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Kirk Carpenter spent thirty-one years in public education, all in the Aztec Municipal School District. While in the district, Carpenter spent eight years as a teacher. The last twenty-three years have been spent in administration, six years as Assistant Principal, two and a half years as Principal, two and a half as Deputy Superintendent, and twelve years as Superintendent. Coaching football and baseball were important parts of Carpenter’s career for a total of fourteen years.
At the state level, Carpenter served on the Board of the New Mexico Activity Association, was the President for the Board of the Cooperative Educational Services for the State of New Mexico, President of the New Mexico Superintendent’s Association, and on the board of the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders. Carpenter considers one of his greatest accomplishments to be the Sandy Hook promise programs, and helping to bring them to other superintendents and school districts in the State of New Mexico.
In 2014, Carpenter received one of the highest honors in his educational career when his fellow Superintendents voted him as the New Mexico Superintendent of the Year. Additionally, in 2021 he was inducted into the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders Hall of Fame. Mr. Carpenter loves working in education and considers himself blessed to be able to serve educators and students in our great country.
SESSIONS
3:00 PM - 3:40 PM Wed, Nov 19, 2025 Coral A
Under the Microscope What to Expect in the Aftermath of an Incident | Creating a Culture of Safety
Under the Microscope
On December 7, 2017, we experienced an unimaginable tragedy, losing two students in a school shooting. This session is designed to share ideas on why it is crucial to take certain steps before such an event and understand how this type of tragedy will be life-changing.
Recovery is a long process and calls for strong leadership and collaboration to move forward because you never really move past it. The session will also allow participants to understand that everything you do before an incident and those things we do after will be put under a microscope for further examination. Every day is game day when it comes to school safety.
School Safety Culture
Developing a school safety culture is not a destination, it is an on-going and never-ending journey that cannot be done in isolation. A school safety culture will only be as strong as the procedures and daily practices we have in place at our schools because the human element will always beat the physical element when it comes to keeping our schools safe and responding to an actual incident.
The number one priority for all parents, students and educators is a safe school campus. If we believe this to be true, then we must ask ourselves what we are doing every day to address and improve school safety? Relationships are a key factor in making our schools a safer place for all students and staff. We are in the kid business and as educators and others that are responsible for school safety, we need to show our students we love them, not by what we say, but by what we do.