School wants to get in good standing with community

Posted at: 10/28/2009 8:53 PM | Updated at: 10/29/2009 7:36 AM
By: Eyewitness News 4

An Albuquerque school that has raised the ire of some neighbors because of unruly students said it wants to make a positive connection with the community.

On Tuesday night, we told you about The Academy of Trades and Technology on Yale near Gibson. People who live in the area say students have been intimidating the neighborhood and vandalizing property. There was also a recent fight at the school that led to shots being fired.

The City of Albuquerque said they hoped to reach an agreement with the school so they wouldn’t have to shut it down—something residents have requested.

School officials said Wednesday they want to get kids into the neighborhood even more—for constructive purposes.

"If the neighborhood's got a hole in the wall, we want to fix it because that's what we do. If a neighbor's got a broken door, we want to fix it because that's what we do. Those are the types of things our kids are trained to do,” said Henry Lackey.

School officials say they have met with the city and APS about making security changes, including getting the city’s help in assigning a police officer to the campus.

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