Governor Luhan Grisham has appointed an educator Ryan Stewart with a very strong background in working to support less successful schools and students. That work is often with students living in poverty, and groups often neglected in NM, such as the native americans. He replaces someone with a similar background that the Governor fired in a controversial action earlier this summer, Karen Trujillo from Las Cruces.
The focus of the successful lawsuit mandating increased spending on the “underprivileged” students and schools is emphasized in this hire. New Mexico is at or near the bottom of the 50 states for successful educational outcomes, and spending, and has challenging demographics, in that such a high percentage of students come from poor backgrounds and communities.
Mr. Stewart formerly was ED of a non profit with national scope called Partners in School Innovation.
[gview file=”https://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/New-Mexico-governor-names-new-education-secretary-KRWG.pdf”]
While spending per student is an important metric and a real challenge for poor states like NM, one wonders how Utah can be so successful at educating its populace at an expenditure level per pupil of 30% below NM.
https://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html
Students enter educational systems as complex human beings, having already had myriad formative experiences…IOW a long way from tabula rasa. Education administrators in NM lament that way too many students entering their schools have not been prepared adequately to succeed,. and blame the level just below. The buck starts at the 4yr colleges, and gets passed down to the earliest levels of encounter with organized education.
From there, it gets passed further down to pre K, and day care, and toddlers learning to talk from their mother and/or grandmother and includes the state of their home environment prior to state “intervention”.
Gov Luhan Grisham, and other NM educators have been banging the drums for some time to fund the earliest of early education. However, the huge increase in ed funding passed by the last NM Legislature, did not, notably, cover the early education package the Gov was promoting.
Some believe, and some research supports, that education must start as early as possible to avoid some groups falling behind. Even events that occur while pregnant, and prior to pregnancy (child abuse norms etc), are said to have huge effects on the environment that can support “proper” advancement in learning.
While funding is important, other resources such as found in a socially and economically well-functioning community are essential to learning as children grow up. Lack of those resources accentuates, for most students, the number of challenges they must overcome to reach educational success.
When comparing NM and Utah educational efficiency, we’d hope to understand if there are specific limitations affecting NM students that aren’t affecting Utah students. Or specific resources generally available to students in Utah outside of school, that aren’t generally available to students in NM. Fiber to the home and “affordable access”?
What is the starting point of the students entering ed institutions in each state? For example, children with ESL challenges are going to start out way behind students that are at home in English.
Utah is an interesting case, because something like 50+% of students there come from Mormon families who have extended relative trees going back a number of generations… and tight well-organized communities through their religion. The Mormon religion has some “socialism” aspects and provides a safety net, and communal support system… that one might say “leaves few children behind”.
One might surmise that some of the social problems of poverty and non English speaking in NM, are less prevalent in Utah.
However, asking educators to change social and economic conditions isn’t realistic, we look to other institutions to address those problems. Or do we?
Schools provide a place that imparts order and discipline and safety from street violence, serves meals for kids who otherwise might not have a breakfast or a lunch, and even gives some medical care and a “sort of” family substitute where teachers become part time parents.
The US has as had difficulty providing a “head start” that lasts through the entire journey to educational success, and eventual degrees and certification. The problems are in different fields, and each connect to another area…. and tackling the “whole thing” at one time seems sometimes beyond our capabilities.
But it never hurts when trying to solve intractable problems, to look around and see if the problem is being solved somewhere else, and if so, ask how it is being done.
Some like the current NM governor believe there are effective approaches to implement, if the funding is there. PSA would like to see “Community Schools” receive adequate funding for thorough experimentation at a level such as the LAUSD has signed on for.
And maybe we should ask the Mormons.
Yes, how can we solve leveraging technology to improve education if the funds are in place? The situations in New Mexico and Utah are different . PSA supports funding that outcome.