New Mexico educators look to create inclusive school community

“No, he was nice and kind and respectful,” one student called.

“He was nonviolent,” the teacher replied, “and he got that from Mahatma Gandhi, who is also on our wall somewhere.”

Salazar Principal Alyssa Maestas said educators at the school work hard to develop pride in each student’s racial, ethnic and cultural identities during holidays and heritage months but also year-round.

“Of course we’re going to have more things displayed around Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and February for Black History Month, but throughout the year, it’s our mission to constantly be representing everyone in our school,” Maestas said.

Salazar’s efforts raise an important question: How do we talk about race — and support students of all racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds — in New Mexico schools?

The Black Education Act, signed into law in March 2021, answers one part of that question. The law is designed to better support Black students — and all students — with culturally relevant resources and provide teachers with anti-racism training, said Kimberly York, the Black Education Act liaison at the state Public Education Department.

Nearly two years after the law’s passage, York and the Black Education Act team are working to accomplish those statutory mandates with an empathy-based approach to assisting students and educators.

Student support

“My guiding philosophy about the work and the mission of the Black Education Act … is simply a quote by César Chávez that says that, ‘Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for [other] cultures,’ ” York said.

Black youth represent 2.3% of the state’s public school students, or more than 7,000 kids, 2020-21 state data shows. In Santa Fe Public Schools, the number shrinks to just under 1%, according to the Santa Fe Data Platform, a public-private data collection project.

Although the Black Education Act wasn’t passed until 2021, lawmakers and community members had been working on it for a long time, said Sen. Harold Pope Jr., D-Albuquerque, one of the sponsors of the bill and New Mexico’s first African American state senator.

Growing up in Colorado, Pope said he didn’t learn much about African Americans’ contributions to the state or the U.S. in school. When he finally learned that history in college, it motivated him, pushing him to a decadeslong career in the U.S. Air Force and state government.

“Our students shouldn’t have to go to college to hear about that,” Pope said. “There should be that culturally relevant education because it’s just important. … When you don’t have that, it can definitely have an impact on your psyche and your motivation in life.”

Like New Mexico’s 2003 Indian Education Act and 2010 Hispanic Education Act, Pope said he hopes the Black Education Act is providing Black students with more information on Black history and cultural resources.

York said the goal of the Black Education Act team is to assist students from all backgrounds.

“While our charge is to focus on improving the educational outcomes in a holistic way for Black students, we proudly serve and support all students,” she said.

One of the major ways they do this is through the Anti-Racism/Anti Oppression Hotline, which students, staff, community members or anyone else can call or email to report incidents of racism or discrimination on school grounds, said Hotline Manager Devon Williams.

Once an incident is reported — something that happens two to five times per month — Williams said hotline personnel inform school officials of the incident and connect students with relevant resources in the Public Education Department, such as the special education or Indigenous education bureaus.

The hotline serves as a “neutral bridge” between reporting parties and school staff, said Simone Vann, the Public Education Department’s director of identity, equity and transformation.

“The fact that we’re giving everyone in the community but especially students a safer way to report racism, that only makes schools safer. It makes school climates better, and it really improves the school setting for all students,” Vann said.

The Black Education Act team also is working in partnership with the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs to provide support for high school students seeking to rebrand or reboot Black student unions, York said.

Vann envisions the rebranded version of these groups — called Black student alliances — as spaces for all students, including non-Black students, interested in learning about Black history in New Mexico, the U.S. and the world. The Black Education Act team will not be taking over Black student unions, Vann said, but will be providing curriculum support for outside-the-classroom learning about Black history.

The alliances also will serve as a place for students of various and intersecting identities to voice problems they might be facing at school.

“A lot of times, students just won’t say anything, and so you don’t know exactly what’s going on,” Vann said. “That’s not just for Black students. It could be for gay students; it could be for Hispanic students; it could be for English language learners.”

“All of them should have a space in their school that’s safe, where they can express whatever they want to express, but especially those things that might be happening in the school setting that’s unsafe for them,” she continued.

Teacher resources

The Black Education Act team also exists to support teachers through professional development and curriculum resources, ensuring they’re prepared to discuss situations related to race, ethnicity and culture in the classroom.

The Black Education Act requires annual anti-racism training for all New Mexico school personnel. By the end of 2022, more than 1,800 educators had completed the Black Education Act team’s online training on racism recognition and response, making it the second-most completed training in the Public Education Department, Vann said.

The team’s trainings are intended to address educators’ questions about race, ethnicity and culture, York said, turning often uncomfortable or embarrassing questions into teachable moments.

York now keeps a stack of more than 200 questions collected during educator trainings inside a locked file cabinet in her office.

“Why do we label people by color?” one educator wondered.

“How can I address the racial oppression/attitudes of my white family, friends and colleagues?” another asked.

“Is it African American, Black or both?” a third questioned.

“These are all very legitimate, heartwarming questions that our educators have, and we take for granted that they know the answers,” York said.

Staff at Santa Fe Public Schools completed a similar training this school year, Maestas said, designed to help educators be responsive to all students’ cultures.

Members of the Black Education Act team are looking forward to increasing awareness about their efforts — particularly the Anti-Racism/Anti Oppression Hotline — as well as expanding the team’s connections to parents, educators and students across the state, York said.

So far, Pope said he likes what he’s seen come out of the Black Education Act, and during the 2023 legislative session, which begins Tuesday, he plans to push for additional funding for the small team of Public Education Department employees working to implement the law.

At Salazar Elementary, Maestas hopes to continue the work of incorporating more families, cultures and identities into the school community.

“My big goal is that we continue to include families in the decisions that we are making for community events and representing their cultures,” she said.

She aims to unveil a survey for Salazar families in the next school year. It will help educators learn practical information about their students — how students learn best, how to incorporate them into each lesson, what their hobbies are — as well as how best to acknowledge and honor the students’ culture in the classroom.

“We recognize that each student has their own different needs and culture and identity and background,” Maestas said. “So I think one of the things that we’re always trying to do is develop pride in each student’s self and give them the ability to share their own identity with their peers.”