Education
To’Hajiilee receives $90.4 million to build a new community school away from flood plain
Severe weather can force students at To’Hajiilee Community School to evacuate and lose an entire day’s worth of learning because the building is in such disrepair that it’s dangerous for people to be inside. “Whenever it rains, it leaks through our roofs and floods our school. It becomes really muddy, and the dirt becomes like […]
GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley calls for ‘school choice’ programs nationwide
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, speaking Monday in Iowa, applauded implementation of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ private school scholarship program and called for school choice nationwide. “I have said for a long time and I mean it: You have the best governor in the country,” Haley said. “She has proven it time and time again, whether […]
NM governor found a way to give pre-k teachers and staff $3 raises. Not everyone qualifies
These days it costs $16 for a packet of chicken big enough to feed Alma Ortiz’s family. It’s a big jump from what she’s used to, and she has a hard time being able to afford it. Ortiz is a single mom and early childhood teacher for Youth Development Inc., a Head Start program in […]
NM budget doesn’t include money for cleaning air in schools
The state budget passed by the New Mexico House of Representatives on Thursday includes $8.6 billion for education. It contains precisely zero money for public schools to upgrade their heating and air conditioning systems to clean indoor air well enough to remove coronavirus and other airborne harms. COVID-19 continues to kill more than 450 people […]
Affirmative consent legislation one step away from Senate vote
The affirmative consent bill that would make “yes means yes” the baseline for teaching consent in schools received unanimous approval from the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. It now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee for review. This is the third time Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Albuquerque) brought the bill to the Roundhouse, and each time […]
U.S. House GOP preps for debates on ‘parents’ rights,’ school vouchers and transgender athletes
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans laid the groundwork for some top legislative priorities during a Wednesday hearing that examined public funding for charter schools and voucher programs, as well as increasing parents’ oversight of school curriculum. The Republican chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, provided a forum for […]
Tribal education is a matter of cultural survival: ‘We need to act now,’ leaders tell lawmakers
There is plenty of history between the state of New Mexico and Native nations, and it hasn’t always been very pleasant, said Mark Mitchell, former governor of Tesuque Pueblo. “There are still some seeds of doubt, distrust, lingering feelings of suspicion, resentment, and still layers of misunderstanding and misinformation about tribes,” said Mitchell, chairman of […]
Tribal early education proposal to be heard today
A proposal to strengthen tribal self-determination in early childhood education will get its first committee hearing in the New Mexico Legislature today. House Bill 148 would require the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department to sign agreements with Native nations in the state to run early childhood education and care programs using their […]
How New Mexico child care workers got the state to invest in their industry
Merline Gallegos’ child care center has been on the verge of closing many times. She’s long struggled to pay her workers the wages she believes they deserve, and when the pandemic hit, things only got worse. “We were going to close or we needed to find some help,” Gallegos, 36, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, […]
Supporters turn out to champion affirmative consent in Roundhouse hearing
Legislation making its way through the session would transform how sexual assault cases are handled by public schools and New Mexico colleges that take state money. And it would make what’s known as “affirmative consent” a part of sex ed in high school health classes. In a room full of educators, students, survivors of sexual […]
N.M. educators seek a role in setting requirements for extended learning
Danielle Gurnea said she doesn’t mind the additional hours teaching middle school students in Las Cruces, and if state lawmakers approve additional funds for her public school district to expand extended learning or professional development, she just wants a say in the matter. “I enjoy doing programs with my school, but I also appreciate when […]
A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges
WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.” Over the past six years, these problems have stifled the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations team that is supposed to probe colleges that misrepresent themselves to […]