Community Engagement
Bosque School has a long history and ongoing commitment as a private school with a public purpose. Bosque School reflects its public purpose through an equitable and accessible admissions process, through our commitment to authentic service learning and community educational partnerships, and as an innovator, collaborator, and ongoing supporter of nonprofits serving the Albuquerque community.
Bosque School is proud to have held a significant role in the formation, leadership, and ongoing support of the following mission-aligned, community-based nonprofits:
The Horizons Albuquerque mission is to advance equitable learning opportunities for students. Horizons partners with families, communities, and schools to provide a summer academic and enrichment program, as well as a wrap-around and support service for students and families throughout the year. Horizons Albuquerque was founded at Bosque School and launched its inaugural summer program in 2014. In 2017, the program expanded to include Manzano Day School and again expanded in 2019 with the addition of Sandia Preparatory School. Today, our Horizons students complete grades K-5 at Manzano Day School, grades 6-8 at Bosque School, and grades 9-12 at Sandia Prep. In 2016, Horizons Albuquerque became a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Bosque School remains a devoted partner to Horizons and adores hosting the Horizons middle schoolers on our campus each summer and for “Super Saturday” events throughout the year.
The Sofia Center for Professional Development designs and leads workshops, retreats, and organization-wide programs for educators in pre-K through university settings. Whether creating a standalone session or working with a whole team for an extended time, the Sofia Center staff is passionate about creating experiences that elevate, honor, and inspire the essential and life-giving work of educators. The Sofia Center was founded at Bosque School in 2013 and provided ten years of free monthly professional development to educators from over 245 schools and organizations. In 2020, the Sofia Center became a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Bosque School remains deeply connected to the work of the Sofia Center through professional development partnerships for our faculty as well as as a host school for Sofia Center events.
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) was founded in 1996 to monitor the state of the bosque ecosystem through a partnership between the late Dr. Cliff Crawford (University of New Mexico Department of Biology), his then-graduate student Lisa Ellis, and Dan Shaw (Bosque School Science faculty). BEMP was created to bring community members together to collect local ecological information to both enhance scientific research capabilities and to educate local students and citizens about their bosque. BEMP manages upwards of 33 active sites across 270 miles of the Middle Rio Grande and collects over one million data points each year. Data has primarily been collected by over 100,000 K-12 students and their teachers, demonstrating how local science initiatives can successfully connect people to their landscapes while helping inform resource management policies. Over twenty-four years, BEMP thrived through a symbiotic relationship and shared commitment with the UNM Department of Biology, and Bosque School, before becoming a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2020. Bosque School remains deeply committed to our educational partnership and collaboration with BEMP, and “BEMPing” is a consistently beloved element of the Bosque student science experience.