By Rylie Wood
If one of three bills in this Legislature gets approved, next year’s school year will be extended by up to 10 days, increasing annual classroom time from 1,080 up to 1,140 hours.
Although New Mexico education is usually ranked at or near the bottom nationally, La Cueva High School students and staff have different opinions on how and if this would improve students' education.
La Cueva principal Dana Lee said the idea to provide added learning time “has potential” but a lot would depend on how a plan is implemented.
When asked how it might affect students, Lee said, “Change is hard. So, I think in the short-term, everybody will be grumpy. But a year from now, nobody will remember we even had the conversation.”
La Cueva has three representatives from the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, the teachers’ union, and one of them is social studies teacher Lansing Freeman. Regarding the new proposal, Freeman said, “ I'm okay with it. The reason I'm okay with it is the more time that we spend in class together, the more educational opportunities will be presented.”
After discussing the impact he thought it would have, Freeman said, “If it is used constructively by both school staff and students, it will definitely improve educational outcomes.”
Students also had something to say. Sophomore Anya Tuya said, “I would say we would just have higher rates of burnout, to be honest. … I mean, is 10 days really going to teach you extra material? No, I think it's just gonna cause more harm than good.”
Adrian Gutierrez, La Cueva social studies teacher, said, “I don't think it would make a significant improvement to education.”
He thought that added classroom time would have some benefit. But for students whose education needs improvement, most have trouble with attendance so by adding more time it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Many are divided on the idea of extending the school year and if it will improve education outcomes. In March, at the end of the legislative session, New Mexicans will find out if any of the bills passed. How it would be implemented and how it might affect La Cueva’s future is still unknown.