Amy Legant

Amy Legant

Amy Legant was a candidate for District 3 representative on the Albuquerque Public Schools school board in New Mexico. Legant was defeated in the by-district general election on February 7, 2017.

Elections

2017

See also: Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2017)

Four of the seven seats on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on February 7, 2017. In his bid for re-election to District 3, incumbent Lorenzo Garcia defeated challengers Ali Ennenga, Amy Legant, and Charles White. District 5 incumbent Steven Michael Quezada and District 6 incumbent Don Duran did not file to run for re-election, leaving both seats open for newcomers. Four candidates—Annie Bell-Rahman, Rachel Gonzales, Kayla Marshall, and Candelaria Patterson—ran for the District 5 seat, and Patterson won the race. Six candidates—Abbas Ali Akhil, Elizabeth Armijo, C. Douglas Brown, Melissa Finch, Paula Maes, and Paul Sievert—ran for the District 6 seat, and Armijo won. The race for the District 7 seat featured incumbent David Peercy and challengers Ian Burch, William Steinberg, and Brian Tierney. Peercy won re-election to the board. A total of six candidates withdrew from the race before their names were put on the ballot: R. Jason Vaillancourt in District 3, Than-Lan Sena, Alex Villanueva, and Anne Young in District 5, Stephen Verchinski in District 6, and Sina-Aurelia Pleasant-Soul in District 7.

Results

Albuquerque Public Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lorenzo Garcia Incumbent	64.90%	3,227
Amy Legant	17.58%	874
Charles White	9.49%	472
Ali Ennenga	8.00%	398
Write-in votes	0.02%	1
Total Votes		4,972
Source: Bernalillo County Clerk, "APS/CNM School Board Election February 7, 2017," accessed February 22, 2017 and Bernalillo County Clerk, "APS/CNM School Board Election was certified Friday, Feb. 10th, 2017," February 13, 2017

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Albuquerque Public Schools election

Legant reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Mexico Secretary of State in the election.

Campaign themes

2017

Legant participated in a questionnaire provided by the Albuquerque school district. The district's questions are shown in bolded text, and Legant's answers follow below.

1. Why do you want to be a board member for Albuquerque Public Schools?

“	I am blessed to have been born in Albuquerque and to have grown up in APS' District 3. I received a fine education from La Luz Elementary School through Valley High School. I have many fond memories of my teachers and fellow students. I am certain those memories played a significant role in my choice to become a teacher and school principal. I loved every minute of my 42 years in education, 36 years in APS. Few professions are more rewarding. I retired three and a half years ago and am at a stage in my life where I would like to give back to the school district that gave me so much. I want to do my part to help the APS district in its efforts to provide the quality education experience, like I had, to every student it serves. I believe my history with the district and years of experience in the classroom and school site will bring valuable insights to the APS School Board.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

2. What is your interest in education?

“	My interest in education defined my professional life. I dedicated my entire career to education mostly in Albuquerque Public Schools: Middle school and elementary school teacher for 17 years Elementary school principal for 15 years APS district level administrator for 4 years UNM trainer of teachers and principals for 3 years Manager of statewide grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation working with school administrators and district superintendents for 3 years I earned a doctorate from UNM in Curriculum and Instruction (with a focus on Literacy Education and Assessment) and a minor in Education Leadership	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

3. In what ways will you support the mission and vision of the district?

“	My years of experience with Albuquerque Public Schools provides me with an understanding of the issues and concerns the District has for its students. There is less lag time trying to get a full grasp of where the District wants to go and why. I understand and support the District's Five Year Master Plan to establish its own path to design an educational program that is tailored to meet the specific needs of our students and their families. I fully embrace the District's mission and vision to provide every student with a high-quality education founded on the premise all students can be successful learners when we: Design and implement a curriculum that provides meaningful educational experiences in which children are actively engaged at every grade level Address the strengths and needs of the whole child Value our children's and parents' diverse cultures, ethnicities, perspectives, experiences, and core values. Every decision I make will be weighed against my history with the District and the core beliefs set forth in its vision and mission statements. Every vote I cast will be filtered through the question, 'How is this in the best interests of our students?'	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

4. How will you work with the superintendent?

“	I will listen first, pose questions as warranted, advise as appropriate, and collaborate in a professional manner. On the occasion(s) I may not agree with the superintendent on a specific matter, I will explain why, continue the conversation to try to establish consensus, and vote my conscience.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

5. What is your past and current involvement with Albuquerque Public Schools?

“	I grew up and attended public school in APS's District 3. I am a proud graduate of Valley High School. I served as: Middle school and elementary school teacher in APS . Elementary school principal in APS. APS accountability manager in what was then called the Research, Development, and Accountability Department. I helped teachers interpret student test data and design instructional strategies to address the identified areas of academic need. I managed a statewide grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for three years and worked with school administrators and district superintendents, including APS administrators. The purpose of the grant was to help district and school administrators gather, analyze, and interpret student academic performance data from a wide range of sources, and plan strategies to help teachers design curriculum and redirect instruction as indicated.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

6. What should be the relationship between the superintendent and Board of Education?

“	The relationship between the superintendent and Board of Education should be based on mutual respect and professionalism. The superintendent, administrative team, and school site personnel are responsible for providing an educational program to meet the needs of all students. The board members are responsible for setting policy and providing oversight to make certain that the needs of children in the APS district are met. Both sets of responsibilities can be addressed and met as the superintendent and board members work collaboratively and regularly engage in honest/open discussion of the issues and concerns to guide the work of the district.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

7. What qualities and skills would you bring to the Board of Education?

“	I bring firsthand knowledge and a historical perspective of the APS district I understand, firsthand, how the decisions made by the school board are interpreted by the superintendent and her/his administrative team and implemented at the school and classroom level. I understand the daily operation of a school and the importance of engaging both students and their parents in the education process. I developed the ability to work collaboratively with administrators, school personnel, students and their families. I have a deep appreciation for the APS community as well as for the teachers and administrators who serve our students. Based on my own pursuit of education, I understand the curriculum design, instructional strategies, and assessment tools that are at the core of the debate about our schools and how they are performing. I listen and observe first. This behavior informs my understanding of the issues and decision-making process. During the years I served as manager for a statewide grant, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, I gained a broader perspective of the issues all districts face and gained an appreciation for the wide array of processes those districts followed to decide how to address the issues.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

8. What school or community volunteer activities have you participated in related to the community?

“	As a teacher and administrator in APS, I participated in many volunteer activities beyond the contract day. A few of those are as follows: Member of district instructional design teams for K-12 literacy Leader of the Valley High School Cluster Team Member, District Budget Committee Member, District Contract Negotiating Team for the education assistants' contract Mentor for teacher, school principal, and high school student programs Currently, I serve as a volunteer at All Faiths Receiving Home Services	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

9. How do you plan to work with constituents?

“	I plan to regularly visit schools in District 3 to gather school staffs', students' and parents' insights as to what is working and recommendations for how to make things better.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

10. What do you see as opportunities and challenges to the district?

“	Challenges: Given the state's serious financial shortfall, the major challenge will be how best to determine what cuts can be made while still doing as little harm to children's education opportunities in each classroom. This will be especially difficult as the district already had to make deep cuts following the recent special session of the state legislature. We are down to bare bones at this point, so careful thought will have to be applied as we weigh what cuts to make. I believe the decision as to what cuts are to be made must be determined by each department and each school rather than at the district level. Centralized budget decisions cannot take into account the specific populations and needs at each school. I believe the current grading system for schools and for teacher evaluation in which PARRC results are too heavily weighted is punitive and needs to be replaced using a supportive, productive process that encourages continuous professional improvement rather than assigning blame and shame to schools, teachers and students. Opportunities: Given the budget crisis, I believe APS, with other New Mexico school districts, should work with state legislators to determine how to make pending cuts as painless as possible to our schools. Again, given the budget crisis, APS, with other school district leaders, should work with state legislators and business leaders to develop long range plans for attracting industry and jobs to New Mexico in order to create additional funding streams for our schools. I would hope that during this time of limited funds, APS will continue to plan for the time when funds are more plentiful. Fully defining and ultimately funding the district's five year plan would be the place to start. In this planning process, I would hope we could design a system in which every neighborhood school is a school of choice.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

11. What do you think is the best way for the district to accomplish the three academic goals?

a. Early learning - Early learning begins with expecting parents, is nurtured as children develop language and number skills in elementary school, and grows with students as they mature in supportive classrooms becoming adept at using these skills in a variety of contexts.

“	Expand the Pre-K four-year old program as funds become available Publish and distribute brochures (in multiple languages), which explain the early literacy and numeracy stages of development 0 to age 6, as set forth by the National Early Childhood Education Association, to be distributed to parents of school age children with younger siblings not yet in school. These brochures may also be distributed to parents of pre-school age children by obstetricians and pediatricians in the area. Incorporate identified early literacy and numeracy skills and concepts and instructional strategies into the classroom, grades Pre-K-3. Provide on-going professional development opportunities regarding best practice in early literacy and numeracy instruction Gather additional ideas from APS early childhood teachers to be developed into action plans	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

b. College and Career Readiness - Students acquire skills which support formal and informal life-long learning to adapt and remain productive through changing economic and job market landscapes. All students will be prepared for postsecondary opportunities (college and/or career) without the need for remediation.

“	Increase high school graduation rates by providing instructional support to struggling students Provide a wide range of instructional strategies to all students to tap a array of interests and learning styles Provide a wider range of course requirements for graduation and apprenticeship/mentorship programs to prepare students for postsecondary college and career programs Continue/expand the K-12 cluster magnet school system, e.g.,STEM, Dual Language Continue/expand the Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate programs Continue/expand APS' partnership with CNM to offer associate's degree programs Engage secondary level teachers across subject areas to develop a dream list of what the secondary school of today should offer in order for students to succeed in the 21st century. As funds become available, refine that list into full blown plans of action. It may very well mean that the comprehensive high school model of today will need to be reinvented.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

c. Developing the Whole Child - APS will ensure each child is safe, engaged, challenged and supported through programs and practices focused on removing social, emotional and physical barriers to learning and increased health literacy.

• Safe and welcoming environment
• Whole Child includes ... physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual
• Remove barriers to learning
• Discover and develop individual gifts and talents
• Use skills to better the community

“	As the district implements its Five Year Master Plan, schools should be encouraged to create and implement instructional programs and problem solving strategies that tap a wide range of academic interests and that actively engage students across subject areas. To foster success, ongoing professional development should be provided to all teachers. For many students the school is a safe haven. It is important that every school provides a welcoming, respectful environment to its students and their families, starting in the front office and extending into each classroom. Childhood hunger, homelessness, and families in crisis are significant concerns in APS and the state as a whole. To address these issues, the district will need to increase the number school based health centers and the number of counselors and/or social workers as funds become available to help families under stress and to help keep children safe once they leave school. As funds are limited, it may be advisable for APS to actively collaborate and coordinate efforts with state and county agencies to help families in crisis and to keep children safe.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

12. If elected, how will you work with the current board?

“	I will interact with the current board in a respectful, professional manner. I know there will be a learning curve as I assume the role of new school board member. Current board members can provide the historical context of past decisions and actions. I will regularly tap their knowledge, insights, and experience to inform my own decisions and actions.	”
—Amy Legant (2017)

See also

• Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico
• Albuquerque Public Schools elections (2017)

External links

Suggest a link

• Albuquerque Public Schools
• LinkedIn profile