DEAP Charter in Navajo, NM Empowers Local Community

In my last post, I shared about the work being done by educators at Dream Diné, a charter working to serve its primarily Native American community on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.

This week, I spoke with Kayla Begay, a co-founder of DZIŁDITŁ'OOÍ (DEAP), a charter focused on empowering Navajo youth, supporting traditional connection to the land, and providing the community of Navajo, NM voice and choice in their children’s education.

“The desire for the school really started in the community. There were a group of local officials and elders who were dissatisfied with the education options that exist…even though there is school choice in the district, there are not a lot of schools that give us local control,” Kayla explained.

It was out of this desire for a more locally controlled school that the concept for DEAP was born. In 2012, the Gallup-based district that controls the schools in Navajo moved to consolidate the three schools in town. Though the community eventually defeated the plan, for many the district’s actions trivialized the role of local schools. They felt that they needed options.

“The school districts still has that looming over us that consolidation could be an option.“ Kayla said. In response, she and a core group of concerned educators and community members began to seek their own options for more community-responsive schooling options in their community.

More on DEAP and creating school choice in Navajo, NM later this week…for now check out the DEAP website at http://www.deapschool.org/.

Some 2015 Resolutions for New Mexico Education

The New Year is a time for reflection, for change, and for a fresh start. While the state may be mid-way through a school year, calendar year 2015 still represents an opportunity for educators, administrators, and policymakers to rededicate themselves to making meaningful change that will help students learn and grow.

So, to help make educational inequity Auld Lang Syne, Here are a few of the vital resolutions for New Mexico Education in 2015:

Hone and Improve the NMTeach Evaluation System. 2014 was a rough year for NMTeach, with criticism (much of it valid) coming from teachers, district leaders, and union officials. With flux in standards and testing and difficulties with data reporting from districts across the state, NMTeach has a ways to go before it becomes an excellent tool for measurement and for teacher growth. With that said, abandoning the idea of evaluations or stepping backward to evals without data are not options. NMPED must listen to all voices on this issue, especially those of teachers, but also remain committed to developing meaningful systems for evaluating teacher success.

FULL Implementation of CCSS. Last year's NMSBA state test was supposed to bring a full evaluation of students on the Common Core Standards. Instead, it merely integrated CCSS while retaining characteristics of the old test and NM state standards. This sent mixed messages to teachers about which standards they should really be teaching. With the advent of PARCC in the state this year, there should be no doubt about the test's alignment. In addition, district and school leaders must commit to the CCSS framework holistically - helping teachers to implement performance and research tasks as opposed to drilling with multiple choice questions. While my district spends a great deal of money and time on short-cycle assessments, little to nothing is put toward helping teachers develop cooperative learning strategies or Common Core-Aligned performance tasks. Let's embrace the rigor and foundation of CCSS, not just its assessments.

Do More for Students of Color and English Language Learners, Disproportionately Attending the State's Poorest Schools. 2014 saw three NM school districts actually sue the state over a lack of funding for their students. The state's education apparatus will need to redistribute funds more equitably or provide more inputs if they expect more achievement outputs. Cash is especially needed for school investments in technology, which low-income students have less access to at home. As a teacher in Gallup, we see this funding deficiency show up in a medley of ways - poor school transportation infrastructure and not enough bus drivers, lack of school resources such as copies, student supply shortages, Professional Development, etc. It is heartbreaking to see students who would like to participate in extracurriculars after school but are unable to without a ride home.

Retain teachers in numbers and of quality. While this is much wider than just a New Mexico issue, there is an epidemic of teachers departing the profession, especially those in their first five years. New Mexico is taking several steps to help alleviate this problem, including a merit pay pilot and a proposal to pay new educators more as they begin careers in NM schools. Ideas are not enough - these concepts will need to be refined and change as they are put into place.

Here's to a great 2015 with the great students of New Mexico.

Dream Diné Charter - A Model of School Choice for Native Students

In Shiprock, NM, a school is demonstrating why charter schools can benefit communities with distinct educational priorities.

Dream Diné (The Navajo refer to themselves as Diné), a public charter school, gives educators (both Native and non-) the opportunity to incorporate Navajo values, language, and culture into nearly every aspect of the school.

According to their website, part of Dream Diné’s visión is to “…Offer a world-class education while instilling life values through the Diné Philosophy of living and learning. The dream of Dream Diné Charter School is to create a world-class Indigenous-centered educational program, aligned with the Common Core State Standards, in Shiprock, New Mexico.”

Chartering affords community stakeholders and creative educators the opportunity to make this kind of school – one that is culturally responsive and serving the needs of a specific student group­ – a reality. Here’s hoping to see more schools providing choice and distinct focus in New Mexico.

Read more about Dream Diné at http://www.dreamdine.org/.

The Education Conversation: All Voices Needed

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue.
- Truman Capote

I am an educator. 

I say this to affirm it. To stake my claim in the education conversation. Beginning this blog has prompted me to reflect on the reasons why I became interested in the U.S. education conversation and joined the teaching profession. To help kids, to see direct impacts, to be a positive light in educational journeys that might as of yet have more lowlights. To learn about communities and school systems very unlike the one I grew up in - and to become an ally working for Native education in New Mexico.

Joining up, however humbly, was premised on the fact that I could have a voice in this education context. In the classroom, in my school, in my district, and as an advocate for equity. Now that I am an educator, I do feel that my voice is recognized, validated, and valuable. There are thousands of other educators just starting out around the country and sharing my experience - albeit limited - is inherently valuable because it is in part the voice of those fledgling educators. It is also a gesture to other prospective educators, trying to show them that it IS worth the long hours and the struggle.

I appreciate my opportunity to express my voice in ed reform, despite my limited experience, and this is why I get riled by those who would discount any attempt by anyone to add their voice to the education reform conversation. Even though Randi Weingarten and the NEA wouldn't exclude MY views as a classroom educator from this conversation, it riles me that they might dismiss opportunities to innovate in our broken system from others who are not teachers. Randi Weingarten, speaking in 2012, effectively dismissed any voices in education who could not ‘survive’ a classroom:

"What does work is to rely on the professional judgment of millions of educators who have devoted their lives to educating America’s children in our public schools. That should always carry more weight than the musings of millionaires who wouldn’t survive 10 minutes in front of a classroom.” (Randi Weingarten, Remarks At AFT 2012 Convention, Detroit, MI, 7/27/12)

And Weingarten's claim is true for classroom educators, in so many ways. You can't truly know the life of a teacher until your have lived it - taught it - and worked with students, with colleagues, and an educational system busted in so many ways. But others outside the classroom aren't trying to be teachers, they are merely trying to offer their voice. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher, but it doesn’t cut them out of the conversation.

Classroom educators aren't the end-all be-all of education. Far from from it. In order to have an inclusive, full, consequential conversation we have to have all of the voices. All. Of. Them. Parents, yep. Students, certainly. Administrators. Community Members. The races. The classes. The religions.

And now, the controversial part: we need business representatives, higher ed folks, tech entrepreneurs, other entrepreneurs, new teachers, aspiring teachers - because these groups, too, will or can affect the future of education. Their influence needs to be checked by that of experienced educators, but it can enrich and vitalize our path forward. We might even find some ideas worth trying – and I will be glad to do so.

Greetings blogosphere, twitterverse, and internet at large! I am a current 7^th grade language arts teacher in the Four Corners of New Mexico, serving primarily Navajo students. I am in my second year of certified teaching, with other experience in high school alternative ed and college EFL teaching in Thailand.

When I graduated from high school, my friend gave me an empty journal. All he wrote in it was: “Don’t let this be blank.” I feel compelled to live by this simple creed, especially when it comes to the most important issues of justice in our society. In creating this blog, I am trying to live up to his challenge for me. I owe it to my students, my schools, and my community not to let my passions go unshared or unsaid. Being a better teacher for my students, getting bright and passionate people to work in education, and creating better systems to serve kids in schools are all pivotal to providing opportunities for all kids in my state of New Mexico.  

As a new-ish teacher, I offer the simpleton perspective: all I can share is from my experience in the classroom, seeing policies and programs play out in my practice as a teacher and in my students’ learning experience. I am ‘in the trenches’ and I hope that my point of view, however limited, can cast some light on the highest levels of education decisions in the country. If you are a student, a parent, an engaged member of our democracy, or a fellow advocate for kids, welcome to newmexed.

The learning is in the struggle.