Court Battle Continues Over 180 Day School Year As State Plunges Deeper Into Under Performance; Why PED Has It Right And Status Quo Educators And Helicopter Parents Have It Wrong

Going from worst in the nation in public education to anywhere above it is not going to get done without  some pain and shaking up of the failed status quo. But the state doesn't appear anywhere near ready to take on the challenge.

We know that because another court hearing is scheduled today over a lawsuit filed by 63 public school districts and charter schools to stop the Public Education Department from mandating a 180 day school year.

That's a standard many districts already adhere to, but is still meeting with vociferous opposition including from parents unqualified to make such decisions as their children drop-out, slip into crime and drugs or lousy paying, dead-end jobs that further the state's downward spiral

This relatively minor change from the MLG administration, led by PED Secretary Arsenio Romero, is backed by grim facts:

New Mexico’s fourth-grade students’ reading proficiency rate of 21% in 2022, when it was named 50th in the nation, mirrored its rate more than 20 years earlier, despite small fluctuations over the decades. Additionally, the pandemic significantly affected chronic absenteeism rates in New Mexico. The percentage of students who miss more than 10% of the school year rose from 16% in the 2019-2020 school year to 40% in the 2021-2022 school year, and only decreased by 1% in the following school year.

In other words we are off the charts in under performance that is impacting the state's ability to attract business and jobs and keep younger people who are diligent students from seeking greener pastures, leading to an aging and stagnant population.

Let's go to the expert as the court is again gaveled into session today to hear the helicopter moms and intolerant educators make their case, showing why they and a majority of the state are dead wrong and on the wrong side of history. Here's PED Secretary Arsenio Romero trying his best to persuade the school districts:  

Sec. Romero

Dear District Leaders, I am deeply alarmed by the high number of low-performing schools and what that means for the state, the children who are being educated here, and our future. Far too many of our schools are under performing. 

Students statewide have low reading and math proficiencies. This is unacceptable. It is time for accountability: for the Public Education Department, for the school districts (including their boards and schools), charter schools, teachers' unions and families. We owe this accountability to our state’s most precious resource: children. 

While some progress has been made, we cannot ignore the persistent low student achievement results and achievement gaps that continue to plague New Mexico’s public schools decade after decade. It is time to break free from the status quo and demand excellence from everyone who works within the state’s education system. 

In the highlights of the most recent data, we see that every student has the capacity for success, if given the right tools and under strong school leadership. The reading gains in Pojoaque of over 26 percent demonstrate unequivocally how quickly student success can be achieved with the right focus. Leadership in the Pojoaque School District invested time and energy into bringing Structured Literacy to their students and in doing that, showed all of us what is possible. 

Schools have the tools: they need only be put to use. 

The NMPED remains committed to working with school districts and school leaders to make sure these goals are accomplished. This will require the development and implementation of effective, evidence-based policies and programs, as well as leadership, innovation, and change. 

Gov. Lujan Grisham and legislators have invested billions of dollars in the state’s education system since 2019 – levels never before seen in history – but historic academic gains have not followed. 

Statewide, barely a third of students are proficient in reading and less than a quarter are proficient in math, and these results are worse for students from low-income families and with disabilities, English learners, and Native American students. That must change. 

NMPED’s proposed budget this year will be focused on accountability. It will require that all districts, schools, and classrooms in New Mexico be held responsible for the academic achievement and growth of their students. We can no longer afford to overlook under performing schools or allow subpar educational experiences to persist. 

In this model, we will enforce accountability at the district level to ensure that those that do not provide their students with an effective education implement programs and policies that are proven to produce positive results. That shift will allow the state to create a renewed culture of high expectations, collaboration, and innovation that will propel our students toward success.  

Let us come together as stakeholders in education—parents, teachers, administrators, policymakers—and embrace this bold vision for accountability. . . 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.  

 

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