Education from New Mexico Independent

UNM on path to becoming "energy and water neutral campus"

Denise Tessier — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT

From encouraging bike riding to putting solar panels back on its Mechanical Engineering Building, the University of New Mexico has tackled energy efficiency campuswide in the past year.

Hug a flag... it's Constitution Day!

Barbara Armijo — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:39:36 GMT

Do you know where your civil rights are?

Across the nation schools are at the very least recognizing that in 1787 our forefathers signed the U.S. Constitution. Some Albuquerque public schools students are gathering around flagpoles to recite the pledge and history classes are required to teach a Constitution Day lesson today. But what about the rest of America? Constitution Day isn't a federal holiday, so marking the day often goes unnoticed.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES: APS super blasts federal education goals as unrealistic

Joel Gay — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:12:19 GMT

The head of Albuquerque Public Schools says federal No Child Left Behind goals are unrealistic. The state’s top game officer may lose his hunting privileges for two years. A former magistrate judge in Taos has sued a Taos newspaper for libel over an article published in May. And the much-discussed but long-delayed improvement to the road into Chaco Culture National Historical Park looks like it’s still a long way off.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Secretary of State's office botches voter info

Denise Tessier — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:29:21 GMT

Thousands of voters received incorrect information about where to vote from the office of Secretary of State Mary Herrera. Santa Fe will celebrate the opening this weekend of its long-awaited Santa Fe Railyard project. San Juan County's Boys and Girls Club in Aztec may receive federal funding to start an education program to fight methamphetamine use. And Republican candidate Jose Silva's name will remain on the ballot after a state court judge dismissed state Sen. David Ulibarri's suit to remove it.

UNM schools of law, medicine, engineering among best for Hispanics

Barbara Armijo — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:11:39 GMT

Equity, diversity and inclusion in education are the goals for Hispanic-serving higher education institutions, and two schools at the University of New Mexico are doing well in meeting those standards. The September issue of Hispanic Business Inc. features the top graduate schools for Hispanics, and the UNM schools of law, engineering and medicine are among the finest in the country in regards to serving Hispanics.

For the second year, the UNM School of Law ranks No. 1 among top 10 law schools. The UNM School of Law leads the nation for study of Hispanic culture, history and political science and demonstrates a commitment to serve Hispanics from admissions through services for graduates, according to the magazine.

Educators plan "seamless" K-12 and beyond

Barbara Armijo — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:59:11 GMT

It's being called "seamless" education from kindergarten through college. That's the plan that the presidents of Central New Mexico Community College and the University of New Mexico are working on with the state's largest school district in Albuquerque. What it entails is having APS, CNM and UNM working on common goals that prepare students for colllege -- or at least get them thinking about going to college -- so that getting a degree becomes a distinct possiblity. If it works, it will be a model for school districts in the rest of the state, according to UNM President David Schmidly.

State condemns hazing, bullying

Barbara Armijo — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:12:26 GMT

School principals that don't have a hazing and bully policy at their school should get one. Pronto.

That's the word from the state Public Education Department in response to allegations that Las Vegas Robertson High School football players raped and assaulted teammates during a camp over the summer.

PED Secretary Veronica Garcia issued a statement stating it is the repsonsibility of New Mexico public school officials to inform students "that all hazing is wrong, dangerous, and will not be tolerated."

The obstacles they face

Barbara Armijo — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:40:33 GMT

University of New Mexico law professor Margaret Montoya recently addressed the teachers at Atrisco Heritage Academy. It was a pep talk from a woman who knows how to overcome challenges. She was the first Hispanic woman accepted at Harvard Law School. What she left us with after her talk was a feeling that if I or any of my colleagues at Atrisco want to make a difference, we're going to have to overcome obstacles that have been in place for years.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES: Pearce: Stung by role in McCain visit?

Joel Gay — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:46:58 GMT

Republican insiders say U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce is not happy with the minor role he played in the recent visit to Albuquerque by the ’s new rock stars, John McCain and Sarah Palin. The blog New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan cites an unnamed source saying Pearce is “fuming” that his Senate primary opponent, Rep. Heather Wilson, got a speaking slot during the McCain/Palin visit to the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday, as did Darren White, who isn’t even in Congress.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking comments about the possibility of a new form of uranium mining in western New Mexico and will hold a hearing tonight in Grants, according to the The Gallup Independent.

The Albuquerque Journal asks some questions today about Bernalillo County’s proposed acquisition of a Downtown office building, specifically: Is the Cavan Building worth the $40.8 million asking price?

TODAY'S TOP STORIES: High school football players suspended for a year

Trip Jennings — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:08:09 GMT

Three of six high school football in Las Vegas were suspended for a year for hazing and a physical assault on other students, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Mesa del Sol president is playing hardball with Albuquerque Public Schools, the Albuquerque Journal reports today. President Mike Daly told the district's school board that if the district can't guarantee the development's funding for school buildings, then he couldn't guarantee that Mesa del Sol would be a part of APS.

The number of Dona Ana County residents who carry concealed weapons has doubled in less than a year, the Las Cruces Sun-News reports. Department of Public Safety figures show that, as of Friday, 951 people in Dona Ana County have a license to carry a firearm compared to the 455 residents who had a license in late September of last year.

The Las Cruces City Council will consider a five-year contract with a company that installs red light cameras, the Las Cruces Sun-News reports.

Atrisco out to prove cynics wrong

Barbara Armijo — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:00:00 GMT

Writing assignments are to most ninth-graders what root canals are to you and me. Necessary evils. Let the root canals begin, I thought when I asked my ninth-grade media literacy students to write in their journals every day. I anticipated a lot of push-back from my students about this assignment, and I got some of that. But I also got some of this: "I was a scared shy daughter. I remember my dad yelling, calling me names and hitting me for no reason. I heard beer cans opening and lighters flicking. … I worried that my family and I were in danger. I’m only one person and I think the world is cruel sometimes. I will prove my dad wrong. I choose to be who I am, I dream that everything’s OK. …”

You, too, can watch your electricity meter go backward

Denise Tessier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:00:00 GMT

A foundation that teaches organic agriculture and sustainable living in Costa Rica has sought to apply "wise use" principles to its Albuquerque office. Founder Franklin Wilson -- who says the foundation has cut its energy use and produces power that is sold back to PNM -- wants to spread the word that anyone can pretty much do the same. In fact, he says, it's "rather easy."

Not a farewell, at least not yet

Heath Haussamen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:47:07 GMT

The man who has dominated New Mexico politics in recent years today made a humble acknowledgement. “I am going to make an admission that I never, never make,” Gov. Bill Richardson said to the retiring U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. “Had I run against you, you probably would have beat me.”

Newspapers' online products not helping readership

Barbara Armijo — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

No sooner had the New Mexico Independent published a commentary I wrote Tuesday about the high school kids I teach at Atrisco Heritage Academy not being exposed to news, when I got an alert from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. It was the center's biennial news consumption survey on Sunday. Here's what it said:

"Findings on TV news and online-only news produced a few surprises, but on the newspaper front the indications were mainly negative. And it wasn't just bad news for the print side, newspapers' online products didn't do much better. Namely: while more young people are indeed reading newspapers online, their total readership, print and Web combined, has not grown in two years.

Newsflash: Many teens just don't realize they're interested in news

Barbara Armijo — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:22:57 GMT

I asked my students if anyone was reading something interesting. Before I knew it, hands were shooting up and the topics ranged from how Ben Stiller directed his new movie "Tropic Thunder," to how a reporter went undercover in a religious cult just to see how freaky that was. One student read outloud the story in the Independent about our new school opening up. News was happening all around me. And nobody wanted to stop to go to the bathroom or to get a drink of water.