Gadsden schools deserve to be honored

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Susana Martinez: Gadsden schools deserve to be honored
Las Cruces Sun News
By: Governor Martinez
August, 3rd, 2014

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_26268116/susana-martinez-gadsden-schools-deserve-be-honored

Every child is capable of learning, and every child deserves a quality education that will prepare them for success in life. These truths are at the heart of our efforts to reform education in New Mexico.

Our charge is to no longer accept mediocrity or failure in our schools, to no longer make excuses for why our kids cannot achieve, and to no longer follow the status quo because it’s comfortable and familiar.

Improving student achievement begins by doing a better job of identifying those schools, students, and teachers who are struggling and intervening to get them the help they need in order to succeed.

And when remarkable teachers and principals turn schools around, transforming struggling kids into high achievers, they deserve our highest praise and recognition.

On Monday, I will be visiting Anthony Elementary in the Gadsden Independent School District, not only welcoming students back to the classroom on their first day of school, but recognizing the extraordinary work of students, teachers, parents, and principals who are driving unprecedented change and achieving great success.

In the latest round of school grades, Gadsden’s schools stood out as among the most improved in the state, providing an inspiring example of the kind of growth and achievement that can be seen in New Mexico schools.

In 2012, Gadsden had nine schools that received a “D” or “F” grade; today, they have none.

In 2012, Gadsden had only one school receive an “A” grade; today, they have five.

The number of “B” schools has increased as well.

Gadsden schools are showing remarkable improvement!

What is driving this growth?

At the elementary and middle school level, these schools are, in part seeing solid progress among their struggling students, meaning that teachers are providing their students with more than a year’s worth of learning in a year’s worth of time.

Students who are starting far behind are increasingly closing the gap with their peers.

It is indicative of a strategy that the school district’s leaders say is being used in classrooms, whereby teachers regularly assess the progress of their students and teach them differently based upon their individual understanding of the subject matter.

Again, every student matters.

Teachers regularly measure whether their students understand the material in order to provide the right level of intervention to each of them.

It’s important to remember that Gadsden is not a wealthy school district; in fact, over 92 percent of its students receive free or reduced price lunches.

It’s also not a small district; over 13,000 students are enrolled in its schools.

And, for a large percentage of the district’s students, English is their second language.

Some would say that’s a recipe for poor student performance.

They might say that these students’ circumstances present virtually impossible hurdles to success in the classroom.

Gadsden’s teachers and principals would clearly disagree. In fact, Anthony Elementary School’s principal, Linda Perez, has said that “language and socioeconomic conditions are no excuse for not learning and not being successful.”

Her school won a national Blue Ribbon award, a highly prestigious honor, just last year, and has averaged an “A” grade over the past three years.

I could not be prouder of the progress being made in Gadsden schools, and I look forward to joining many of the district’s students and educators in celebrating their success on Monday.

These outstanding teachers have made high standards part of their classroom culture.

They deserve to be recognized, honored, and rewarded for their work, and the strategies and philosophy being used in their classrooms should be replicated so that similar success can be found elsewhere.

Susana Martinez is governor of New Mexico