Open letter to AFSOC Partners

Dear AFSOC Partners,

We are eagerly awaiting your transition to Cannon Air Force Base and Clovis Municipal Schools.

When I talk with military personnel about their greatest areas of concern in moving to Clovis, what I hear most is that the websites you are visiting indicate that New Mexico schools in general and Clovis schools in particular are below par when compared to other states. What you are seeing is that fewer schools in New Mexico are making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) than in many other states.

The information you are seeing is very misleading. Each state determines its own standards and some are more rigorous than others.

Thus, judgments based on which state has the most students meeting AYP are erroneous. For example, New Mexico is one of only seven states given an “A” from the Fordham Foundation for the rigor of its science standards (The State of State Science Standards, Thomas Fordham Foundation, December, 2005). In a January 2006 Education Week article, “Quality Counts 2006,” the Pew Charitable Trusts report on education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia ranks New Mexico among the top ten states for its academic standards, assessments, and school accountability. (For information about that report and individual state reports, go to www.edweek.org/gc06/shr.)

Thus, the fact that fewer students are judged “proficient” is to be expected when you know New Mexico’s expectations for students are higher than most other states’.

More recently, the Fordham Foundation placed New Mexico with the top three states in the nation for curricular content, standards-based reform, and school choice. This information is in “The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating our Neediest Children”

These independent studies done by nationally known foundations show that New Mexico has a higher level of rigor than almost any other state. It follows, then, that fewer of our students would be judged “proficient” than those in states where relatively little is expected. Given the high level of rigor in New Mexico, Clovis Municipal Schools are especially proud that on 16 separate tests given in New Mexico, Clovis exceeds state averages on 13 of them (http://ped.state.nm.us).

If you know who have had children in the Clovis Municipal Schools, I would encourage you to contact them and ask about their first-hand experiences with our school system. I am confident your research will show that a vast majority of our parents are quite pleased with their experiences in our school system. If you have any questions, I would love to hear to from you.

Again, we are looking forward to the opportunity to serve you and your families.

Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm can be reached either by calling 505.769.4300, or emailing her at:

rhondas@clovis-schools.org