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BEYOND THE CHAIR EDITION: August 2023
NUMBER
50 AGAIN
IT’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME. BUT WHAT’S THAT MEAN FOR OUR STUDENTS? When spilling tea about New Mexico schools, we used to quip, “Thank God for Mississippi,” because at least we ranked ahead of them in education. But the Magnolia State has recently launched successful education reforms that greatly improved its reading and math scores and graduation rates. It now ranks far ahead of New Mexico, which has again hit the statistical bottom. Despite efforts to change, we are still failing our students’ education and well-being. The Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit from 2018 was supposed to focus on the least-served of our children; last year, voters amended the state constitution to guarantee early education access; and APS changed its classroom hours and increased teacher salaries for this school year. But the needle isn’t moving, prompting us to ask, “What’s it going to take to change the education game for our children?” On the horizon, the NM Public Education Department is creating “innovation zones” in dozens of schools around the state which focus on postgrad workplace and career advancement; and the governor has pivoted toward special education improvements as well. Time will tell if these and other new programs will improve conditions.
WE HAVE TO BECOME CURIOUS ABOUT THE ROOTS OF OUR SYSTEMIC INEFFECTIVENESS IN EDUCATION AND THEN BECOME PERSISTENT IN OUR DEMANDS FOR BETTER—FOR THE BEST. We can begrudge Mississippi if we want, or we can follow their lead. We can even pore over student and family statistics, but at some point, we have to ask why we rationalize our educational deficits and disparities. We must call our politicians and civic leaders to account. We must become curious about the roots of our systemic ineffectiveness in education and then become persistent in our demands for better—for the best. In this and later issues, we’ll keep discussing the future, which is our children. We also want you to be an active participant in the conversations stoked by our paper, so please take advantage of our first-ever reader’s poll by clicking on the QR below. We sincerely appreciate your feedback.
Readers’ Survey
APS schedule change
Poor NM test scores
Yazzie/ Martinez ruling
Mississippi education gains
National report card
WHAT’S INSIDE BEYOND THE CHAIR EDITION PROF. GIPSON RANKIN MOVES UP 2 BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN 3 LOCAL ATHLETES GO PRO 4 SCHOOL BOARD SWITCHUP 5 AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTS 5 RETURN OF THE HAIR SHOW 6 A VISION TO DANCE 7