State: Teachers need language, cultural training

The state wants its public schools to become more attuned to the culture and languages of Hispanic and Native American populations as it presses forward with fundamental reforms that range from student testing to extending the school year, the state’s top education official said Tuesday.

Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart on Tuesday told a panel of state lawmakers that his agency hopes to better equip teachers to inspire children from households where indigenous or non-English languages are spoken. About one in 10 residents of New Mexico is Native American, while Hispanics account for more than 40 percent of the population in a region that was ruled by Spain and governed by Mexico until it became part of the U.S. after the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.

“If they understand the cultures that are coming into the classroom, they can understand how to connect,” Stewart said.

He said that teaching tribal languages in the classroom can help Navajo children communicate with elders. He also described obstacles: Textbooks will have to be created from scratch to teach some indigenous languages that are not widely spoken.

Stewart outlined future education priorities to the Legislature’s lead budget-writing committee, as lawmakers wrestle with how to track the success over time of major new spending initiatives that lengthen academic calendars and provide funding for services such as counselors, teaching assistants and after-school programs.