SENATE MEMORIAL 44

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

John M. Sapien and Carlos R. Cisneros and Gay G. Kernan

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 8, 2019 "NEW MEXICO NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico national board certified teacher network was established eighteen years ago to promote national board professional teaching standards certification for New Mexico teachers and to promote accomplished teaching throughout New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico national board certified teacher network advocates for leadership opportunities for national board certified teachers and educates teachers about the national board's body of knowledge; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico national board certified teacher network also supports candidates through the national board certification process, celebrates achievement, offers opportunities to all constituent groups and supports and recognizes all national board certified teachers in all school districts in the state and in the legislature; and

     WHEREAS, national board certified teachers are nationally recognized as being among the best teachers in the profession with more than sixty-nine percent remaining in the classroom after twenty years of teaching; and

     WHEREAS, national board certification is a rigorous process that can take up to three years to achieve; applicants must demonstrate competency across three performance-based domains and pass a written test of content and pedagogical knowledge; and

     WHEREAS, a comprehensive study conducted by the national research council found that students of national board certified teachers make greater gains on achievement tests over time than students of non-certified teachers; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has one thousand two hundred nineteen national board certified teachers across forty-six public school districts, bureau of Indian education schools and charter schools, with fifty-nine percent of all national board certified teachers and sixty-one percent of all national board candidates serving in Title I schools; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico ranks twenty-first in the nation for national board certification and twelfth in the nation for percentage of board certification, with five and three-tenths percent of all New Mexico teachers having achieved board certification; and

     WHEREAS, the Albuquerque public school district, Santa Fe public school district, Las Cruces public school district, Rio Rancho public school district, Los Alamos public school district and Gallup-McKinley county public school district are the New Mexico school districts with the highest numbers of national board certified teachers, with the Albuquerque public school district being ranked sixteenth in the nation for the number of national board certified teachers;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 8, 2019 be declared "New Mexico National Board Certified Teachers Day" in the senate to acknowledge the achievements of all national board certified teachers and their contributions to the learning and growth of New Mexico students; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and the secretary of public education.

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