AARP New Mexico Awards West Mesa High School's Ninth Grade Academy with $10,000

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This spring, AARP New Mexico presented West Mesa High School’s Ninth Grade Academy in Albuquerque with the Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus Legacy Award for Innovation during a ceremony at the high school gym. The $10,000 award will to help continue the program and move it forward.

The Legacy Award is part of AARP’s 50th Anniversary celebration. In 1958, Dr. Andrus, a retired educator who also served as California’s first female high school principal, founded AARP. To honor AARP’s legacy and commitment to intergenerational work, each state received a $10,000 grant to award to a public secondary school that had created a truly innovative program that benefits the school, the students or the surrounding community.

After careful consideration, AARP New Mexico’s 50th Anniversary Committee selected the Ninth Grade Academy from applicants across the state to receive the award.

“The work that West Mesa’s Ninth Grade Academy is doing is truly amazing,” said Mary Beavis, AARP New Mexico’s 50th Anniversary Committee Chairwoman. “The committee conducted a site visit at the school before selecting West Mesa and there is certain energy among the students and teachers. You can tell that the students are really engaged in the education process, which is really refreshing to see.”

To commemorate the event, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez issued a proclamation declaring April 10, West Mesa High School Day, and honoring AARP’s 50th Anniversary.

Chavez told the students during a special assembly at the school not to let anyone tell them they can’t do something. He explained that in high school, he was told by an administrator that he shouldn’t think about going on to college because he didn’t have the skills. Chavez told the students they can do anything they desire as long as they’re willing to work hard at it.

The Ninth Grade Academy creates a community atmosphere that creates a supportive environment for incoming freshmen, where students, teachers and administrators work in concert to achieve academic success for each individual. The freshman class at West Mesa numbers almost 1,000 students. Before the implementation of the academy, the school was losing almost half its population to drop outs. Now almost the entire class returns for its sophomore year. That figure alone gives testimony to the success of this program.

The award ceremony also featured presentations by the students as to what the academy is and what it means to them.

Two other excellent programs were honored as runners up to the award: Taos High School’s Culinary Arts Program as well as East Mountain High School’s Acequia Program. Each school received $1,000 to help their programs. Separate ceremonies were held at those schools in early May.