Superintendent Winston Brooks recently sent a letter to the APS community discussing the state’s new grading system, which involves assigning a letter grade to every public school in New Mexico.

At the urging of principals, the superintendent’s message was videotaped so that it could be shared with APS employees, students, parents and school communities throughout the district.

Principals are being encouraged to link the video to their school websites and to use it during presentations to teachers, staff and parents.

The APS community is invited to view the superintendent’s message as well in an effort to better understand the state’s new A-F accountability system.

The message urges the public to think about the grading system as a tool that can help evaluate how schools are doing and make necessary improvement.

In other words, keep striving for excellence as we always have.