Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 18, 2024—Teach Plus New Mexico issued the following statement about the recent updates to NM Vistas, the state’s public education reporting website that tracks school performance:
Teach Plus commends the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) for adding early literacy and math assessment data to NM Vistas and thus demonstrating its commitment to early childhood education in the state.
“Teach Plus and Teach Plus teacher leaders spent the last school year championing a robust education data collection system that is accurate, timely, and easy to use by meeting with education leaders and publishing op-eds. By listening to our recommendation to include early literacy and math scores on NM Vistas, the department has been a collaborative partner in our work to improve student outcomes and increase the next generation’s opportunities for economic mobility. Measuring what matters is a great step toward demonstrating our commitment to building a strong educational system,” said Hope Morales, Teach Plus New Mexico Executive Director.
“The decision by the NMPED to include additional details on the site reflects a strong commitment to transparency in school performance. The clearer and more comprehensive the view, the better positioned New Mexico will be to cultivate a richer, more diverse and equitable educational landscape. I look forward to seeing more improvements, including an even more thorough breakdown of student performance at the school, district, and statewide levels,” said Dawn Bilbrey, 2023-24 Teach Plus New Mexico Alumni Policy Fellow who teaches English at San Jon High School in San Jon and has advocated for NM Vistas changes.
Amanda DeBell, NMPED Deputy Secretary of Teaching, Learning and Innovation, told New Mexico Education that several “advisory groups” suggested that literacy scores of students in the early grades be included in the data portal, an indication of positive collaborative work in the future on issues that matter for New Mexico’s students.
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. In pursuing our mission, Teach Plus is guided by our Student Opportunity Mandate: All students should have the opportunity to achieve their potential in an education system defined by its commitment to equity, its responsiveness to individual needs, and its ability to prepare students for postsecondary success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. teachplus.org/nm/
