Front Page  education

Friday, October 8, 2004

Principal Lauded for Deming School Turnaround

By Rene Romo
Journal Southern Bureau
    DEMING— When Javier Milo became principal of his alma mater, Martin Elementary School, in the year 2000, it had been placed on probationary status by the state for poor academic performance.
    Since then, under the 28-year-old Milo's leadership, the school has made a dramatic turnaround.
    In the 2003-04 school year, Martin students— 92-percent of whom are English-language learners— scored among the top 10 in the state for math proficiency. Martin students also scored above the state average in language arts. Today, the school is designated as meeting "adequate yearly progress" under the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
    For his efforts, Milo was honored during a surprise ceremony Wednesday with a prestigious Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award presented by state Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia during a school assembly.
    Only 100 educators around the country are receiving the honor this year. It comes with a special bonus— $25,000 the principal can use however he wants.
    A clearly pleased but surprised Milo thanked his teaching staff on Wednesday "because they are the ones who make the magic happen in the classroom every day, every day, and they know that."
    "You make the research look bad," Milo said. "Look at what you've done."
    All of the school's 238 students, from kindergarten through the fifth grade, qualify for free or reduced lunch. Ninety-eight percent of the student body is Hispanic. Milo developed a dual-language program at Martin, but in addition to teaching all students English and Spanish, all the school's students are given Chinese language instruction 30 minutes each day, Milo said.
    Milo "took a school that people would not predict to do well and led it to excellence," Garcia said. "He exemplifies that vision, that can-do attitude."
    Deming schools Superintendent Harvielee Moore said Martin Elementary students had scored poorly on statewide academic tests for a decade before Milo's arrival.
    "He took a little school that thought it could and turned it, with his staff, into the little school that did it and does it," Moore said.
    Milo said he would give some of his $25,000 award to his parents, who live near the school, use some for a vacation and give the rest to charity.
    The Milken Family Foundation will honor a second New Mexico educator for outstanding work later this month.
    In addition to the financial award, Milo has been invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference in May.
    Garcia said she would like Milo to participate next spring in a statewide conference focusing on the best educational practices.
    "He really deserves it. He's one of the outstanding administrators in the district," said Deming school board member Ruben Torres. "I'm out of words— I really admire this young man."