence in their schools and on college campuses.

As a member of the National Association of Attorneys General Task Force on School and Campus Safety, Attorney General King released in September a fourteen-page report that includes specific recommendations that address threat assessment, protocols for dealing with the mentally ill, information sharing among law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders, and crisis response planning and communications.

“The goal of this report is to stimulate dialogue among policy makers, educational administrators, law enforcement professionals, and others as they examine school and campus safety issues,” says Attorney General King. “With assistance from nationally-recognized experts in the field of school and campus security, we have compiled a brief report that identifies a number of key issues that have surfaced as a result of the recent tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech and eruptions of violence in schools across the country.”

Recommendations from the Task Force include the following:

• All schools and colleges should establish a system whereby disturbing behavior is reported to an individual or multidisciplinary team of individuals with expertise and training in risk assessment that can assess the information received and put into action an appropriate response. Students, parents, faculty, and other community stakeholders should be made aware of the reporting mechanism.

• State and federal lawmakers should examine privacy laws in an effort to remove barriers to effective information sharing. Appropriate state and federal agencies should clarify how information, including mental health records, can be shared under existing state and federal laws.

• States should consider modifying or enhancing state laws to ensure that all information that is relevant to federal firearms laws is shared with the National Instant Criminal Background System, especially for individuals disqualified from purchasing or possessing firearms for mental health reasons. The U.S. Department of Justice should provide clear guidance to jurisdictions on the scope of relevant records.

• State legislators should mandate that all schools and colleges that receive state funding create, maintain, and update emergency management plans.

• Colleges should implement a multi-point, redundant communication system that leverages existing technology and provides information to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

• Every school and college should have mechanisms in place to allow for the anonymous reporting of perceived threats by students or faculty. The system should include educational outreach and effective follow-up by trained professionals.

• States should continue to implement and expand bullying prevention measures, including cyber-bullying.

The members of the Task Force are from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For a copy of the report, visit: www.ago.state.nm.us/index.htm.