Parochial Approach Won’t Reform Schools

“Charters are supposed to be all about local people getting involved and doing something very specific for their community. It’s community-oriented, community-driven.”

— Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque

The community-oriented, community-driven label has an appeal, and a value — for everything from infrastructure improvements to neighborhood policing. People from, and in, an area often have special insight into what that area needs. But when it comes to identifying and implementing best practices in education reform, New Mexico needs to keep all its options open.

The state’s public school system is not alone in facing challenges ranging from low proficiency rates to poor graduation rates. The focus from Washington on improving schools to in turn improve the nation’s chances at being competitive in the global marketplace proves that out.

Yes, Miera knows New Mexico schools as chair of the Legislative Education Study Committee. But with just 50.8 percent of students reading at grade level and 63 percent of students graduating, why would he or anyone recommend the state automatically dismiss out-of-state proposals for charter schools that might turn the tide?

Bruce Hegwer, director of the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools, pragmatically points out “some of the applications from out-of-state organizations have been very successful in other states, so they’re looking to replicate their model here in New Mexico. And so I think if they’ve been successful elsewhere, they stand a good chance of being successful here.”

Thankfully, the New Mexico Department of Education’s charter schools division focused this week on whether the nine proposed charters had solid, research-based plans in place. It determined five did not.

And those five and three others — in fact all four proposed by out-of-staters — were rejected for authorization by the state Public Education Commission on Thursday.

Focusing on what a charter school program — or any education reform — can and has delivered in the way of results makes more sense than taking a parochial stance that we always know best.

Especially when the student results show we clearly do not.