Mary in New Mexico

This is Mary Shea again and I just completed a 3 day trip to beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico where I did my site visit with one of our MEAF National Affiliates, the Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department. (By the way, there will be a test at the end of this blog to see how many of you can spell Albuquerque the first time!) I think it is one of the hardest words I have ever had to spell.

I flew on Memorial Day and I would recommend that option to anyone who doesn’t like crowded airports. It was a pretty quiet day in the skies and no one else was at the rental car counter so that was quick and I was at the hotel in downtown Albuquerque by early afternoon (of course I left my house at 4:00 am). I took a long walk downtown later in the day to get some exercise (hot and muggy weather) but it was a very quiet day because it was a holiday and few folks were downtown so it was peaceful.


Tuesday morning began with Jeffrey Paul, the Inclusion Manager for the County’s Parks and Recreation Department picking me up at the hotel and we began driving to Community Centers all across the county, which was very large and very diverse. Jeff had arranged and confirmed all the appointments so when we arrived I was able to tour the facilities and meet with staff and most directors. It was their time to ask specific questions about their programs and services as well as specific children they were supporting that they were having challenges with. It was a good day and I met with 5 of the 7 directors and approximately 18 - 20 full time staff and I was able to provide some quality site specific consultation.



The next day involved a full day of training at Mountain View Community Center where almost all staff (50 total) from the recreation department as well as 5 of the newly hired inclusion facilitators were in attendance. We did 3 of the KIT core modules (Respectful Accommodations, Supporting Positive Support, and Partnering with Families, and we addressed some specific issues in supporting children with attention deficit disorders. The staff really seemed to enjoy the training and activities and besides the fire alarm going off and having to evacuate the building quickly, the day seemed very successful and empowering to the staff. It was a very pleasant surprise to have both the Director and Assistant Director of Bernalillo Parks and Recreation Department stop by the training during the day and show their support for inclusion.

This visit was short and very busy but well planned and efficient and Jeff has done a great job in the 2 years he has been with the department. By the way, he told me he had an opportunity to apply for last minute stimulus funding that had come to their county and that is how he was able to hire 8 additional staff for summer programming! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful treat to every one of you if that was available?

Summer is finally here so wishing you all a peaceful summer and good luck with summer camps and programs and enjoy each and every day you get to spend with those joyful children whose parents have entrusted your with their care 