I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Even though New Mexico didn’t win the money, the state will continue to pursue the education reforms spelled out in its 200-page application for federal Race to the Top education funds, Gov. Bill Richardson‘s new education secretary, Dr. Susanna Murphy, said in a news release issued Tuesday afternoon.
Those reforms included “linking teacher and principal evaluations to student growth” and new “collaborations aimed at improving low performing schools throughout the state.”
“While I am disappointed that we were not chosen as a finalist, we will not let up on our efforts to implement these education reforms,” the release quoted Murphy as saying. “Teacher unions and major stakeholders agreed when the application was submitted that we would continue with these reforms even if we did not receive the federal funds.”
The news release went on to say:
“This administration has made education reform its number one priority and as a result New Mexico has seen consistent improvement over the past seven years. This process has only strengthened that commitment and we will continue to build on those initiatives to benefit students and the state’s economy.”
It was reported this morning that New Mexico missed the cut in the second round of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top contest, which is doling out federal dollars to states that propose and adopt innovative approaches to K-12 education.
New Mexico had hoped to win $75 million.
The second-round finalists were Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
Tennessee and Delaware won money in the contest’s first round.
Scoring and feedback on New Mexico’s application won’t be available until after the winners of the second round are announced in late August or early September, the news release said.
