Taos High School outlines attendance, assessment and career‑pathway plans for new year

Taos High School Principal Emmy Martinez de Herrera told the Board of Education on Aug. 20 that the high school’s early‑year priorities include improving short‑cycle assessment scores, increasing attendance monitoring and expanding career‑pathway options. Martinez said the school’s improvement plan aims to raise short‑cycle assessment scores by 3% annually. The school will use i‑Ready and MasteryConnect (purchased through a GEAR UP grant) to align assessments to growth measures and to prepare students for the SAT. Martinez also described “CEO Fridays,” a schedule that gives students half‑day pathway instruction and internships; the school reports more than 100 local internship placements and 19 pathway choices, including finance and sales, construction, transportation and women‑in‑science offerings. Martinez said enrollment stood at about 720 students and that attendance tracking is a priority: teachers are required to take attendance each period and the attendance secretary follows up on missing entries. The principal emphasized beginning‑of‑year culture and safety expectations —dress code enforcement, limiting phones in class and a zero‑tolerance stance on fighting— and described targeted interventions and referrals (including anger management, Panorama tracking and JPO referrals) when incidents occur. Board members raised questions about length of instructional blocks, off‑campus lunch passes, cell‑phone pouches and how the school supports students who transition from middle to high school. Martinez said seniors can earn off‑campus privileges once passes are issued, and that the school has reconfigured parking and staff duty assignments to reduce unsupervised trips to vehicles. She highlighted early success stories: a student who completed an internship and was hired by a local employer, expanding welding participation by female students, and a day‑care program on campus used by student parents. The principal closed by saying the school’s leadership team —teachers, department chairs and Flex Friday staff— will use PLCs to analyze assessment data and adjust instruction. Board members thanked staff and asked for continued updates on attendance, culture and internship outcomes.