Giving thanks to families raising children

The Magdalena Schools Equity Council recognized grandparents at their annual community Thanksgiving last Thursday.

“We identified not only grandparents but aunts and uncles who are raising kids, so we recognized them too,” Magdalena School Superintendent Glen Haven said. “We passed out a lot of certificates.”

He said the equity council was formed about two years ago in response to the Yazzie vs. Martinez lawsuit. The New Mexico Public Education Department required school districts to form a council to help address disparities.

“We had about 25 council members at one time, and I was trying to recruit business, business people, community members, teachers and staff,” Haven said.

According to the PED, Judge Singleton’s decision in the Martinez and Yazzie consolidated lawsuit highlighted that New Mexico has failed to meet the legal provisions of the Indian Education Act, the Hispanic Education Act, the Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as well as Office of Civil Rights requirements for English Learners under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As such, the NMPED, school districts, and schools must comply with these laws.

Haven said the council, comprised of school staff, parents, and students, serves as an advisory board to the superintendent and school board. They meet quarterly and follow an agenda, but he said the meetings are pretty informal.

“We have the parent perspective. We have the student perspective. We have an administration perspective, we have a couple of teachers and we have some teacher aides. So everyone has a different viewpoint of what they see in a school,” Haven said “Mine is from the top. I guess I’m the guy who says, ‘Well, I think this is what we should be doing and this best for the kids right now.’ But sometimes my perspective might be out of touch.”

He said that when he goes to training and talks to other schools about their equity councils, they are impressed with not only how much they have progressed but also that they include students. Haven admits that sometimes, as administrators and adults, we think we know what is best for students, but he has experienced the value of having the student perspective.

Early in their formation, they broke out into groups and identified four areas of focus, chronic absenteeism, student homelessness, family members raising kids, and the social, mental and emotional health of students.

Haven described the difference between equity and equality with an example. Imagine three people: one short, one medium height, and one tall. Only the tall person can see over a fence. If you provide the short and medium-sized individuals with appropriately sized stepping stools, it gives them the same opportunity to see over the fence. This illustrates how equity ensures everyone has the necessary resources to achieve equal outcomes, whereas equality simply means treating everyone equally.

If you are interested in participating in the equity council, please get in touch with the Magdalena School District Office.