National conference to highlight ABQ ‘community schools’

Monique shared her story through tears.
Before a roomful of people Tuesday, she explained how she ended up on the streets with her two children after a bad breakup about a year ago.
But she found help in an unlikely place — her children’s school, Manzano Mesa Elementary in southeast Albuquerque.
A coordinator there helped pull together enough funding for Monique to stay temporarily in a motel and then helped her get into an apartment, she said. The school provided clothes, backpacks