Teach Plus New Mexico issued the following statement on the Senate Education Committee’s unanimous support of SB 137, School Board Training:
Teach Plus New Mexico is thrilled about the bi-partisan and multi-organizational support of SB 137, which mandates the development of local school board members and ensures that they have the necessary knowledge to create high-quality educational environments for students. The bill also adds transparency around school board member training by utilizing New Mexico’s data system for reporting purposes. Teach Plus is grateful to Senator Stewart and Senator Soules for sponsoring this legislation and to the members of the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) for endorsing the bill.
“When it comes to school board members’ responsibilities, Teach Plus teacher leaders know that regular attendance and deep understanding of issues are key to them making the right decisions for New Mexico’s students. We are particularly pleased that this legislation, which will set the right expectations to ensure our school board members are successful in these important roles, includes several Teach Plus teacher leaders’ recommendations on improving the system,” said Teach Plus Executive Director Hope Morales.
Teach Plus and Teach Plus teacher leaders have advocated on this issue for the past two years, helping to amplify its importance through op-eds, testimony, and presentations to the members of the LESC and Public Education Department. A Teach Plus recommendation to report the number of regular school board meetings each school board member has attended and missed on the NMvistas.org website under the ‘district’ home page is a key component of SB 137.
“Having school board members who are adequately trained in school finance and budget, policies and procedures, and curriculum will better serve the districts they were elected to. We want our children to be top performers in the classroom, and it needs to start at the top with school board members setting the example and getting adequately trained,” stated Gabrielle Begay, Teach Plus New Mexico Alumni Fellow and member of the Cobre Consolidated School District School Board.
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 this mission, Teach Plus is guided by the 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 trained thousands of teacher leaders across the country who are driving policy changes and improving the instructional practices of teachers to create an education system driven by equity, access, and excellence for all students. teachplus.org/nm
