In New Mexico Change Comes Hard: Debate Broils Over Lengthening School Hours; PED Secretary Runs Into Buzzsaw Of Opposition Even As Student Test Scores Plummet

Sec. Arsenio Romero

We interviewed with veteran radio talk show host Richard Eeds of KTRC Santa Fe this week (audio link here) and our comments regarding the sad state of public education in New Mexico drew this push back from listener Annabella St. Peter:

I heard your interview while driving my husband, a Santa Fe public schools art teacher, to a procedure. He worked so hard to be able to take the day off, leaving the lessons and art materials he prepared for a substitute teacher for five classes of different age groups. He always works this hard and works overtime everyday. With extra meetings and other things, he does not have enough time to plan for his classes. Very often, he uses his own time to pick up art supplies.

I felt offended by your statement that teachers got a raise, so now that they make a good living, they have to put in more. You were agreeing with adding more hours and more workdays for teachers just because they got a raise. They got a raise because they needed it so bad. It was long overdue as the cost of living went up so much, and their salaries were left behind for too many years. Believe me, it is still not enough. I also work full-time in a non profit organization and we have two daughters. We struggle. 

Adding more hours and days to the school calendar is not the solution for anyone. The SFPS and our community as a whole should focus on the emotional intelligence of the child. Quantity is not better. We need to understand and support the needs of the children in our state, looking at their social issues, living conditions, history, and background. Schools need more funding to increase the amount of professionals who can attend to different children and situations in a more personalized way. 

OUR RESPONSE

Thanks, Annabella.

We understand change is difficult but New Mexico's current statewide proficiency stats are pathetic--only 38 percent for reading proficency and 24 percent in math. And graduation rates are far below the national average. Also, New Mexico has a better than 40% chronic absenteeism rate--students not in class 10% or more of the school year.

Adding more instruction time may be no panacea and won't do much for kids already skipping class, but it has won legislative approval and Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero is working to enforce the law in the face of intense educator criticism and foot-dragging. Here's the deal:

House Bill 130 (signed into law by MLG this year) requires public schools in New Mexico to increase instructional time from 990 hours to 1,140 hours. Schools in session for five-day work weeks are required to have 180 instructional days, while schools in session for four-day work weeks are required to have 155 instructional days.

Currently, there are rural school districts in New Mexico that have adopted a four-day work week.

The PED's proposed changes would require all schools to adopt five-day weeks with 180 instructional days a year. Romero told KOAT the proposed changes are part of a multi-pronged approach to help students succeed.

Whether the additional hours will make a difference can be studied as we go, but for now having the under performing students in school more is better than having them mindlessly gaming on their phones.  

As St. Peter writes, teachers have received pay raises--very big ones--and the entry level salary is now $50,000 with the scale going up to $70,000 a year. That's as good as or even better than any in the region where public schools perform much better than ours. 

Sure, educational improvement is complicated, especially in a state with our history. But only change will put us on a new path. The Legislature and Secretary Romero are carrying out the public's will. Educators can help by not standing in the schoolhouse door. 

Opposition is across the political spectrum to the increased hours, including the Albuquerque Teachers Federation and the state Republican party. Now that’s a real odd couple.

 

The PED will have a public hearing on the additional school hours at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at 300 Don Gaspar in Santa Fe. Secretary Romero says there will be minor changes to the rule. When approved it will take effect for the next school year. 

 

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