{"id":706094,"date":"2023-03-20T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=706094"},"modified":"2023-03-20T11:25:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T15:25:47","slug":"new-mexico-extra-learning-days","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/new-mexico-extra-learning-days\/","title":{"rendered":"In Rare Move, New Mexico Adds Weeks\u2019 Worth of Extra K-12 Class Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Lawmakers in New Mexico have moved to increase the amount of time students spend in school each year \u2014 a notably rare shift, even as educators around the country scramble to bring about a post-pandemic learning recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Thursday, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham <a href=\"https:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/legislature\/governor-signs-bill-extending-school-learning-hours\/article_ddee8f76-c438-11ed-8631-07c9ee60b84c.html\">signed House Bill 130<\/a>, which will lift the state\u2019s minimum amount of instructional time for elementary students by the equivalent of 27 days and for middle and high school students by the equivalent of 10 days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Total time in class differs from district to district, but <a href=\"https:\/\/webnew.ped.state.nm.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NMPED_SupportDoc_InstuctionalHours.pdf\">the New Mexico Public Education Department specifies<\/a> that younger children spend 5.5 hours per day in school, while older pupils spend six hours (lunch time is excluded from both figures). The existing minimums are being revised upward to 1,140 annual hours from the current figure of 990 hours for K\u20136 students and 1,080 for those enrolled in grades 7\u201312.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/with-learning-loss-threatening-to-derail-new-mexicos-educational-gains-a-state-sponsored-coaching-program-aims-to-reach-30000-disengaged-students\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_1062-1170x828-1.jpeg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">With Learning Loss Threatening to Derail New Mexico\u2019s Educational Gains, a State-Sponsored Coaching Program Aims to Reach 30,000 Disengaged Students<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>The new law will affect roughly three-quarters of New Mexico\u2019s 89 school districts, the remainder of which already meet the new requirements. But some flexibility will be offered, both in terms of how districts use the time and what can be counted as \u201cinstructional\u201d activity. In elementary schools, up to 60 hours of professional development, teacher collaboration, and parent-teacher interaction (whether in home visits or structured meetings) can be counted toward the state minimum.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democrat Mimi Stewart, New Mexico\u2019s State Senate President Pro Tempore, said the deal was a difficult one to strike. Some teachers and parents grumbled about the prospect of a longer school day or year \u2014 districts will have the option of opting for either, or a mix of both \u2014 while the governor and some advocates had hoped for more stringent mandates on the amount of time kids spend in class.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It was really hard to get a bill together that was a compromise for everyone, and that&#8217;s really what HB 130 represents,&#8221; Stewart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, most local observers agreed that the need for action was dire. For years, New Mexico\u2019s educational outcomes have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmvoices.org\/archives\/5014\">ranked among the nation\u2019s worst<\/a>, dragged down by dishearteningly high rates of child poverty and teen pregnancy. That long history of underperformance was highlighted <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/nationsreportcard\/subject\/publications\/stt2022\/pdf\/2023010NM4.pdf\">by recent results<\/a> from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed math and English scores for fourth and eighth graders slipping even further behind the national average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/l-a-teachers-union-files-labor-complaint-against-voluntary-extra-school-days\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Cecily_Myart_Cruz.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">L.A. Teachers Union Files Labor Complaint Against Voluntary Extra School Days<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>But asking legislators to authorize more school time has proven a tall order. A review of major school districts conducted last year by <em>Chalkbeat<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/2022\/3\/23\/22992779\/learning-loss-school-extended-day-year\">found that few<\/a> had added days to their school years, even with the looming challenge of reversing pandemic-era learning loss. A 2022 proposal in Los Angeles schools to allow staff to work five extra days on a voluntary basis was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2022-08-26\/l-a-teachers-union-members-to-boycott-extra-learning-day\">met with a boycott<\/a> from the influential United Teachers Los Angeles union.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"249\" height=\"168\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mandi-Torrez.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-706104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mandi-Torrez.jpg 249w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mandi-Torrez-191x129.jpg 191w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mandi Torrez<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Mandi Torrez, the education reform director for advocacy group Think New Mexico, said she had surveyed the damage from COVID and concluded that recovery would need to move \u201cfrom the classroom-out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe needed time for small-group tutoring and targeted instruction, time for enrichment, time to plan, time for addressing social-emotional needs, time for our students to catch up after the pandemic,\u201d said Torrez, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/1381328\/2020-new-mexico-teacher-of-the-year-named-ex-aps-cnm-celebrate-opening-of-new-education-collaborative-building.html\">former New Mexico Teacher of the Year<\/a>. \u201cTime was where we needed to start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>\u2018<strong>It would really level the playing field\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>New Mexico is not dramatically different from most states in how it regulates students\u2019 time in school. <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/statereform\/tab5_14.asp\">Each prescribes<\/a> a set amount of time \u2014 whether a minimum of K\u201312 hours per school day, hours per school year, or days per school year \u2014 typically increasing for older students. Many settle on 180 days in a school year or an hourly equivalent that approaches that number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew Kraft, a Brown University economist who has studied the use of instructional time, said that the number of hours children spend in classrooms \u201cvaries tremendously\u201d depending on geography. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edworkingpapers.com\/ai22-653\">a 2022 paper<\/a> he co-authored with PhD student Sarah Novicoff, he found that differences between schools at the high and low ends of instructional time amounted to as much as 190 hours per year; that equates to roughly five extra weeks of instruction. Similar disparities persist in New Mexico, where 38 school districts (43 percent of all districts across the state) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lcsun-news.com\/story\/news\/education\/2018\/02\/23\/new-mexico-puts-brakes-four-day-school-schedules\/368980002\/\">operate on four-day weeks<\/a>. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/2423568\/nm-students-have-fewer-school-days-than-rest-of-us-ex-expert-to-panel-extra-learning-a-lost-cause.html\">testimony before the legislature in 2021<\/a>, one expert said he regarded the task of restoring foregone instructional time to be a \u201clost cause\u201d for many students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere are huge inequities in access for kids to instructional time based on what state they live in, what school district they live in, and what school they attend,\u201d Kraft said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/the-impact-of-lost-instructional-time-on-students-during-covid-19\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-10-at-4.52.38-PM-copy.png);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">The Impact of \u2018Lost Instructional Time\u2019 on Students During COVID-19<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>That assessment largely matched Torrez\u2019s experience as an educator. One of her favorite methods of reinforcing lessons, she said, was to offer after-school tutoring to small groups of students. But significant numbers, including some who might have benefitted the most from supplemental teaching, were unable to access it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would always have some kids who couldn&#8217;t stay after school, for whatever reasons,\u201d Torrez remembered. \u201cIf we can build in the time so we can do that tutoring during the school day, it would really level the playing field for all of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-706105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham.jpg 999w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham-194x129.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/New-Mexico-Gov.-Michelle-Lujan-Grisham-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill last week increasing the amount of time students spend in classrooms. (Toya Sarno Jordan\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with several other proposals that emerged during the 2023 legislative session, HB 130 is effectively an outgrowth of <a href=\"https:\/\/webnew.ped.state.nm.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/K-5-Pamphlet_2020.pdf\">an existing state initiative, K\u20135 Plus<\/a>, which offers school districts additional funds to add up to 25 extra school days each year on a voluntary basis. A 2015 study of the program conducted by researchers at Utah State University <a href=\"https:\/\/ccpi.unm.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/publications\/EvaluatorReport.pdf\">found<\/a> that participants saw marked gains in academic performance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"280\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mimi-Stewart-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-706106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mimi-Stewart-1.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mimi-Stewart-1-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mimi-Stewart-1-103x129.jpeg 103w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mimi Stewart<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nmlegis.gov\/Entity\/LFC\/Documents\/Program_Evaluation_Progress_Reports\/Progress%20Report%20-%20Addressing%20Pandemic%20Impacts%20on%20Learning%20Outcomes.pdf\">a damning report<\/a> from the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee found that the vast majority of districts statewide declined the opportunity to take part in K\u20135 Plus, often citing the difficulty of staffing rural, low-enrollment campuses for additional school days. Teachers\u2019 unions and school leaders also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/2356419\/new-mexico-teachers-union-opposes-extending-the-school-year-ex-although-100m-in-unused-funds-is-available-the-states-teachers-need-a-break.html\">pushed back<\/a> against a 2021 attempt to make participation in the program mandatory, arguing that it would impinge too much on summer vacations for school staff. Stewart, a former teacher, said that teachers had complained to her of the \u201cmiserable\u201d experience of transitioning between in-person and online instruction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt really is pandemic PTSD that I&#8217;m seeing now,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cBefore the pandemic, teachers would tell me all the time, &#8216;We just want to teach more and be paid for it.&#8217; Well, that&#8217;s what this bill does, but they still had a hard time accepting it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>\u2018This is good policy\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the session, Stewart <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koat.com\/article\/bills-class-time-new-mexico\/42713356\">acted as a co-sponsor of both HB 130 and HB 194<\/a>, an alternate measure that would have imposed the same minimum time requirements but not allowed districts to count non-classroom activities \u2014 such as lesson planning and teacher collaboration \u2014 as instructional time. That carve-out only applies to 60 hours for K\u20136 teachers, many of whom are now receiving <a href=\"https:\/\/webnew.ped.state.nm.us\/bureaus\/literacy-humanities\/structured-literacy-new-mexico\/\">special literacy training<\/a>, and only 30 hours for teachers in grades 7\u201312.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second bill was favored by Gov. Lujan Grisham, she said, but both local education officials and teachers themselves pushed for greater flexibility. In the end, she said, it was \u201ca real effort to get the education community onboard with anything that increased [the length of] the school year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe made the change to the hours to answer the local control cries that we get inundated with every session: &#8216;We want to decide ourselves! Just give us the money!&#8217;\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThere&#8217;s always this tension between local control and state control, and HB 130 was designed to bridge that divide.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/teachers-are-leaving-the-profession-for-a-mix-of-reasons-say-lawmakers-and-education-officials\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image2-4-2048x1536-copy.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Teachers Are Leaving the Profession for a Mix of Reasons, Say Lawmakers and Education Officials<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>Legislators in other states are likely familiar with the political roadblocks. Even with extra funding attached to pay school employees for their additional labors, many teachers around the country <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/2580512\/education-quality-time-in-classrooms.html\">reject the notion<\/a> of working longer hours after the learning challenges they\u2019ve had to contend over with the past three years. After a pandemic-era dip in turnover, mounting frustration and burnout are being felt in higher teacher quit rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/top-researcher-on-how-the-right-tutoring-materials-can-also-solve-staffing-woes\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/matthew-kraft_t74-interview.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Q&A: Education Expert on Tutoring, Learning Recovery & Schools\u2019 Staffing Woes<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>Consequently, even with documented learning loss posing a huge threat to the educational attainment of this generation of students, states have been slow to embrace increased instructional time as a solution. One exception is Kansas, where lawmakers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjonline.com\/story\/news\/education\/2023\/02\/16\/extended-kansas-school-year-bill-would-add-nearly-450-hours-of-class\/69906620007\/\">currently weighing a proposal<\/a> to lift the minimum number of annual school days to 195 \u2014 an enormous increase \u2014 but the measure\u2019s chances for passage are unclear, and few legislatures are following their lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Petrilli, head of the reform-oriented Thomas B. Fordham Institution, lamented the reluctance to expand hours spent in class, calling the approach a \u201cno-brainer\u201d tool to lift student performance.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"264\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Matt-Kraft-264x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-706107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Matt-Kraft-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Matt-Kraft-441x500.jpg 441w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Matt-Kraft-114x129.jpg 114w, https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Matt-Kraft.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matt Kraft<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo be sure, some advocates chafe at the idea of \u2018seat time,\u2019\u201d Petrilli observed. \u201cBut academic learning isn&#8217;t that much different from sports or music or anything else in life: If we want to get better at something, more time on task is an essential part of the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kraft said that most research of the effects of extended learning time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/brown-center-chalkboard\/2022\/11\/15\/the-potential-role-of-instructional-time-in-pandemic-recovery\/#:~:text=Adding%20Instructional%20Time%20Can%20Increase%20Academic%20Achievement&amp;text=Our%20review%20of%20the%20literature,10%20or%20more%20extra%20days.\">showed that<\/a>, when used appropriately, it reliably lifted outcomes for kids. Still, he added, teachers shouldn\u2019t simply be corralled into working longer hours after the pandemic\u2019s ordeal. Instead, districts should be thoughtful about the ways in which they lengthened the school day and year \u2014 perhaps by recruiting more tutors so that teachers themselves could have more time to work together and improve pedagogy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is good policy,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cIt would be even better policy if we also think critically about how that&#8217;s going to affect the teacher workforce and how we can support schools to&#8230;make sure they use that time well.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers in New Mexico have moved to increase the amount of time students spend in school each year \u2014 a notably rare shift, even as educators around the country scramble to bring about a post-pandemic learning recovery. On Thursday, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 130, which will lift the state\u2019s minimum amount [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":706095,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[190],"tags":[1682,1103,1197,1562,1108,1290,1683,5719,1008],"series":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/706094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/706094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":706109,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/706094\/revisions\/706109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706094"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=706094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}