Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis’ public schools superintendent has been openly criticizing the state’s proposed plans to make students spend more time in school.
Good for her. She should be speaking out. The state’s Public Education Department isn’t so qualified as Clovis Superintendent Renee Russ to say what’s best for Clovis students.
Guidelines for Portales school students should be set by Portales schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain.
And superintendents – hired and fired by locally elected school boards – should be allowed to set the standards for Texico, Grady, Melrose, Dora and every other district in the state as well.
Yes, the funding comes from taxpayers everywhere and we all understand small communities could never afford to hire teachers or provide curriculum or infrastructure if all the money had to come from within each community. Still, local professional educators are more qualified to teach local students than a government agency in Santa Fe.
Russ, in an opinion piece published on our Voices page last week, said New Mexico’s Public Education Department is “proposing a rule change that would mandate all school districts in the state adhere to a minimum of 180 student days per academic year, rather than to simply meet the 1,140 hour requirements stated in statute.”
For Clovis, that would mean two extra weeks of state-mandated school attendance. For some smaller schools, it would force them to abandon a four-day calendar they believe has worked well.
There’s no doubt the PED can find professional educators who will argue that increased instructional time will result in more educated students. Russ, in her opinion piece, states that she believes “regular attendance, student engagement, smaller class sizes, rigorous learning opportunities, highly qualified teachers, high quality learning materials, and robust family and community support are proven contributors to academic success.”
It’s likely that Russ’ parameters, in addition to more days in class, would benefit some students. And it’s likely that some students will thrive without a public education system at all. Family support and direction is all that’s needed for them.
Clovis school board member Paul Cordova said Tuesday night that’s he concerned the state is “taking away our freedom” by forcing more school days on the district.
He’s right, of course. The state should not be forcing one-size-fits-all standards on every New Mexico community.
Russ is encouraging those who support local autonomy to express that opinion to New Mexico’s PED at:
“Let’s make our voices heard and stand up for what we believe is right for our students, our schools, and our community,” she wrote in her opinion piece.
This is also a good time to point out that local school districts should be flexible when imposing their own rules on individual students.
Most of us don’t see a distinction between the state telling us what to do or some local entity telling us what to do. Ultimately, parents should have the final say when it comes to the education of their children.
Russ should be applauded for standing up to those who want to control us from afar. And we should be sure to hold her to the same standards.
David Stevens is editor and publisher of Clovis Media Inc. Email him at:
