Blue Ribbon principal: 'It's just like coaching'

In a post-pandemic world where some educators feel public education is in peril, Zia Elementary is thriving.

The evidence: its Blue Ribbon award. That means it's been nationally recognized for creating a secure, welcoming educational environment where students master challenging and engaging concepts. 

Zia is one of 356 schools in the nation – and one of three in New Mexico – to receive the designation this year.

Kaylene Davis is the school's leader. 

Since becoming principal in May of 2022, Davis has tried to apply a data-driven approach and worked to create an environment that supports teachers and inspires students. 

"With Miss Kaylene Davis as our guide, it really just warms our hearts to see that all of our work is finally being recognized," said Marina Rodriguez, a first-grade teacher at Zia. 

Rodriguez said the Blue Ribbon, which gives Zia prestige and can boost enrollment, was mainly won through standardized testing and a concept called "closing the gap." The goal is to show how students improve in specific academic areas. 

This is where Davis' data-driven approach comes in. A former coach, she analogized it to basketball. 

"If you missed 15 out of 25 free throws, what are you going to do? You're going to work on free throws. That's kind of it. It's like, what are we deficient in? What are our weaknesses? Where are our challenges? That's what you work on. That's what you make stronger. It's just like coaching a team," she said. 

Davis said this data-driven approach was honed during her tenure at Bovina High School from 2018-22; first as a principal and then as a district coordinator of school improvement, according to her LinkedIn. 

She said she helped improve test scores by working with a West Texas-based education center called Region 16. 

"We would look at some assessment scores, and we would tear them apart and disaggregate them down to the actual question, and see what the question was about and what the student missed at that at the deepest level," Davis recalled. 

She later explained how the next step was building a lesson plan around it. 

"So you make sure that in your lesson plans, that in your instruction, that you are working on those particular standards, if they are struggling on those standards," she said.

The driving force behind this growth mindset could be traced roughly 70 miles away back to her hometown of San Jon. 

A daughter of a farmer and a housewife, Davis recalled how the perfectionist in her was formed through her singing career. 

She crooned country tunes from artists such as Tanya Tucker at weddings and talent shows, and she competed in the Miss New Mexico pageant when she was 17. 

"I wanted to do the best that I could," Davis said. "...My dad was a perfectionist as well, so he'd tell me, 'You're flat' or 'we need to change the key of that song.'"

The competitive and leadership side was developed through sports and programs including Future Farmers of America.

"I always had the tendency to want to lead and be a leader," she said. 

But it would take a few years for these attributes to culminate into a career as an educator.

An English major at Eastern New Mexico University, education wasn't on her radar. But as a mom of three young kids, she knew she needed a job and picked up some substitute teaching gigs. 

"I just remember loving it and loving being around the kids," said Davis, who went back to ENMU to get her teaching license. 

She became a reading specialist at Tucumcari Middle School from 2002-12. Around this same time, she coached sports, too. She was enamored with the magic of watching a child's persistence turn into an ear-to-ear smile. 

"I was coaching junior high volleyball and had a little girl who could not serve," Davis said. 

But then came the game where something clicked. 

"She wound up and she got it over, and she turned and looked at me, and just started jumping up and down. She was so excited because she got her first serve over. And I will never forget that," Davis said.

She paused. 

"It just, you know, it almost brought tears to my eyes. She is so happy that she did that ... that's what always made teaching worth it to me," Davis said. 

Davis eventually became an assistant principal at Clovis Muncipal's Yucca Middle School from 2013-15, fulfilled the same role at Tucumcari Elementary School from 2015-18, went to Bovina from 2018-22 before becoming the principal at Zia Elementary. 

Two years later, and one week after Zia won the Blue Ribbon, Davis said she couldn't take all the credit. Davis said Jennifer Longley, the previous principal who became the district's executive director of strategic planning and school support, did a stellar job. Zia had strong academics, little behavioral issues and involved parents. 

So, from her perspective, the goal was to maintain the standard. That means being supportive of her staff and making sure each teacher has what they need to be successful. 

Rodriguez, Zia's first-grade teacher, said Davis keeps a warm, inclusive environment that she tries to instill in her classroom. 

"When a student trusts you to be their teacher, the sky's the limit. So when you gain that trust, you can teach them the entire book," Rodriguez said.

From a big picture perspective, finding ways to keep students engaged and inspired. One example is the "Dream Cloud" located on a white wall near the school's entrance. 

This features a large cloud, outlined in blue masking tape. Inside of it are a variety of Post-it notes showcasing student's ambitions. 

"Own a restaurant"

"Make the MLB or the NFL"

"Walk among the stars"

For Davis, the Blue Ribbon is a culmination of strategy and validation of hard work that inspires them to realize that any dream – no matter how big – is achievable. 

"Nothing is out of reach for them," she said.