Archives for April 2012

By Jo Mixon

This week’s featured I Know Jo member is Moreno Valley High School.

Jacque Boyd told me that it is the goal of Moreno Valley High School, now in its tenth year, to enable each of the eighty young people who make up the student body to become lifelong learners and responsible, productive citizens. She said, “We want to give our students the skills to thrive in the world after they graduate from MVHS in whatever it is they choose to accomplish. And our graduation rate is phenomenal!” She went on to tell me that the school, being a charter high school, has a little more freedom than other public high schools. They are required to follow the same rules as other public high schools, but they are more project and presentation based. They use the Paideia Program which, according to the MVHS website, is a curriculum that embodies three approaches to teaching: Socratic Seminar, Academic Coaching, and Didactic Instruction. MVHS supports innovation, critical thinking and active student participation. Also, as a charter school, there are no enrollment boundaries; as a result over 1/3 of the students travel to MVHS from places like Taos, Red River, and Questa.

We discussed the wide range of advance placement classes offered, including art and music and the school’s philosophy of Fitness for Life. The students get actively involved in community service projects.

(If you haven’t visited the school bus garden, it’s worth a trip!) School is in session from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday. The four-day school week was started many years ago in New Mexico as a rural energy saver, but the schedule is as intensive as a five-day per week program. Plus it leaves room for Friday Ski Day, which in a resort town like Angel Fire is a great incentive.

Then as usual, I asked Jacque what it was that had attracted her to Angel Fire. She and her husband had purchased land here in 1988 because of the sheer beauty of the Valley, and because the airport had a 9,000-foot runway. Since they were both pilots, the long runway appealed to them. One thing led to another, and after her husband’s death, Jacque found herself spending more and more time here.

Angel Fire was a big difference from the airport in Ft. Worth, Texas where she lived. I thought I had mistaken what she said, and asked again. Yes, I had heard her correctly; Jacque lived in her hanger at an airport with her airplane! She said her grandchild had once been accused by a pre-school teacher of fabricating stories because she was telling everyone that her Grandma lived in a hanger and could walk outside her front door, get into her airplane, and fly anywhere in the world. The teacher was surprised to learn it was not a fabrication, but the truth!

Jacque shared with me that she has had her pilot license since she was 24 years old. When she decided to move to Angel Fire full time in 2002, her first employment with MVHS was as an aviation teacher. During her first three years at MVHS, she saw directors come and go. When the timing was right she decided to apply for the position. She has now been the Director at MVHS for five years, and recently signed on for at least another three. She and the 14 faculty and staff members do a fabulous job.

We are lucky to have MVHS in Angel Fire, NM, and I am asking each of you to take the time to personally express your appreciation to Jacque for her dedication.

Check out the MVHS website at www.mvhsnm.org. Remember them during fundraisers! Get involved, attend their many events and show your support!