ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a new approach for the largest school district in the state, over how they deal with problems in the classroom. That method, Albuquerque Public Schools hopes, empowers students to deal with conflicts, instead of relying only on adults. “The way we were trained in the past is you either got a negative consequence or a positive reward, and it’s not working anymore, kids need something different,” said Ellen Bernstein, President of ABQ Teachers Federation.
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Teacher Federation President Ellen Bernstein said that it’s a meaningful change. A new effort to address classroom conflict taking place in Albuquerque schools focused on hearing students out in a different way. “It’s really understanding and getting to know, and build empathy with those that are around you in the school,” said Kenneth Salazar, Associate Superintendent of School Climates and Supports in APS.
Known as the “Culture of Care” initiative, the program, now in dozens of APS schools, allows students to engage in group discussions to talk about problems they’re facing. Kenneth Salazar with APS said that they’ve seen lots of progress. “We’ve also seen in the high school realm where kids have asked for circles because there’s things going on in their lives that maybe they want to just discuss and talk about, and so those are just some opportunities to have some conversation and build that empathy as a classroom,” said Salazar…