Under what circumstances would the Public Education Department (PED) take over schools that do not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)?
The PED is devoted to the continuous improvement of schools so that students can achieve lifelong learning. The PED has never taken over a school, which is one of the options under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Other options are to replace all or most of the staff as allowed by law; turn over management of the public school to the PED; make other governance changes; or, implement any other major restructuring of the school’s governance that is consistent with the principles of restructuring.
New Mexico’s Secretary of Education issued guidance to public school districts on February 22, 2008 that clarifies how the PED currently assists schools that do not make adequate progress. Under that guidance, the Secretary clarified the following:
The local district has primary responsibility for assisting its schools that do not make adequate progress toward meeting established student academic achievement targets. However, if the local district does not carry out its responsibilities in this area, the PED must take the actions it determines to be appropriate, in compliance with state law concerning school governance. The PED’s role is to monitor and support the district’s actions inclusive of appropriate allocation of human and fiscal resources to meet student needs.
For schools that are in Restructuring I, meaning that they have missed making “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) for five consecutive years in the same area, No Child Left Behind requires their districts to prepare “Alternative Governance Plans.” These plans will be implemented the next year if they do not make adequate progress for a sixth year in the same area. At that point, the school will be considered to be in Restructuring II. There are 37 different areas that schools must meet in order to make AYP.
The purpose of the plan is for the school to improve its ability to teach all children and achieve annual academic performance targets. The plan that a local district prepares must include one of the following “alternative governance” arrangements for the school, consistent with state law:
- Replace all or most of the school staff, which may include the principal, who are relevant to the school’s inability to make AYP.
- Enter into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company, with a demonstrated record of effectiveness, to operate the school as a public school.
- Turn the operation of the school over to the PED if this action is permitted under state law and the state agrees.
- Implement any other major restructuring of the school’s governance arrangement that is consistent with No Child Left Behind principles of restructuring. These include the following:
- Change the governance structure of the school in a significant manner that either diminishes school-based management and decision making or increases control, monitoring and oversight of the school’s operations and educational program by the local district.
- Close the school and reopen it as a focus or theme school with new staff or staff skilled in the focus area (e.g., math and science, dual language, communication arts).
- Reconstitute the school into smaller autonomous learning communities (e.g., school-within-a-school model, learning academies, etc.).
- Dissolve the school and assign students to other schools in the district.
If the local district does not carry out its responsibilities in its plan(s), the PED must take the actions it determines to be appropriate, in compliance with state law concerning school governance.
For more information, please contact sheila.hyde@state.nm.us.
- How do we change the current status of New Mexico public school performance?
A robust education system demands a comprehensive approach to academic success. In 2007, the PED, together with Governor Bill Richardson, legislators and education and community leaders, strategically implemented and developed initiatives to bridge expectation gaps between elementary, middle, high school and postsecondary education; to create seamless transitions from grade to grade; and to align and integrate our entire P-20 education system.
We worked through our strategic framework Making Schools Work, earning New Mexico national recognition for education reform.
The Making Schools Work initiative targets seven areas necessary for education excellence:
- Academic Rigor and Accountability
- Closing the Achievement Gap
- School Readiness
- Quality Teachers
- Parent Involvement
- 21st Century Classrooms
- College and Workforce Readiness.
Often the public judges New Mexico public school performance by the state’s progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 or NCLB. In 2007, approximately 45% of New Mexico’s schools made adequate progress. This percentage cannot be compared to another state’s percentage because each state has different standards regarding what students are expected to know and be able to do.
New Mexico’s standards provide academic focus and direction for instruction.
In 2007, over 199,000 New Mexico students were tested for their proficiency against the standards. Students in grades 3-9 and 11 were tested on their proficiency in reading and math, while students in grades 3-9 were also tested on their proficiency in science.
New Mexico has not played the game of setting low proficiency levels for reading and math in order to increase the number of schools making adequate progress. So, when New Mexico students achieve proficiency in math, reading and science, they are nationally competitive.
New Mexico has been nationally recognized for its high academic standards by the Fordham Foundation, the American Federation of Teachers, Education Week and Newsweek.
Most recently, the U.S. Department of Education conducted a comparative study of the National Assessment for Educational Progress and state assessments. New Mexico standards and cut scores ranked in the top 10 overall.
With or without No Child Left Behind, New Mexico will continue to hold schools accountable, set the bar high for our students and work toward an aligned system.
Our goal is for all New Mexico students to be prepared for success in college or a career when they graduate from a public school.
