The New Mexico Legislature begins at Noon on Tuesday, January 18. Join us on our live feed to stay up to date as we post our updates.
Use the NMCEL App as your best source for live updates regarding the New Mexico State Legislature as it relates to New Mexico public schools.
We want to wish all New Mexico educators best wishes for 2022!
Greetings from the Secretary’s Desk!
I hope you are all staying warm as we welcome the winter season and increasingly longer days. My morning runs are chilly, but I greatly enjoy the beautiful New Mexico winter sunrises!
And now to a very serious topic… New Mexico schools are facing a staffing crisis – about 1,000 classrooms in our state currently do not have a licensed educator at the helm. Further, we are experiencing shortages of bus drivers and other key support staff across our state. We are not alone; this is a nationwide challenge, as Secretary Miguel Cardona discusses in the attached letter. Read more to see what the US Department of Education is doing about it.
Here at home, we are committed to promoting the Educator Fellows, Teacher Residency, and Grow your Own programs; increasing awareness around Teacher Preparation Affordability Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program; and launching new initiatives such as a comprehensive recruitment tool, micro-credentialing options, and a statewide marketing campaign to promote educator raises, regional competitiveness, and opportunities in New Mexico. Stay tuned as we will be sharing more information and a call to action to support getting the word out in the coming months.
Brand News
With the new year and new seasons, we often crave the chance to reset and refresh. In that vein, I want to introduce a change coming our way. Our communications team has been working on rebranding our agency, and I'd like your feedback. This work involves more than just a new logo; it’s about providing a visual identity that conveys all the amazing and innovative work you and your teams do to support our students, families, and educators and to elevate New Mexico education. Change can be challenging, but this work reflects the qualities that we want to convey and project to our education communities and across the state—and beyond. Please take a few minutes to take a look at the new logos, select your favorite, and tell us why you like it (or your suggestions for improvements).
Updates from HR
A huge shout-out to our human resources team and staff across the agency who have made the hiring of 33 new PED staff possible over the last several weeks. Please join us in welcoming Paola Peacock-Villada, our new Director of Strategy and Talent Development, and all our new hires to team PED. And a huge thanks to those who supported PED at the rapid hire event this week! Please keep sharing our opportunities for employment on your LinkedIn or other social media channels. We’re so close to filling the vacancy gap!
Wellness
Whether it’s a relaxing walk, an afternoon cup of tea, cozying up with a good book by the fire or all of the above, I encourage you to take a few extra moments to care for yourself, your family, and even your community this season. You have earned a few days off and that time can be used to focus on what makes you feel well and warm. Your choice! Speaking of wellness, please keep an eye out for more information coming soon about a “Max the Vax” campaign. Getting vaccinated/boosted, wearing our masks, and regularly washing our hands are still the best defense against COVID and its variants – please help us take care of one another and provide the opportunity for children to attend school with their freinds.
Wishing you all a wondrous holiday season,
Kurt
Kurt Steinhaus, Ed.D. | Secretary of Education (Designate)
New Mexico Public Education Department
300 Don Gaspar Ave. | Santa Fe, NM 87501
Happy Holidays from NMCEL and NMSSA! Our office will be closed December 20th to January 3rd. We'll see you in the New Year!
Due to the Special Session continuing , we will not be presenting our legislative recommendations to the LESC tomorrow. The Ed Partners Presentation will be January 6 instead.
Welcome to the NMCEL App! We are excited to have launched this app as a significant tool for our communications and connections.
Watch the December 7, 2021 Legislative Primer Recording: https://bit.ly/dec7leg
NMCEL 2022 Scholarship Application Now Open!! Deadline February 21, 2022. The New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders will award two $3,000 scholarships to New Mexico high school seniors who will be entering a college or university. Click here for criteria and guidelines: https://5il.co/124sv
Become a member:https://5il.co/nejz
