Gallup-McKinley County Schools marks diploma pickup, summer hours, listening tours

Gallup-McKinley County Schools marked June 10 as diploma pickup day and the last day of school, giving families a same-day handoff from graduation season to summer business. The district’s Student Support Center has also shifted to summer hours, opening from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on posted days for parents and students who need transcripts, records, enrollment help or other district guidance.

For families trying to clear a deadline problem, the Student Support Center is the place to start. The longer summer window matters because this is when students move into college planning, summer programs or new grade levels, and when parents often need paperwork finished before fall. GMCS said the June 10 last day of school is required by New Mexico state statutes and New Mexico Public Education Department requirements, so the end-of-year schedule is not just a local choice but a state-mandated cutoff.

The district is also setting two chances for direct public feedback before back-to-school planning gets deeper. GMCS will hold a listening tour at Tohatchi Elementary School on June 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., followed by another at Navajo Elementary School on June 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Those meetings give families in outlying parts of McKinley County a chance to speak to district leaders without having to travel into the Gallup core.

Parents who attend those sessions are likely to have the most to say about the practical pieces that shape the school year: the tentative 2025-26 calendar, enrollment timing, records access and the support students need to stay on track. GMCS has said its 2025-26 school-year calendar remains tentative and is pending Board approval and union ratification, which makes those listening tours an early checkpoint before final schedules settle into place.

The district’s summer transition is unfolding under interim superintendent Jvanna Hanks, whom the GMCS Board of Education appointed effective March 2 in a unanimous 5-0 vote. GMCS also has opened applications for its Equity Council through June 30, a group meant to help guide district decisions and better serve students who have historically faced barriers to success. Together, the diploma pickup, summer office hours and listening tours show a district trying to keep families informed while the school year gives way to the next one.