Maintain teacher leader programs

Incoming NM administration needs to keep momentum up

Over the last three years, New Mexico teachers have been provided unprecedented opportunities unique to New Mexico and the nation. The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) introduced and implemented teacher leadership programs at the first New Mexico Teacher Summit in summer 2016, programs like the New Mexico Teacher Leader Network (NMTLN) and the Secretary’s Teacher Advisory (STA), which educate educators and provide career growth. Since then the PED has expanded other network programs, the Parent Leader Network and the Student Leader Network, that educate stakeholders in local communities. The initial summit consisted of 300 teachers from around the state, and three years later, 1,300 teachers were in attendance, along with representatives from six other states wanting to learn from New Mexico how these programs are working and how to implement them in those states. Clearly there is teacher demand for this professional development and opportunity.

Teachers from around the state are concerned as to why this growing desire for teacher voice and knowledge are not being promoted by the newly elected administration, and we are disappointed these programs appear to be on the chopping block. If educators, the metaphorical “boots on the ground,” want transparency and support transparency, shouldn’t we receive direct information from PED and be informed about policies that directly affect teacher jobs?

The NMTLN, over three years, has expanded and now is working on having one teacher representative per school for every school in the state — that is over 700 teacher liaisons. The NMTLN initially consisted of 50 teachers from around the state who learned about how principals evaluated teachers using NMTEACH, and as a network we provided tutorials and domainspecific strategies for all teachers in the state to improve their craft. Why is this important? This back-and-forth professional development has helped reshape how New Mexico schools have learned about state programs, and with the assistance of the teacher liaison at NMPED we were provided a contact person at PED to help clear up teacher misunderstandings regarding these policies. As teacher leaders we are often approached by administration to help clarify policies regarding our profession. This is vital for N.M. educators if we are going to continually improve and confidently support education policies.

The STA has been an incredible honor for teachers — we meet quarterly for a face-toface with the secretary of education and have monthly phone calls to discuss hot topic issues regarding education, such as the rolling out of the science standards, to which we strongly objected to the initial proposals. We advocated for higher standards for Educator Preparatory Programs, higher teacher pay, reworking NMTEACH, and provided feedback regarding the Alternative Display of Competency graduation requirements. We also provide the secretary with concerns that are taking place in the field that the PED may not be aware of from teachers in the classroom, such as the impact of absences (on) the evaluation system. This unique opportunity allows teachers a voice in education issues. Some policy makers find this unsettling as new voices are expecting information, but under the old system of secretaryto-superintendent-toprincipal-to-teachers, information was not clearly articulated and often not delivered, causing teacher frustration due to inaccurate information.

We respectfully request the new administration continue these teacher leader programs, including the New Mexico Teacher Leader Network, the Secretary Teacher’s Advisory, the Parent Leader Network and the Student Leader Network.