Editorial: Anthony Elementary Teaches N.M. a Lesson

At Anthony Elementary, almost all of the 420 students come from low-income families. Almost all entered the K-6 school speaking Spanish as their first language. And apparently someone forgot to tell them, their parents and their teachers at the schoolhouse door that poverty and having English as your second language are insurmountable roadblocks to learning absent huge new injections of taxpayer cash — which carry no guarantee of positive results.

Apparently nobody told them — because poverty and ESL don’t result in poor student performance at Anthony.

APS Superintendent Winston Brooks, teacher union boss Ellen Bernstein and legislative naysayers should take note. Anthony Elementary, with its low-income, Spanish-speaking students, puts statewide and APS reading and math proficiency rates to shame.

For 2011-2012, 70 percent of Anthony Elementary students tested as proficient in math; 62.4 percent tested as proficient in reading. Compare that to the math averages of 51 percent statewide/43 percent at APS and reading averages of 43 percent statewide/51 percent at APS.

Anthony is the only school in the Gadsden district to get an “A” from the state and one of the top five schools in New Mexico, according to the Public Education Department, based in great part on the progress its students have made over three years.

And that progress is based in great part on culture — one of success. Principal Linda Perez has the halls lined with college pennants and named for area universities. The school motto is “No excuses! We’re a College-Bound Campus!” The faculty has set a goal to improve test scores by 10 percent each year, and students are tested quarterly so teachers know where they are and where they need to focus.

Short term and long term.

Perez and her teachers are entrusted with educating 420 K-6 students in southern New Mexico. But their approach, teamwork and success provide a lesson for every school in the state.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.