Emma Jones

🚨EMERGENCY CALL TO ACTION🚨

Albuquerque Public School Board is proposing a policy amendment that would “permanently expel” students - for life - who are in possession of a firearm. This permanent ban would mean a student could never again be allowed to attend or visit an APS school or schools event.

This is one of those policies that is very much rooted in good intensions, but the long term consequences of a policy like this could really be harmful to students. Especially students with disabilities, mental and behavioral health issues, and students of color who are more likely to be targeted by the search and seizure policy that already exists.

Most cases of a student bringing a weapon to school are students with mental and behavioral health problems who are in crisis and who need immediate emergency intervention - not to be expelled from public schools for their entire life.

Instead of pushing students with behavioral health problems out of schools we should work to prevent, intervene, and connect families to support services when their children are dealing with mental and behavioral health issues.

Please call/email board members and ask them to vote NO on this policy change or join us at tonight’s board meeting and sign up to speak during public comment!

You can sign up to speak in person or via Zoom at tonight’s meeting at 5pm here: https://www.aps.edu/about-us/board or you can call or email board members:

All Board staff: [email protected]

District 1: Board President
Yolanda Montoya-Cordova
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 2: Vice President
Peggy Muller-Aragón
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 3: Policy Committee Chair
Danielle Gonzales
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 4: Instruction and Accountability Committee Chair
Barbara Petersen
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 5: Finance Committee Chair
Crystal Tapia-Romero
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 6: Capital Outlay, Property, and Technology Chair
Josefina E. Domínguez
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

District 7: Secretary
Courtney I. Jackson
Phone: (505) 880-3729
Email: [email protected]

🚨Update on the call to action! 🚨

Apologies in advance for typos. It was a long meeting and wrote these notes in a rush.

All APS board members except Courtney Jackson (district 7) voted to table the parents rights and responsibly policy tonight. The board agreed they would revisit the policy in November after they developed a better process for creating this kind of policy. Almost all Board members agreed that moving forward, the process should include community input, and maybe could even have committee with parents helping to re-write it with cross references to existing policies.

More specifically- Crystal Tapia Romero and Courtney Jackson both said they believe that students should face hard conversations with their families and that parent engagement should be a priory for the district. They both agreed that APS shouldn’t keep information (that isn’t a violation of FERPA) from families. Peggy Muller Aragon said that APS shouldn’t take away rights of parents to parent their children, that parents love their children more than any teachers, Counsilor, or school, but ultimately she said that the policy needed to be rewritten and that the board needed more time to think it through and ask questions. Josefina Dominguez, Yolanda Cordova, Barbara Peterson, and Daniele Gonzales all basically said they believed that as written this policy would cause some level of harm to the community, and needed to be thought through to not be so divisive in language, and to ensure compassion and safety was at the forefront of the intension of the policy.

If you have time to reach out to thank the board member who voted to table the policy, that would be awesome!

Hi everyone! It's been almost two weeks since election day. We are getting ready to send out thank you's, close our accounts, do some evaluations, and wrap all of our post-elections things. The ACT blue and website will remain open until December 1st, to allow for any last-minute contributions, notes, etc. Please know that every last cent left in the account will be given to our campaign team! Ana and Jonathan were amazing and deserve so much love and monetary support for their hard work.

Also, democracy doesn't end on election day! Instead of archiving this Facebook, I'm going to continue to share information about school board issues, education policy issues, and any "call to actions".

Lastly, I just had to say Thank you! Thank you to all our supporters, volunteers, endorsers, and donators! I am humbled, inspired, and feel so rooted with all the support from all of you. Thank you for believing in me! I feel more certain than ever that organizing is the right track, and will continue to do so with the many power building and policy advocacy organizations I am a part of.

let's keep building, connecting, and organizing!

When we first got into this race we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. I didn’t decide to run until the day before the filing date. I knew we were going to have to move quickly, and get organized. I’m so proud to say we did that! I’m so grateful for all the volunteers, endorsers, donors, campaign team, friends and family, and people who didn’t hesitate to jump into action, or dig deep to donate. We really ran a completely grassroots campaign with support from small donations, and powered by a ton of volunteers, and that’s pretty amazing! I am so incredibly humbled by the tremendous amount of support and movement we built in so little time!

While we didn’t win in numbers, we won in hearts and minds, and movement that I have no doubt will continue to grow! We are ready for change at APS, and we will organize from the grassroots everyday until we get there!

I wanted to extend a thank you to both of my opponents for stepping up to run, and a congratulations and good luck to the new board member Crystal Tapia Romero.

Lastly I want to say Democracy doesn’t end on Election Day! The work is truly everyday in between as we organize and fight for something more for our family and community! I for one, will keep organizing, and keep fighting! This is just the beginning! Adelante!

Such a surreal moment, surrounded by my friends and familia, I voted for myself! But it was so much more! It was a vote for community, a vote for students and families, a vote for safe and welcoming schools, a vote for science, a vote for community schools, a vote for the grassroots, a vote against treating our schools like a business, and a vote against special interests! Now it’s time to get out the vote and win this! We will be finishing off the day hitting doors, phonebanking, texting, and holding signs at all of the polling locations! Let me know if you still want to come out and help.

It’s Election Day! Coincidentally it’s also the second day of Dia De Los Mu***os. Today as I walk to the polls to vote for myself, something I never thought I would do, I walk with my ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. People who uplifted and encouraged my educational journey, and path to running for office. I honor them, their lives, and the profound impact they have had on me, my family, and the community. I’d like to lift them up here, in somewhat of a virtual altar, as I feel like they would be really proud of me, and would be walking with me to the polls today.

My grandma Vicenta Sandoval, the lifeblood and matriarch of the Sandoval familia. She raised 10 kiddos, who mostly all went to APS schools.

My great-grandma Emma Garcia, my namesake, who was blind, survived breast cancer, and lived to be 92. I get my resiliency from my grandmothers, no doubt.

My Prima Candy Pena, who passed unexpectedly this year due to COVID, but who worked for APS as a bus driver for years.

My primo Roman Ray Montano who passed away less than a year ago to cancer, who worked for juvenile detention and wanted to reduce racial and ethical disparities in juvenile detention, for APS to move to restorative justice, and to close the school to prison pipeline.

My dear friend Omega-John Gómez who I met at Albuquerque High, who always had a place for me to crash when I was homeless, who told me constantly that I was going to run for office one day. You were right, you always were right!

My former intern Donaldo Yañez who lost his life too young to gun violence, who struggled at APS, and who deserved so so much better.

We stand on the shoulder of giants, may they walk with us as we vote today.

Election Day is tomorrow! Can you help us meet our final goal and make a contribution? Every donation helps us to pay our staff! Our campaign is 100% grassroots, we have not taken any money from business, organizations, or special interest groups! We can’t do this without you!

I just gave to Emma Jones! Join us! Contribute today.

Thank you to everyone who has shown up to support my candidacy and our grassroots campaign! I can’t believe it’s almost Election Day!

We’ve put in a lot of work and the fight is not over yet. We are showing that organized power can rival big money! The race could be close, and every last vote will matter! Early Voting has ended and Election Day is this Tuesday, Nov. 2nd. There’s a big chance we can win this 🗳 Momentum is building for our grassroots campaign! We’ve been hearing lots of support at the doors and on the phones.

Help us knock on hundreds of doors, drop literature at supporters' homes, call or text voters, or find other ways to support by spreading the word and donating.

Reach out to our campaign and check out: www.Emma4aps.com

Today is the last day of Early Vote! I’ve been working hard every day to reach voters and get my message out across the district! I believe we can win this election thanks to our grassroots support ✊🏽

Our campaign has been knocking and talking to voters since I jumped in the race! It means a lot to have volunteers getting out the vote for me in our district, in the final days and hours!

We have 4 days until Election Day 🗳 We’ll be out every single day. We’d love for you to join us, in whatever way you can show up!

Spread the word, knock, make calls, donate, and most importantly VOTE! Emma4aps.com