Walz and the Journal covering up APS' abandonment of character education

If you go to APS' website and search for any evidence that students are the objects of any concerted effort to help them develop their character, you will find none.

If you go to the Journal's website, and search for any evidence that they have investigated and reported upon the fact that all efforts to develop character in students have been abandoned, you will find none.

I think Journal Editor Kent Walz, seen here explaining why Winston Brooks deserves a Dixon Award as a champion of transparency, is fully aware of the ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS. The reason(s) he will not report upon it, are known only to him.

I suspect that he is covering the asses of Marty Esquivel and Winston Brooks, APS' senior most role models of the student standards of conduct.

In 1994, the APS School Board unanimously adopted a resolution that included the phrase

"... the core curriculum should continue to give explicit attention to character development as an ongoing art of school instruction." (emphasis added)

At that point character education became an integral and inextricable part of the curriculum in the APS, binding on all parties, including the Board. In order to change board policy, it must be formally removed or replaced; it doesn't have a shelf life. It is as binding now as it was in 1994.

Also in the unanimous resolution;

"... the Albuquerque Public Schools is committed to
creating models of ethical behavior among all adults
who serve students and schools." (emphasis added)

There in lay the rub; the obligations of role modeling.

Walz and the Journal did not report it to stakeholders when the leadership of the APS removed from their own standards of conduct, a role modeling clause. It used to read;

In no case shall the standards of conduct for an adult,
be lower than the standards of conduct for students.

The leadership of the APS cannot summon the character and the courage to admit that, they have no intention of holding themselves honestly accountable as role models of the student standards of conduct.

Walz will not out his buddies; Esquivel and Brooks. He will not have investigated and reported upon, their abdication as role models of the APS Student Standards of Conduct; the Pillars of Character Counts!

If there is any other reason the Journal will not investigate and report upon the abandonment of character education in the APS; Walz has every opportunity to share it. He has barrels of ink to explain to stakeholders, why 90,000 of this community's sons and daughters are being denied an opportunity to develop the character that will enable them to become a positive influence in our future.

He could point to good and ethical reasons to remove the role modeling clause from the standards of conduct that apply to administrators and board members.

While he is at it, he could point to good and ethical reasons to cover up corruption in the APS Police Department for more than 3 1/2 years.

He could also point to good and ethical reasons to deny whistle blowers the due process guaranteed by school board policy.

He could; if there were any. There aren't.

Which leaves us with a cover up orchestrated by Brooks, Esquivel, and Walz.

If there is any other explanation at all, someone point to it.

cc Walz upon posting




frame grab Mark Bralley