Hanna Skandera
According to one report, New Mexico loses 71 students every school day. We cannot maintain the status quo – it’s not working.
The passion for truly educating our children in New Mexico goes without question. I know this is true, despite our current ranking (48th in the nation).
So it’s now time to take notice of our failing school system, examine the opportunities for positive change and give our public education system the chance to live up to its potential. And it’s time for our parents, our communities and our legislators to embrace the reforms necessary to make it so.
In the past year I have visited nearly 50 of our 89 school districts. I have heard the resounding voices of adults and children – all eager to see our schools and students succeed. With each visit to every school, and in every classroom, I have witnessed the optimism, desire and hope on the faces of every student across the state. Our students, educators and parents deserve to be recognized for their continued trust in our public school system and deserve to realize true progress as a result of their faith.
There is no magic solution to our current status, but there are a few key initiatives that will have a lasting impact on our students’ futures. Two bills before the Legislature right now will, when passed, dramatically and positively impact our students.
Two important initiatives
Bills to assess and advance reading proficiency (House Bill 69 and Senate Bill 96) are being considered by our legislators. The news media calls this initiative the “No Social Promotion” bill and while, yes, 3rd grade retention is part of it, that label demeans the bill’s true purpose and character. This initiative would, for the first time, gauge the reading skills of our children from Kindergarten through the 3rd grade, something many schools don’t do now. This provides us – parents, teachers, administrators – the opportunity to help our children with progressive reading interventions years before they reach the 3rd grade.
We have proposed $17 million for this program. While this may seem like a large sum, the cost is insignificant in comparison to the cost to our children and their future if we fail to intervene on their behalves now. Only if they learn to read will our children have the chance to excel in subjects like math, science and social studies, and be empowered in all aspects of their lives. We know if a child can’t read by the end of 3rd grade, they are four times more likely to drop out of school.
The second initiative now before the Legislature would re-design the system for evaluating our teachers and principals. We need to identify our greatest teachers, celebrate them and, yes, pay them more. New Mexico’s current teacher evaluation system places nearly zero weight on student performance, which means that those teachers working miracles in our classrooms receive no credit for their heroic efforts.
New Mexico teachers can reach the ceiling for pay in just seven years based only on years of experience and number of college degrees – not how successful they are in teaching our kids. Our teachers deserve the satisfaction of being rewarded for their efforts. If a teacher continues to demonstrate excellence through improved student achievement, then she or he deserves a system that continues to reward those strides.
We all should expect, and our children deserve, an evaluation that ensures our students are learning and excelling.
We cannot maintain the status quo
According to the 2011 Diplomas Count report, New Mexico loses 71 students every school day. When we say “lost,” we mean these students will fail to graduate with a diploma. These children are our loved ones, our neighbors, our future, and ultimately our responsibility. We cannot maintain the status quo – it’s not working. If we’re going to push education forward in New Mexico, we’re going to need to speak up for these reforms.
If these ideas sound like the kind of reform you want for our children, I urge you to join us. Please e-mail us at school.success@state.nm.us and we’ll keep you updated on opportunities to support these initiatives. And please don’t hesitate to call your legislator!
I love this Land of Enchantment because of its rich culture, history and passionate people. These three factors play an enormous role in our education system. Let’s make sure we continue to honor the diversity of our state, learn from our history and move forward with real change for our children.
Skandera is the secretary-designate for the N.M. Public Education Department.