Latest news with #AdvancingtheScienceofReadingAct
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill proposing changes to the Mathematics and Science Education Act advances this week
Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) chairs the Senate Education Committee. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM) Lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that proposes statewide requirements for math instruction in K-12 schools and professional development for teachers Senate Bill 235, sponsored by Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces), makes changes to the Mathematics and Science Education Act, including requiring school districts to create professional learning plans, assess students for difficulties in learning math before they finish second grade, provide interventions for students with learning difficulties and notify parents of their child's learning difficulties. The bill will also require that the Public Education Department monitor math instructional materials, create a leadership framework and set minimum course requirements for teacher licensure. Soules presented the bill to the Senate Education Committee, which he chairs, on Wednesday and received unanimous support from members. SB 235 now goes to the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. Soules said the state has worked hard in recent years to support structured literacy in public schools and improve literacy among New Mexico students, but the same attention has not been given to mathematics. Deficiencies in both math and reading were highlighted in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit by the late District Judge Sarah Singleton. 'It's now time that we start talking about math and the very low performance of students in New Mexico in the math area,' Soules said during the meeting. 'We've sort of pushed it aside.' 'Advancing the Science of Reading Act' gains unanimous support in Senate Education Committee The bill received ample support from attendees, including representatives from the Higher Education Department, Public Education Department, New Mexico School Board Association, New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders, Albuquerque Teachers Federation, Think New Mexico, Kids Can, Teach Plus New Mexico, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, NM Partnership for Math & Science Education and New Mexico MESA. Higher Education Department Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez shared her personal struggle with math as a young student and applauded the bill's attention to screening for math learning difficulties. 'I have dyscalculia, and unfortunately, it took many years of struggle to figure that out,' Rodriguez told the committee. 'I still went to college, but there are many other children in New Mexico who will go their entire life of schooling thinking they may not be college material or may not enter a trade program because math is too hard.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Advancing the Science of Reading Act' gains unanimous support in Senate Education Committee
Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, introduced a bill to the Senate Education Committee further promote literacy standards in New Mexico. (Photo by Eddie Moore / Albuquerque Journal) President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) found support from the full Senate Education Committee Friday for her bill to further promote literacy standards in New Mexico. Senate Bill 242, the Advancing the Science of Reading Act, directs colleges of education at New Mexico universities to teach structured literacy to aspiring teachers. It creates new standards for teacher preparation programs to incorporate structured literacy and requires that these programs be monitored for compliance. Structured literacy is a method of teaching students how to read by using phonics, vocabulary and comprehension to create a foundation for children to build from. It contrasts with balanced literacy, which uses context clues and 'guesswork.' 'You've all heard about the Mississippi miracle. The Mississippi miracle on the (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores, they always fought with us for last. Well, we are now thoroughly last and Mississippi is in the middle of the pack. And how did they do that,' Stewart asked the committee. 'In 2014 they passed a law like this in front of you today.' The committee passed the bill unanimously; it now heads to the Senate Finance Committee. Think New Mexico and NewMexicoKidsCAN representatives spoke in favor of the bill, as did a teacher and parents from the May Center for Learning in Santa Fe. Caitlin Trujillo, elementary lead teacher at the May Center, shared her experience of only gaining instruction on structured literacy when she arrived at the Santa Fe school, not during her years of training at New Mexico Highlands University. 'I was fortunate that when I started working at the May Center, I received a lot of information about the science of reading, and I pretty much earned another degree while I was working there,' Trujillo said to the committee. 'Teacher preparation programs should provide this since it's the most fundamental thing that we as teachers are asked to do. If we want to improve the education in New Mexico, we have to have teacher preparation programs that provide teachers with the skills and tools that they need to teach and be successful.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
