AFTNM News:

ALBUQUERQUE – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Stephanie Ly released the following statement:   

“Today, the New Mexico Public Education Department announced it had secured yet another waiver to the Federal requirements of ‘No Child Left Behind.’ 

“This most recent waiver would allow districts to utilize educators rated ‘effective,’ ‘highly effective,’ or ‘exemplary’ – under the PED’s flawed rating system – to be used as instructors for courses and grade levels without any additional certification or training. 

“To be clear – this is yet another example of Secretary Skandera attempting to shortcut the rules and quality of instruction for our students. An educator who provides high quality instruction in one subject cannot be reasonably expected to be highly qualified in other fields or grade levels in which they do not hold New Mexico certification to teach, just to fill vacancies in a district, and negates years of specialized training in their primary field. 

“Parents and community members should rightfully be outraged at this latest attempt to lessen the quality of instruction for our students. Secretary Skandera should focus on the fundamental issues of professional respect, fair evaluations, and competitive salaries, if she truly wanted to address the shortage of educators in New Mexico, and increase the quality classroom instruction for our students.”