OPINION: Rethinking the trigger phrase of 'school choice' in the new year

“School choice” tends to be a trigger phrase in our political arena.

To the public in general “school choice” is connected to either private or parochial schools. I have a different perspective on that phrase. After a 30-year career in the textile business, I became a teacher and coach at a public high school at Albuquerque Public Schools for 13 years. After I retired in 2021, I was elected as a commissioner at the Public Education Commission for New Mexico. My perspective is that there is a great amount of school choice within our state’s public schools.

As a teacher at Sandia High School, I volunteered to teach History of the Americas in their new International Baccalaureate program. In 2013, Sandia initiated the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program; the only IB program in a traditional high school in New Mexico.

When one looks at the makeup of APS they have an array of school options, with both district charter schools and magnet schools. The IB program is a magnet program.

Every year, APS has a school choice fair where parents, students and families can review in a single facility all the opportunities they have. And there are many. This is consistent with many of the school districts in New Mexico.

As a commissioner at the Public Education Commission, we are responsible for authorizing and supporting the state-chartered public schools, separate from school district charter schools. There are over 60 state chartered public schools in New Mexico, with many of them in the surrounding Albuquerque area.

All of the state-chartered schools can be found on the New Mexico Public Education Commission website. Between the district charter schools and the state charter schools there are over 100 total public charter schools in New Mexico. There is a deep misunderstanding that these charter schools are private. They are not; all of these are tuition-free.

I have learned about a whole new public school landscape as a commissioner. We have public charter schools that are college prep, bilingual and multilingual, sign language and career and technical education; and all of them work with students with special needs. We even have a charter school where when the student graduates, they have earned a private pilot license. Forty-two percent of our state-chartered schools are in the top 25% of all New Mexico public schools.

Also, our attendance is significantly higher than traditional public schools.

I believe the reason for this is from the Charter School Act, our schools need to be innovative and unique. We have schools that have 3-D printer labs, science and technology fairs, arts immersion programs and even some schools that have mariachi training and performance. I have learned in the past two years that one size does not fit all.

With the new year here, I implore students, parents and families to look at all the public school opportunities that are available for the 2025-26 school year.

I believe strongly that there is a school that is a great fit for every student.

Timothy Beck, of Albuquerque, is the District 2 commissioner on the New Mexico Public Education Commission.