Extend learning time

Kudos to The Santa Fe New Mexican for calling out Santa Fe Public Schools for its failure to provide extended learning opportunities for Santa Fe students. This travesty will have negative consequences for years to come. Our experiences as leaders in large school systems make us keenly aware of the fact that one of the most important variables affecting student learning is time on task. The more time students spend on learning subject matter, the more likely they will master the material.

New Mexico students, whose education is already below that of their counterparts in most other states, will profit from more time in school, not less. Adult preferences for more vacation time are taking New Mexico public education in exactly the wrong direction. Raising standards, intensifying expectations for academic growth and increasing teacher salaries are necessities, but alone, or even in combination, they will not achieve the desired outcome if students don’t spend needed time in school.

The pandemic has highlighted the inequitable learning results for different socioeconomic groups, exampled by declining math scores and other negative consequences for high school success. Not only does the learning loss caused by the pandemic cry out for major increases in learning time, it also calls attention to the insufficient time our students spend in school in the current, outdated, school calendar. As former teachers and administrators, we understand teaching is a stressful occupation and breaks are needed to reflect and refresh. But those breaks should not come at the expense of student learning. Let’s give our kids the learning time they deserve to become good citizens and productive, well-paid workers.

Eileen Woodbury and Jim Brown Santa Fe