46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

REQUESTING THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO CREATE A SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PILOT PROJECT FOCUSED ON QUALITY TEACHERS.

WHEREAS, the state department of public education is required by state and federal law to implement an accountability system that monitors the academic progress of students in schools on an annual basis; and

WHEREAS, schools making adequate yearly progress may be identified for rewards and schools not making annual progress are identified as probationary schools and face possible sanctions if adequate progress does not occur for a period of consecutive years; and

WHEREAS, research indicates a strong relationship between the quality of teaching in a school and student academic performance; and

WHEREAS, the following strategies are proposed as a means to focus on issues of teacher quality and student needs in order to improve student academic performance in probationary schools:

A. providing extended contracts for school personnel for an eight-hour day;

B. employing for the participating elementary schools only those teachers who are fully certified in the field in which they teach, provided that transfers of teachers who have substandard or substitute certificates or are teaching on subject waivers to other schools shall be in accordance with the due process provisions of Chapter 22, Article 10 NMSA 1978;

C. providing a rigorous evaluation, mentorship and intervention program for teachers who choose to remain at the pilot project elementary schools;

D. constituting a school personnel committee, consisting of a curriculum coordinator, six teachers and four parents, that develops criteria for selecting teacher candidates to fill vacancies and make recommendations to the principal on teacher candidates;

E. requiring the principal to employ new teachers from a list of three candidates recommended by the school personnel committee;

F. providing after-school activities and tutoring services for the elementary school's students;

G. providing full-day and full-year pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs;

H. providing a five percent salary increase for teachers in the elementary school above any other salary increase approved by the local school board; and

I. providing an additional ten thousand dollar ($10,000) annual salary differential above the local school board salary for each teacher who is certified by the national board for professional teaching standards;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state department of public education be requested to identify three probationary public elementary schools that are willing to enter into a five-year pilot project to implement the strategies listed in this memorial with the goal of improving student performance and being removed from the list of probationary schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department work with the selected public schools and their school districts to identify all possible sources of state and federal funds to address additional costs associated with the pilot project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department provide priority to the pilot project schools in awarding any state, federal or private grants available, as allowable within federal and state laws and guidelines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department and the pilot schools report annually to the legislative education study committee on student progress in these pilot schools based on the statewide accountability system required by state and federal law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state department of public education and the legislative education study committee.