Every student in Bernalillo County deserves the opportunity to thrive – in school, at home, and in the community.  Education should be the bridge that connects children to the skills they need for a purposeful and connected life.  Today we ask for your support to expand a local Albuquerque school that is nationally renowned for serving children and their families who have traditionally been pushed to the margins.  We need your help. 

This is a turning point to expand school opportunities for children and their families in Bernalillo County and the surrounding area. 

What happens when a mother realizes her young child doesn't hear her when she calls? What is to come of the two brothers when one is born hearing and the other born deaf? What about the father who wants his son to be able to talk with his deaf uncle?

These are stories of families at our little school. Stories of parents who want what every parent wants: for their family to share daily experiences and to have a bright future together. The Albuquerque Sign Language Academy is here to support and grow with families like these.

The ASL Academy is an award-winning, American Sign Language-English school that offers a high-quality, dual language education to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students. Our students learn in ways that better connect them to their family and to their community to improve their overall quality of life and outcomes. 

Right now our community has a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a space in Bernalillo County where deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing children and their families thrive. We are just steps away from making this longtime dream for the families in our area a reality. We've already raised the funds we need. Today we are asking you for your support to get our approval for conditional use of the land to build this school and support our whole community. 

Details: 

Bernalillo County Parks is requesting a Conditional Use to allow a School (that's us!) that was approved by the Zoning Administrator for the location of 6903 and 6815 Edith Blvd NE and appealed by adjacent property owners and a neighborhood representative. If the Conditional Use is approved, Albuquerque Sign Language Academy (ASLA), a K-12 Charter School, will be the tenant. ASLA was founded to address significant deficiencies in the educational system within Bernalillo County for students with disabilities, including those students who are deaf/hard-of-hearing, and would be a wonderful addition to this community.

We, the undersigned, residents of Bernalillo County, support the Approved Conditional Use, ZA2021-0095, since it meets the criteria identified in Section 24 of the Bernalillo County Zoning Code and urge Bernalillo County Board of Adjustment to deny Appeals ZBA2022-0003, ZBA2022-0005, and ZBA2022-0006.