Christine Bernstein/Courtesy photo

LAPS NEWS RELEASE

Christine Bernstein attended her last Board meeting as an Los Alamos Public Schools Board member Tuesday evening, after four years representing District 3. 

Ms. Bernstein has served as Board Secretary for the past year. She has also served as vice president, and on several committees, including Budget, Finance and Audit, Los Alamos County/LAPS/UNM-LA Executive Leadership, Student Liaison Application Review, Facilities Master Plan Work Group, Project Steering Committee for North Mesa, Calendar, Superintendent Evaluation, and Strategic Plan.

“I hope I have had some impact on this board and what the position can be,” Ms. Bernstein said. “It is a leadership role; it is not a management role.  I have continuously tried to be a voice for the educators, to make sure decisions support their work.”  

“I am grateful for the dedication and passion that Christine Bernstein has shown for our students and teachers,” said Superintendent Jennifer Guy. “She is a lifelong educator who has always advocated for making our school district better for all students.”

“I wish her the best,” she added.

“I appreciate my time on the board with Christine Bernstein,” said LAPS School Board President Antonio Jaurigue. “She consistently pushed me to grow and be comfortable with the uncomfortable. She was also a strong advocate for student voice and always asked for their input on any decisions we made.”

While on the board, Ms. Bernstein set up a system, with the help of Superintendent Jennifer Guy, to enable teachers to invite school board members to visit their classrooms.

“These visits were crucial to me when decisions came to me as a board member, because I understood more deeply how they would or wouldn’t impact the daily work of our teachers,” she said.

She also advocated for expanding the student liaison program to include middle school students, and began work on “a more intentional superintendent evaluation,” she said. “This has been a challenging task and is still a work in progress for the board. I have always believed that administration should be held to the same standards and competencies as our teachers.  My hope is the board will continue to support that work and see it as a continuous work in progress,” she added.

Ms. Bernstein continued, “I have worked on the Strategic planning committee and will continue to support and advocate for the needs of our kids and teachers working towards a 100% goal.”

During her tenure on the School Board, there have been many challenges.  “In the first year it was learning the ins and outs of being a board member and discovering the reality vs the ideals I came in with,” she explained.  Then COVID hit.  “It was not what I bargained for, and it took a mind reset.”

“The biggest challenge is learning to hold on to my own personal integrity and keep to the front of my mind what matters most in the role as a board member,” she said.  “To put aside my own personal issues, my own kids’ issues, and focus on the greater whole – ALL kids.  It has been challenging for me to want to fit in on the board and behave a certain way and find the balance in using my voice and practicing and following what I know is the right thing to do even in the face of adversity and disagreement.  Finding balance has been a challenge.  And in the face of those challenges I have learned many things about education, the role of a board member, the inner workings of the district and community, and myself.”

Now that she has some free time, Ms. Bernstein plans on “writing more and with complete abandon”.

“I want to get back into the classroom and work with kids again,” she said.  “I am hoping to even work towards my admin license to maybe become a principal one day.”  

“In the present, I am feeling a huge sigh of relief and looking forward to new opportunities and ways to work towards my passion of educational progress,” she added.

Her sage advice for the School Board? “Bring your most honest and authentic self to the board and be brave.  Being compliant, being able to maintain decorum are less effective than being curious and intentional. Know why you are here and remember that the bottom line is always kids and teachers and theirs is the most important voice.  Keep at the front the purpose of education and what we want to achieve for TODAY’S youth.”