Warning: This article mentions mental illness, self-harm and suicide By Peyton Perez Although social distancing is helping to save many lives by slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it will likely leave long-lasting effects on the adolescents who are involved in it. According to The Lancet, adolescence is a very vital time in a […]

Jacob Lutz, who graduated from The ASK Academy in 2014, was cross-commissioned into the U.S. Space Force this month. Lutz was part of the second class to graduate from ASK, and was an academic powerhouse while in high school. He went on to have a lucrative career in the military; he attended the U.S. Airforce […]

By Danielle Littlefield  Zanier Griego, a former ASK scholar, is spending her senior year studying abroad in Kenya. She agreed to talk to the The Catalyst about her new school, her biggest lessons, and what she misses most about New Mexico. The Catalyst: Who do you live with in Kenya? What led to the opportunity to […]

By Shayanne Spell Music fills the room as scholars walk in to the dimly lit commons. The night is filled with fun music, talking, laughing, dancing, or all three. It’s part of the high school experience and over the years ASK scholars have worked to incorporate after-school events into the school year. Unfortunately, because of […]

By Leah Morales With new Covid-19 cases arising daily in this state, The Catalyst sat down with Julie and Mike Littlefield, whose children are scholars at The ASK Academy. Mike Littlefield is a medical unit director at UNM Sandoval Medical Center and oversees the Covid unit. His wife, Julie, is a veteran nurse who works […]

By Peyton Perez  As project managers at The ASK Academy are asked to reduce the amount of schoolwork that the scholars are given outside of class, scholars are beginning  to feel more at ease. In early November, the administrators at The ASK Academy asked project managers to reduce the amount of schoolwork that is given […]

By Peyton Perez Scholars  have different opinions about the isolation that has been caused by COVID-19. One thing that students can agree upon, is that their mental health and everyday lives have been severely changed and affected.  An anonymous survey conducted by Kylee Shurter, a counselor at The ASK Academy, showed that scholars at The […]

By Shay Spell As elementary students in the Rio Rancho district return to in-person learning amid rising cases of Covid-19, scholars at The ASK Academy question if they will go back to school at all this year. The ASK Academy is not a part of the Rio Rancho Public School District, so it has separate […]

This is The Catalyst page for all things graduation related to the Class of 2020. Below you will see the graduates, the valedictorian and salutatorian speech, Mr. Crawford’s commencement speech, the senior slide show, and the recorded graduation parade.   Class flower: Cactus Class Colors: Silver and Black Class quote: “You’re braver than you believe, […]

// By Isaiah Padilla // On Monday morning ASK Academy scholars were treated to a presentation from a NASA expert who spoke about NASA’s eventual plan to colonize Mars. Michael Kirsch, the Deputy Director of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, came on account of his nephew, who is an ASK scholar. His nephew often […]