The next school year starting in August will be longer after legislation passed in the most recent session was signed by the governor. House Bill 130 mandates extra instructional hours and it has prompted concern among educators already facing burnout.
Despite contentious debate and pushback, House Bill 130 passed the legislature and was signed by the governor. It will now officially mandate 1,140 hours of instructional time with 60 hours of professional development for kindergarten and elementary schools and 30 for middle and high school. That's an increase of 150 hours for K5 schools and 60 hours for secondary schools.
Think New Mexico supported the bill and its director of education reform, Mandi Torrez, said adding more time will make up for all the in-person instruction that students missed because of COVID shutdowns that left them further behind.
"The bottom line is, this is a win for our students because we know that more time as a reform, that when done well, will work" said Torrez.
Torrez said if we don’t address these education gaps right now things will get worse and with many young people deciding to drop out of school.
Each school district has the discretion as to how to add these additional hours and professional development to their calendars. Albuquerque Public Schools has even announced a proposed calendar with the school year beginning earlier and ending later. This is all pending public input.
The bill appropriated $300 million dollars and another $200 million will come from the general appropriations act to implement the extended learning.
Torrez also spoke to KUNM about what other reforms need to be pursued for to help support teachers.
MANDI TORREZ: I mean a lot of districts have already been doing this extra work in the form of the K3+, the K5+, the K12 pilot. And there’s been a lot of creativity out there. I’ll mention Bernalillo Public Schools. They were doing these community events that engage families, which is so vitally important to the health of a school ecosystem.
Some schools were doing things like genius hour, some students were participating in cooking classes or yoga classes. So there’s a lot of great examples of how districts are already using this time.
KUNM: You just mentioned a couple of those creative solutions, but what is the impact of extending learning time?
TORREZ: One of the best things we can do for our students is to give them high-dosage in-school tutoring that is specific to their needs. Within small groups, teachers can give students more attention and can better monitor their progress. They can also build relationships, which is so important right now because those students who are behind, they know they’re behind. And they need encouragement. And they need to know someone is taking a vested interest in their future and is going to hold them accountable and support them along the way.
KUNM: You and your colleagues at Think New Mexico have really been behind HB 130 and extending learning time. Do you think this is a step forward in getting our state out of our last place rankings?
TORREZ: It’s one thing in a complete package of reforms that are needed. So while we do believe that when we do use this time well that it can make a difference, there has to be a lot of other things that come along with it.
And one of the best things as a system is to help our schools staff up. We desperately need more counselors. Our classroom teachers need support from reading and math interventions and educational assistants. We need more teachers so we can reduce class sizes in our larger districts. We need coaches in our schools helping our teachers even become better teachers.
I always say that teachers are the number one in school factor for determining student success, so the spotlight should be directly on classroom instruction. And we should be doing all that we can to ensure that our teachers and our students have what they need. More time is just one piece of that puzzle.
KUNM: I was covering several of the education bills that were dealing with extended learning and what that should look like. But when talking with teachers, they said any form of extended learning would actually worsen their burnout and make them question staying in the profession. Are you worried with these new school calendars coming out, it will only exacerbate the teacher shortage?
TORREZ: You know, I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago with a good teacher friend who's one of the best and most dedicated teachers that I know. And she shared that she felt as though she was just now recovering from all that had happened the past few years in her life and with the pandemic. And she said really, to hear now that even more will be expected of teachers, it was a hard pill to swallow.
And again, I think that's why we have to have these other reforms that are going to ensure classroom support, because we need our teachers to be motivated and committed and ready for the challenge. And I think a lot of times they just feel like they don't get the respect that they need and deserve.
KUNM: When it comes to funding, are you all optimistic that the state can sustain a program like this in the years to come?
TORREZ: I think right now we're just in the best position we are to be able to do this. If in the future, we have to scale back a little bit, you know, that's something that we have to think about in the future. But right now we have such a need to catch our students up. They're so far behind. You know, we've got to do everything we can right now in this moment. Because if we just keep letting these kids, you know, go on and continue without those foundational skills and knowledge, those gaps are just going to continue to widen.
This coverage is made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners.
