U.S. Department of Education
Albuquerque Public Schools (APS)
Building Up Successful Students (SSHS) Project

February 1, 2010 – January 30, 2011

Executive Summary

APS received the Safe Schools Healthy Students (SSHS) grant in July 2008, and a Memorandum of Collaborative Agreement was entered by Core Team partners representing APS, Albuquerque law enforcement, juvenile justice and mental health agencies in March 2009. The purpose of the SSHS/BUSS Project is to link and integrate existing and new services into a comprehensive community-wide plan for change that will create safer schools and promote healthy childhood development. APS, SSHS staff and partners are pleased to report substantial progress in implementing the SSHS Comprehensive Plan and in achieving positive results. Evaluation activities during the reporting period focused on evaluation capacity building, fidelity assessment, formative evaluation, and outcome evaluation. GPRA 1 and GPRA 2 targets were met and surpassed in 2010 among the ninth grade students in seven high schools served most directly by Albuquerque’s SSHS initiative. The percentage of students who reported missing school because they felt unsafe (GPRA 1) declined by 7% from baseline. The percentage who were involved in a physical fight on school property (GPRA 2) declined by 8% from baseline. The percentage of parents/guardians who disagreed that their child is safe at school decreased to a low of 5% in 2009-10, surpassing the 4-year target. The percentage of 9^th grade students in Project SUCCESS/Crossroads high schools who reported current alcohol use (GPRA 4) decreased by 30% from baseline, surpassing the four-year target. The percentage of 9-12 grade students who reported participating in pro-social activities at school increased by 7% from baseline to 2009 surpassing the four-year target. APS set a new GPRA 5 target for 2009-10: to increase the number of students who receive school-based mental health services by 6% compared to 2009-10 (from 4217 students to 4470 students). This represents a cumulative target increase of 49% from baseline. Main activities implemented during the reporting period include:

1) A total of 65 community agencies attended two inter-agency network summits, one focused on improving early childhood services integration and one focused on improving juvenile justice and mental health collaborations in order to reduce the stream of juveniles into the justice system.

2) 40 School Resource Officers (SROs) attended mediation training, representing APS Police Department (APSPD), City of Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department.

3) A total of 25 SROs from all three local law enforcement agencies participated in a 40-hour Basic School Resource Officers Course organized by NASRO in Albuquerque.

4) As a result of the NASRO training, a New Mexico Association for School Resource Officers was established to enhance training opportunities state-wide.

5) APSPD provided training for all school administrators on emergency response procedures during the APS Administrators Conference on Education, August 6^th, 2010.

6) The APS District Crisis Team coordinated by the SSHS Safety Resource Counselor is presently at 42 members, and has responded to 22 school crisis situations.

7) Video surveillance equipment for Albuquerque High School and Jimmy Carter Middle School, and Bosch Divar Recorders for four (4) elementary schools and two (2) middle schools will be installed spring 2011.

8) A bullying prevention brochure was developed by SSHS staff, and 125,000 English and 50,000 Spanish brochures were printed and distributed to all 130 schools in the district.

9) 25 schools received technical assistance and training from the APS Health and Wellness Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS) unit to improve school climate and academic outcomes.

10) Project Success/Crossroads Counselors provided services to high-risk students in ten (10) high schools to prevent substance abuse. A total of 828 students received individual counseling, a total of 1,739 students, representing 47 percent of ninth graders, participated in the full Prevention Education Series substance abuse prevention curriculum, and 319 students and their parents/guardians participated in the Parent Involvement Program (PIP).

11) A total of 368 students participated in at least one Project ALERT lesson in six middle schools.

12) Innovative, free, pro-social activities during and after school hours, were implemented at Rio Grande, West Mesa, Highland, Valley, and Albuquerque High Schools.

13) A total of 20 schools received the Family Engagement Specialist Program to increase opportunities for parent engagement through the Epstein model.

14) The Safe School Ambassador program (SSA) was initiated in three (3) APS middle schools (Polk MS, Ernie Pyle MS and Jimmy Carter MS) to prevent bullying and violence.

15) Approximately 240 School Counselors participated in ASCA training.

16) A community SSHS website was launched to provide information on bullying and suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, and affordable activities for youth, as well as ongoing news about the SSHS Initiative and its impact on the community.

17) A total of 2,276 students were served by Brief Family Counselors and the Community-Based Mental Health Provider services, an average of 455 students per month. If APS matches or exceeds this rate of service provision between January and May 2011, it will meet or surpass the new target of 4,470 students, which represents a cumulative target increase of 49% from baseline.

18) More than 500 people attended Youth Jam 2010 at Warehouse 508, an event planned and organized by youth, with the intent to decrease stigma around mental and behavioral issues.

19) A pilot project, named Prevention Intervention Program for Youth (PIPY), was established at Jimmy Carter Middle School to assist youth transitioning back to school from juvenile detention and increase wrap-around services for youth not currently receiving assistance.

20) The SSHS Core Team created a Juvenile Justice Action Team to enhance inter-agency collaboration and stem the flow of students from schools to juvenile detention.

21) The Bernalillo County Home Visitation Work Group was formed by seven (7) home visitation agencies as a result of the SSHS Home Visitation Capacity Assessment.

22) Teachers at Helen Cordero Primary School report that the number of discipline and behavior issues have decreased dramatically after implementing the Nurtured Heart Approach. To expand Nurtured Heart in the district, five (5) APS staff and one (1) YDI Head Start staff member attended the Nurtured Heart Approach Advanced Training in Tucson, January 2011.