by Abigail Ramirez
Daily Lobo
High Tech High, a math and science charter school affiliated with UNM, is getting a new name and a building on UNM's campus.
Gov. Bill Richardson gave UNM a $1.3 million appropriation for a permanent location, said Kathy Oelsner-Sandoval, director of the school.
The money will go toward renovations for the building that is chosen, Oelsner-Sandoval said.
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"I think the governor really saw the importance of a school like this," said Breda Bova, senior adviser to the president. "He recognized that a lot of New Mexico students have challenges with math and science and wanted to see a school like this become successful."
The name was changed July 7 to the Albuquerque Institute of Mathematics and Science at UNM, also known as AIMS@UNM.
The location of the building will be decided by the fall, Bova said. After the 2006-07 school year, the original building located on Yale Boulevard will be too small for the growing population of students, she said.
Every year, a class of 80 students is added on, she said. Students have classes at UNM and the building where they are now located, she said.
By being a part of the UNM campus, students will see they can go to college, Oelsner-Sandoval said.
"Students are told, 'Oh, no. Not everybody can go to college,' or, 'Oh, no. Not everybody should go to college.' We don't want this," she said. Every single kid that walks through the door is going to be told, 'Guess what? You're going to go to college.'"
During the students' junior and senior year, they will be required to take UNM college courses, Oelsner-Sandoval said. At minimum each student will receive a four-year degree, she said.
"We are going to raise the bar of curriculum in the school to produce a rigorous program that students will look back and have two reactions: 'Damn, that was hard work,' and, 'Boy, am I proud of what I did,'" she said. "That's something that you can't always say as a high school student."
