Editorial: N.M.’s Small Districts Show How It’s Done

Like “The Little Engine That Could,” a coalition of small school districts pulled together to make it into the last leg of the federal Race to the Top.

The consortium of small, rural school districts from New Mexico, Washington and Arkansas put together an entry in the competition that has them in the final running for federal grant money from the U.S. Department of Education. From a pool of 61 finalists representing more than 200 school districts (there were 372 applicants), federal officials plan to give out about $400 million in grants to 15 to 25 winners who will be announced by the end of the year.

Of the 41 districts in the consortium, more than half are from New Mexico — Clayton, Des Moines, Estancia, Fort Sumner, House, Jemez Valley, Las Vegas City, Logan, Magdalena, Mora, Mosquero, Mountainair, Pecos, Quemado, Raton, Roy, San Jon, Santa Rosa, Springer, Vaughn and West Las Vegas.

Previously Race to the Top funds were awarded to states. This year the program challenged individual districts to come up with plans to target specific student groups. Three large New Mexico school districts — Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Bloomfield — applied individually, but were knocked out of the running.

The primary goal of the coalition’s plan is to use technology to create a web-based network for teachers in rural areas to share ideas and best practices.

Race to the Top is an initiative of the Obama administration and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “These finalists are setting the curve for the rest of the country with innovative plans to drive education reform in the classroom,” Duncan said.

Congratulations to the N.M. districts that took the time and initiative to work together toward more teacher effectiveness and better student achievement.

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.