{"id":330,"date":"2006-06-29T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-29T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/06\/new-lcps-superintendent-is-already-working\/"},"modified":"2006-06-29T17:05:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-29T23:05:00","slug":"new-lcps-superintendent-is-already-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/06\/new-lcps-superintendent-is-already-working\/","title":{"rendered":"New LCPS superintendent is already working"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sonia Diaz believes fate brought her to Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The new Las Cruces Public Schools superintendent began work this week, though she doesn\u2019t start getting paid until next week. You can tell by the look in her eyes and the tone in her voice that she is excited.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really hopeful about being here. I believe there\u2019s a purpose for me to be here,\u201d she said. \u201cIt certainly wasn\u2019t on my itinerary.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I met with Diaz briefly Thursday, our appointment sandwiched between her visit to Columbia Elementary to observe its summer school program and another appointment.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Though she doesn\u2019t officially start work until Monday, Diaz is already busy. She arrived in town a week ago and is still looking for a home.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Her first impression of Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is positive. She said she likes the urban, diverse population here, and finds \u201ca sense of serenity and stability\u201d that she\u2019s still trying to figure out. She loves the mountains.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something really spiritual and special about this place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But on to the schools. Diaz has already decided to make a few changes. For example, she knows she wants to rebuild the wall in her office that Louis Martinez tore down when he was hired as superintendent. She wants to create welcome centers in each school, and have translators available for those who need them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz is going to wait awhile on bigger changes. She said she needs time to analyze the district\u2019s operations and meet with administrators individually to get to know them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

One of Diaz\u2019s main concerns is the budget. She comes from the East Coast, and finds education in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> sorely underfunded. She\u2019s right. Though our state spends more than half its money on education, it\u2019s not nearly enough.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I think most notable from what others have told me and what I observed in my 30 minutes with Diaz is that she is incredibly well-educated. She is a deep thinker, a good communicator and comes across as warm and welcoming.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

At the same time, I sensed humility. I think it comes in part from her belief that she didn\u2019t orchestrate this change in her life, a move from Florida<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> to the desert.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She said humility is part of an important balance in leadership.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are times when you have to be arrogant \u2013 when it\u2019s about protecting and defending kids,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cThe humility comes in knowing I\u2019m a public servant and I\u2019m here to make kids\u2019 lives better.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonia Diaz believes fate brought her to Las Cruces. The new Las Cruces Public Schools superintendent began work this week, though she doesn\u2019t start getting paid until next week. You can tell by the look in her eyes and the tone in her voice that she is excited. \u201cI\u2019m really hopeful about being here. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}