Linda Sink, a life-long learner, graduated from UNM in 1977. She began by teaching biology and chemistry before entering administration. Currently she serves as the instructional leader for 131 schools and 89,510 students in Albuquerque Public Schools.

When serving as Principal at Cibola High School she initiated “SLC” Small Learning Communities in a separate building where teachers and students could safely study together and develop knowledge, friendship, and trust. This action resulted in retention rates rising and now each APS High School has the same program.

While serving as principal at Albuquerque High School following observation of African American students performing skits about civil rights, Linda organized a bus tour for the Black Student Union (BSU). The trip provided inspiration for the participants with visits to the Little Rock Nine Museum in Arkansas. This was the location where, in 1957, a few black students integrated into the white high school courageously and endured hate, scorn, fear and violence.

The touring BSU group had the sobering experience of seeing the locations in Birmingham where police used dogs and fire hoses to attack and injure children, visiting the Selma Bridge where civil rights marchers took cruel beatings, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta and the Lorraine Motel Museum in Memphis: site of Dr. King’s assassination. These experiences influenced their lives, stimulating each to seek broadened horizons.

During her educational career, Linda has capably and competently served as a consummate professional in many responsible instructional and administrative roles. As Cluster Leader Principal for thirteen schools, Linda recognized the need to involve parents, treating them with respect as equals while minimizing their fears in a Family Center. She is well respected and widely accepted by all segments of the Albuquerque Public Schools community.

Linda Sink has lived, worked, and carried out Dr. King’s values of opportunity, responsibility, dedication, leadership, social justice and unity.