Partership development
- CESDP: Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations
- NMCSA: New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators
- Northern Network
- SENMERC: Southeastern New Mexico Education Research Center
- RelationaLearning
- FEC: Frontier Education Center
- Association for Teaching and Learning
Rural revitalization
The basis for improving education in the rural areas of New Mexico is based on the concept of holistic community revitalization and the inclusion of economic development with significant school involvement.
During June 2005, staff members from the NMPED, along with personnel from six rural school districts in New Mexico (Jemez Mountain, Jemez Valley, Cimarron, Maxwell, Loving, and Tatum), visited South Australia to see first-hand examples of holistic community development in that country.
This visit was arranged in partnership with RelationaLearning, a Santa Fe based organization with extensive experience in community revitalization. Aspects of the Australian model will be used in the bureau’s efforts to revitalize rural communities in New Mexico.
Technology
Distance learning is a crucially important educational delivery system for small and remote schools in rural New Mexico.
The Rural Education Bureau is working with other NMPED bureaus to determine 1) current distance education initiatives within New Mexico schools and
2) plans for expanding these systems statewide.
One of our partners, the Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, based at New Mexico State University, is working on an extensive program to bring distance learning capabilities to every school in New Mexico.
The bureau will continue its efforts to ensure the greatest possible interconnection of existing and future communications networks in New Mexico to maximize the delivery of instructional programs to all schools.
Outreach
The Rural Education Bureau will establish frequent contact with its client districts through attendance at meetings of associations such as the NMCSA and NMSBA and through visits to rural districts and schools. In addition, the bureau has already met with representatives on the RECs and plans are underway to attend their meetings and to have the superintendents of rural school districts meet on occasion with bureau staff at the regional REC for the conduct of activities related to rural education. All pertinent reports of activities of the bureau and any pertinent information from rural districts will be shared with the Secretary’s Advisory Council.
Funding
The Assistant Secretary for Rural Education is tasked with providing testimony and data as requested on a revised funding formula for schools.
The emergency supplemental funding is $4.8 million for 18 districts for the 2006-2007 school year.
A revised set of criteria are under development for the distribution of emergency supplemental funds.
Data obtained from the criteria in 2005-2006 will be used by the NMPED funding formula task force to determine the emergency supplemental funding for the 2006/2007 school year. |
Meeting NCLB requirements
The bureau will work closely with rural districts and schools to ensure progress is made in the achievement of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as mandated under NCLB.
An important objective in this regard is the assurance that our small and isolated school districts acquire and retain highly qualified teachers.
The bureau held a meeting with the Executive Director of the New Mexico branch of Teach for America, an organization devoted to providing well prepared teachers for schools with the greatest needs.
In addition, the bureau advocates the “grow your own teachers” program now active in a number of states. Under this initiative, students in junior and senior high school are encouraged to consider a career in teaching and are provided with tuition assistance to complete college and then return to their local school and teach for a period of years. The success of this program depends heavily on “place-based” education and the development of an appreciation for the local community on the part of the student.
The conceptual basis for place-based education is well documented. The bureau advocates this approach to education in the schools of New Mexico as a necessary requisite to the successful implementation of holistic community revitalization. The bureau is closely associated with the Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS) initiative administered by the Priority Schools Bureau at the NMPED.
Superintendent training and support
The success of holistic community development cannot occur without the full support of a committed cadre of informed school superintendents. Holistic community development involves economic development within the community and with the full involvement of the schools. In this regard, the school within the community may well become the center of activity within community revitalization. The bureau is committed to keeping superintendents informed on all aspects of rural education and to include them in the development of policies to improve all aspects of education in our small and isolated schools. The bureau also schedules training sessions for school districts in the Baldrige program in quality management. Bureau staff will be available to provide technical support in the interpretation of test results from the state-mandated examinations.
Research
The bureau is deeply involved in research into rural education and holistic community revitalization both nationally and internationally.
A number of books, monographs, and research papers have been procured and the bureau has made contact with several prominent organizations representing these two key areas of investigation. Of national prominence is The Rural School and Community Trust (RSCT), a premier nonprofit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving rural communities. In their publication, Why Rural Matters 2003, New Mexico ranked first in rural child poverty, second in percentage of rural minority students, and third lowest in rural per capita income New Mexico “ They concluded that “…rural education is crucially important and in critical need of policy attention” in the state. In their follow-up study, Why Rural Matters 2005, the RSCT reaffirmed the need for immediate attention to rural education in New Mexico and raised its overall priority rating for action from the 16 th ranked state in 2003 to second in importance in 2005.
Bureau staff contacted Dr. Thomas Farmer, co-director of The National Research Center on Rural Education Support based at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Bureau staff discussed with Dr. Farmer the question of federal definition of rural school district and sources of funding for rural education and community revitalization efforts. In addition, bureau staff will attend two important professional meetings later in 2005: The 97 th Annual National Rural Education Association (NREA) Convention, November 7-9, 2005, and the December 2005 meeting of the CCSSO, a Chief’s Focus Forum on Rural School Issues, December 15-17, 2005.
The goal of the Rural Education Bureau is to create a world-class rural education system based on holistic community revitalization in all rural areas of the state of New Mexico. |
Rural Education Advisory Committee and Rural Superintendents
The Rural Education Division is tasked with developing a definition for rural education for use in our efforts to revitalize communities in New Mexico. During a meeting of the NMCSA early in 2005, the term “rural education” was applied to school districts in the state with student enrollments fewer than 1,000. This is considered to be a working definition for NMPED purposes and is subject to change as we progress in our efforts. At the federal level there is neither a universally accepted definition of “rural school district” nor is there one for the term “rural.” As such, a number of definitions have been put forward by federal departments to fit the needs of particular projects. For instance, the Department of Education uses the following definition of “rural” in directives extending greater flexibility to school districts in complying with the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): District with student enrollments of fewer than 600 OR all schools in the district are located in counties with a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile AND all schools served by the LEA have a school “locale code” of 7 or 8 as determined by the Secretary, OR the LEA is located in an area of the State defined as rural by the SEA or another governmental agency of the State.
In another case, the Rural School and Community Trust (RSCT), a leading national nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, has created a definition of rural for each state in the U.S. The New Mexico school districts are designated rural if student enrollment is 33.3 per class (K-12) or lower. This definition would result in 27 school districts defined as rural.
The bureau is continually revising and updating its Rural Education Action Plan, which has as its primary goal the revitalization of rural communities with the full involvement of the local schools. The plan integrates economic enhancement, academic advancements, the improvement of teacher qualifications, the retention of highly qualified teachers, and strong parental involvement within a holistic community revitalization program.
The bureau will work closely with the Rural Education Advisory Committee in its efforts to improve educational outcomes in the rural areas of New Mexico. |
