Minutes of the Meeting of the New Mexico Partnership for Math & Science Ed October 10, 1998 New Mexico Tech Library, Socorro, New Mexico Attending: Elaine Hampton (WERC/NM-CETP), Barbara Kimbell (NM-CETP), Tish Morris (NMMNH), Jean Podborny (SDE), Alberto Rodriguez (NMSU), Rick Scott (Co-Pres.) Professor Popp from the Chemistry Department welcomed us and asked us to enjoy the refreshments that had been provided. He pointed out that while Tech's Master degree in Science Education continues to flourish, they are now seeking to make their small secondary licensure program more visible. 1) Lamentations about the low attendance led to a discussion in which it was pointed out that many members had emailed about schedule conflicts, thus showing continued interest in the organization. Attendance at the previous 12 meetings was reported as follows: 07/24/98 - 10 04/23/98 - 14 01/15/98 - 17 11/06/97 - 22 09/26/97 - 26 06/27/97 - 16 04/07/97 - 15 02/20/97 - 17 11/21/96 - 26 09/30/96 - 16 04/16/96 - 11 02/09/96 - 22 2) Roundtable on K-16 Partnerships for Teacher Preparation & Development in NM Background data on Demand for Teachers and Teacher Supply that had been presented at the Roundtable were shared with the group. In general, the data indicate a need for approximately 1800 new teachers a year. The preparation programs in the state are preparing approximately 1200 a year, but it is estimated that about 25% of them do not begin teaching in New Mexico. Therefore approximately 50% of the need is filled by out of state or non-fully licensed teachers. The greatest areas of need appear to be bilingual education, special education, secondary math and secondary science. It was pointed out that although the data are a good start that much more detailed data is needed for planning to meet demand for teachers. (It was emphasized that Kurt Steinhouse is directing efforts at SDE improve data collection and reporting.) It was decided that gender, ethnicity and age data were needed for all the following: a) Undergraduates completing teacher licensure programs by teaching field b) Post-BA licensure completions by teaching field c) Added 7-12 Endorsements by field d) One Year Temporary Licenses and waivers by teaching field e) Out-of-State Licenses by teaching field f) Teacher Retirement projections by teaching field g) Teacher Attrition Data by teaching field a)and b) should be available from the universities and from the SDE Licensure Office. c), d), and e) should be available from the SDE Licensure Office; f) and g) from school districts and SDE. Rick Scott volunteered to put the above data concerns into a draft "White Paper" that after Partnership review could be distributed to policy makers and legislators on the education committees. In the meantime, any suggestions concerning what data on teacher supply and demand are needed, and reasons why they are needed would be appreciated by pscott@nmsu.edu 3) CETP Update - Barbara Kimbell reported that not only has second year funding begin received and third year funding secured, $100,000 a year for five years in scholarship money has been granted. CETP institutions are currently distributing those funds. The CETP Fall Conference will be at La Posada in Albuquerque on December 1 and 2 with a theme of equity. Keynote addresses will be given by Uri Treisman from UT-Austin and Rudolfo Ch vez Ch vez from NMSU. Those interested in attending can contact Barbara at bkimbell@nmsu.edu 4) Update from the State Department of Education - Jean Podborny reported that she began work at SDE this past summer with responsibilities in Math, Science and Technology. Her report made the following four points: A. The state board has voted not to make performance standards regulation, but they will be reviewed annually by the Instructional Services Committee (this is a subcommittee of the state board). **A side note about Content Standards and Benchmarks: a. They have now been in regulation since October 1996. b. NM districts should now have aligned their curricula for the 4- core areas, or have a timeline in place for alignment. (Jean emphasized that the Standards and Benchmarks process has generated significant conversations in school districts concerning their curriculum. Elaine Hampton asked what had become of decision to revise the Standards and Benchmarks for Science.) B. Accreditation visits are in full swing this fall. Every year the State Department of Ed visits 1/3 of the NM districts. The districts visited are in different stages of their Education Plan for Student Success (EPSS) plan. Accreditation visits are to help the districts implement and verify their EPSS. (It was pointed out in response to a question from Alberto Rodriguez that some districts have including plans for lowering their drop out rates in their EPSS.) C. Summer Institute '98 was a great success. Held in beautiful Ruidoso, NM. There was a week's worth of workshops for both administrators and teachers. The theme was "Creating Connections Across the Content Areas: Implementation of Standards-Based Education". A highlight of the week was the working session held at the Museum of the Horse on Wednesday evening. (Approximately 180 teachers and administrators attended.) D. Summer Institute '99 is tentatively scheduled for Aug 26th 1999 in Farmington, NM. The theme is "Creating Connections Across the Content Areas: Implementation, Assessment, and Evaluation. If you have a workshop you would like to present contact Mary Neikirk at 827-6443 or email at mneikirk@sde.state.nm.us. 5) Licensure Compentencies - Drafts of licensure competencies for Teaching Fields in Math and Science, and basic licensure competencies in technology have been approved by the Professional Standards Commission's Licensure Subcommittee. They are being distributed for review and may be ready for presentation to the State Board of Education in November. It was discussed that once approved by the Board, universities will be asked to review their programs to indicate how their students achieve the new competencies. Next year the Professional Education competencies for Elementary and Secondary Education will be revised. CETP will again be assisting in funding participation in those revisions. 6) Report from the Nominations Committee - It was suggested that the Nominations Committee now contact current Board members and nominees to see if they are willing to serve. The elections will be at the next meeting. 7) Update from the NM Museum of Natural History - Tish Morris reported that the Museum recently received a $550,000 NSF Informal Science grant for Proyecto Futuro which works with parents to help them provide science-related activities and support at home. Another project that is in full swing is "Topo New Mexico" which has students and teachers involved in making a huge outdoor map of New Mexico. It has divided the state into 1300 one foot squares. Students and teachers work on the square from their part of the state. She also reported that their new building construction project is about to begin. Among the improvements it will bring are a larger theater and a planetarium. 8) NASSMC Update: Judi Wurtzel at the U.S. Department of Education suggested that US WEST contact NASSMC to secure help and advice on stepping up their efforts to support education at the state level. Those conversations have begun, and support appears close to reality. 9) Technology Innovation Challenge Grant - The Gadsden Independent School District in partnership with NMSU and SDE has received notification of the awarding of a 5 year grant of over $8,000,000 to expand the statewide work begun by RETA in the professional development of teachers to integrate technology. The project includes the establishment of regional technology support centers. Carmen Gonzales of NMSU (carmen@nmsu.edu) is the Director and Cynthia Nava of GISD is the Co-Director. 10) Math Tutoring Program - The 10/1/98 issue of the Federal Register announced that the US Dept of Education will be instituting a K-9 Math Tutoring using Word Study Funds at the universities. It is based on the current "America Reads Challenge". 11) Next Meeting Time and Place - Tuesday, December 1, 1998, 9AM, La Posada, downtown Albuquerque