Smartboard April 29, 2024

Margaret O'Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Apr. 28—SFPS superintendent goes to Washington for summit

Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Hilario "Larry" Chavez visited the White House Friday to attend the Biden administration's first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K-12 School Buildings and Grounds.

The summit is designed to bring together students, teachers, advocates, facilities and grounds experts and labor leaders — alongside federal education, environmental protection and energy officials — to discuss use of federal funding for school infrastructure and clean energy, the White House announced in a news release last week.

"It's an honor to accept the White House invitation to attend the sustainability summit. This is a unique opportunity to share our outstanding work in this area with national leaders while learning from others' expertise," Chavez said.

High school historians reveal their findings

A group of students from Capital High School and Santa Fe Preparatory School students presented their findings Wednesday after completing the Historic Santa Fe Foundation's inaugural High School Fellows program.

Since October, Santa Fe Prep seniors Abigail Furlanetto and Zeqe Korte, Santa Fe Prep junior Colette Lee, and Capital High juniors Adrian Arroyo Cano and Amado Garcia have been hard at work researching their chosen topics, which range from the legacy of New Mexico music legend Al Hurricane to reflections on the past and future of the Soldiers' Monument. Each student composed a 4,000-word essay on the New Mexico history topic of their choice.

All five students will receive a $500 scholarship to put toward their college or career expenses.

Applications are open now for the Historic Santa Fe Foundation's next batch of high school history fellows. For more information or to apply, visit www.historicsantafe.org/hs-fellowship.

Reading Quest to host free tutoring in June

From June 3 through June 28, the Santa Fe literacy organization Reading Quest will host free, one-hour private tutoring sessions for students in first through eighth grade who struggle with reading.

For more information or to sign-up, contact readingquestcenter@gmail.com.

Piñon Elementary to host spring fling

Piñon Elementary School, a public school located at 2921 Camino de los Caballos, will host its annual art exhibition and open house Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. The event will feature student artwork created throughout the year, as well as activities and classroom demonstrations.

Southwestern College appoints new president

Thom D. Chesney has been named the fifth president of Southwestern College, a Santa Fe-based graduate school that bills itself as offering "consciousness-based" graduate programs. He is scheduled to start work July 29.

Chesney previously served as president of Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa and president of Brookhaven College, one of seven community college campuses under the umbrella of Dallas College.

"The opportunity to join the work of Southwestern College and become deeply rooted in Santa Fe and the surrounding community, is a humbling and inspiring privilege," Chesney said in a news release.