Latest news with #Gallup-McKinleyCountySchools
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gallup-McKinley County Schools to Transform K-12 Virtual School
District announces enhanced virtual education program bringing expanded opportunities and support for students GALLUP, N.M., May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gallup-McKinley County Schools announced today its strategic plans to transform and operate RISE Online Academy New Mexico, the district's K-12 virtual school, beginning with the 2025-26 school year. This represents an evolution of the current academy, bringing enhanced educational experiences and expanded opportunities to students and families throughout the district and state. "We are excited to enhance our K-12 virtual offering and provide our students and families with a quality learning experience," said Mike Hyatt, Superintendent at Gallup-McKinley County Schools. "This transformation will bring new opportunities, improved support systems, and more ways for our students to succeed academically while maintaining the flexibility that virtual education provides." The new and expanded offerings include: Innovative Curriculum Options: New curriculum pathways that align with student interests and goals, supported by supplemental tools and resources to enrich the online learning experience. Flexible Scheduling: The program accommodates diverse student needs with both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities, allowing students to balance education with other commitments. Engaging Extracurricular Activities: Students can participate in virtual and in-person clubs, interest-based activities, field trips, workshops, and community events to build connections and enhance their educational experience. Increased Teacher Support and Engagement: Instructor availability and support systems provide more personalized attention and academic guidance for each student. Enhanced Technology Access: Enrolled students will receive school-provided laptops and access to enhanced WiFi coverage. The transformed virtual school will continue to serve students throughout New Mexico, with the current academy families receiving detailed information about enrollment continuation. More information about the enhanced program and new opportunities will be available in the coming weeks. Interested families are encouraged to visit to register for fall or email info@ for information on enrollment procedures and enhanced program offerings. View original content: SOURCE Gallup-McKinley County Schools Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gallup-McKinley County Schools Terminates Contract with Stride/K12 Citing Severe Academic and Legal Violations
District Prioritizes Student Success Over Corporate Profits; Initiates Transition to New Online Learning Model GALLUP, N.M., May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) announced the termination of its educational services contract with Stride Inc. (formerly K12 Inc.), effective June 30. This action, taken during a special School Board meeting, follows months of documented legal and academic violations, including failure to comply with New Mexico law on student-teacher ratios, high student turnover, declining graduation rates, and some of the lowest academic proficiency scores in the state. GMCS School Board President Chris Mortensen stated, "Our students deserve educational providers that prioritize their academic success, not corporate profit margins. Putting profits above kids was damaging to our students, and we refuse to be complicit in that failure any longer." Stride CEO James Rhyu has admitted to failing to meet New Mexico's legal requirements for teacher-student ratios, an issue that GMCS suspects was not isolated. "We have reason to believe that Stride has raised student-teacher ratios not just in New Mexico but nationwide," said Mortensen. "If true, this could have inflated Stride's annual profit margins by hundreds of millions of dollars. That would mean corporate revenues and stock prices benefited at the expense of students and in some cases, in defiance of the law." The harm inflicted was particularly egregious in Gallup-McKinley County, one of the most impoverished regions in the United States, where Stride's online learning model served a majority-minority, low-income student population. "These are students who rely most on educational opportunity, and they were let down," Mortensen said. The data reveals a troubling decline: Graduation rates in GMCS's Stride-managed online program plunged from 55.79% in 2022 to just 27.67% in 2024. Student turnover reached an alarming 30%. New Mexico state math proficiency scores for Stride students dropped dramatically, falling to just 5.6%. Ghost enrollments and a lack of individualized instruction further compromised student learning. Despite numerous warnings and efforts by the district to support corrective action, Stride/K12 repeatedly failed to improve. The School Board unanimously approved the contract termination and has authorized its attorneys to pursue arbitration for damages. Stride's legal attempt to block the termination through a Temporary Restraining Order was rejected in an early morning hearing by the New Mexico District Court in Aztec. These issues echo national patterns exposed by The New York Times, which revealed that Stride and similar companies have too often sacrificed educational quality in pursuit of investor returns. Internal audits cited in the Times article showed leadership ignored clear red flags in favor of aggressive enrollment and revenue growth. "Gallup-McKinley County Schools students were used to prop up Stride's bottom line," said Mortensen. "This district, like many others, trusted Stride to deliver education. Instead, we got negligence cloaked in corporate branding." GMCS is now focused on the transition to a new online learning model rooted in integrity, compliance, transparency, and student success. The district is working directly with families to ensure continued academic support during the transition. Expanded special education oversight and local accountability will be central to the district's new direction. For additional updates, visit View original content: SOURCE Gallup-McKinley County Schools
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge issues latest order in Yazzie-Martinez case
Apr. 29—A Santa Fe judge determined the New Mexico Public Education Department had not held up its end of the bargain in a decade-long legal battle over the quality of education it provides Native American and underserved students. Judge Matthew Wilson on Tuesday ordered PED to create a plan to fix its primary and secondary education system in the latest chapter in what has become known as the Yazzie-Martinez case. "The New Mexico Public Education Department welcomes Judge Wilson's decision to lead development of a plan providing all New Mexico students an excellent education and that will lead to resolution of the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit," PED spokesperson Janelle Garcia said in a statement. "Improving student outcomes is central to our mission, and this plan will support lasting improvements to our educational system." The case was first brought about in 2014 when Wilhelmina Yazzie, the parent of a student at Gallup-McKinley County Schools, and Louise Martinez, the parent of an Albuquerque Public Schools student, joined other parents to file suit against the state and task it to improve its education system. The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and Mexican American Legal Defense Fund represented the parents in the suit against the state, and in a landmark 2018 ruling, Judge Sarah Singleton determined that the state was violating students' constitutional rights by not providing sufficient education. As a result, it was mandated that the state begin improving its education system. Wilson's order on Tuesday determined that PED had not complied with that ruling. "In the more than six years since the state and PED were ordered to take immediate steps to fix the system, PED has done little beyond making mere efforts or isolated reforms," Alisa Diehl, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said during the hearing. "PED has had ample opportunity to produce a plan of its own, but it hasn't done so." For its part, PED's attorney contested the state's education department had made changes since the 2018 ruling. "Plaintiffs have suggested that the court must do so because PED has not taken its responsibility seriously and that we've been given six years and nothing's happened. Simply untrue," said Taylor Rahn, the attorney representing the PED. "Many things have changed; some areas of student achievement have improved, but importantly, the inputs have changed to the tune of $2 billion. There is increased accountability that did not exist at the time of trial." She also said that the plaintiff's statement that PED was violating the Indian Education Act, the Hispanic Education Act, the Bilingual, Multicultural Education Act and the Black Education Act wasn't accurate. "Plaintiffs make a sweeping argument that because these groups are not performing at the same level as their at-risk peers, those statutes must be being violated by PED," Rahn said. "However, those statutes don't require exact parity in achievement." According to the state's latest monitoring report, the NM Vistas report card, Black, Native American and Hispanic students were below the statewide averages in reading, math and science proficiency. Historically and recently, New Mexico has ranked among the worst states in the nation for educational outcomes. U.S. News recently ranked it 50th in the country for education and in 2024 the National Assessment of Educational Progress found New Mexico's fourth and eighth grade students lagged behind the national averages in reading, math and science proficiency. "This court's ruling in 2018 gave families and communities all across the state of New Mexico a real sense of hope. Hope that transformative change to their children's education was underway," Preston Sanchez, another attorney representing the plaintiffs, said during the hearing. "New Mexico's education system is still ranked the worst public school system in the United States, a status that has not changed since we filed this case in 2014."
