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| Wilson Secures Funding for New Mexico Schools |
December 19, 2001 |
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| Washington, DC - A joint House/Senate Conference Committee today approved a bill that includes funding for Congresswoman Heather Wilson’s education priorities for New Mexico. The Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education appropriations conference report was finalized last night and will come before the House for a vote today.
“Great teachers make great schools. These funds will continue to help strengthen the teaching of math and science,” said Wilson. “I’m also pleased to help improve our middle school reading and after-school programs.”
The overall bill allocates $3.4 billion to fund the President Bush’s top domestic priority, the “No Child Left Behind” Act. It triples funds for reading to make sure all children can read by the third grade. The bill provides states and school districts tools to improve teacher quality while increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom.
The New Mexico programs included in the bill are:
University of New Mexico Math and Science Teacher Academy - $850,000
The main goal of the Academy is to increase the capability of New Mexico’s public school teachers to deliver a high quality math and science education. This is accomplished both through the “pre-service” education of future teachers currently attending UNM, as well as in advanced professional development workshops and institutes for existing K-12 educators from across the state. Funding for the project will go toward technology enhancements, tuition and stipends for student and teacher participants project documentation and research. The institutes will involve not only public school teachers and UNM faculty, but also scientists and engineers from the laboratories, as well as private sector representatives. Last year, Wilson secured $1.1 million for the project.
Garfield Middle School Accelerated Reading Program - $50,000
Garfield Middle School is a Title I Bilingual School. Its goal is to have every student read at or above grade level upon completion of eighth grade. Accelerated Reading is a program in which students are given a significant portion of time during the school day read. Though Garfield currently participates in this program, this funding would allow Garfield to provide training for its teachers and to purchase more books for the program. Wilson visited the school last spring and was told by Garfield administrators that a shortage of library books is one of their biggest challenges.
Ernie Pyle Middle School After-school Program - $50,000
Ernie Pyle is a Title I and Bilingual school with a strong focus on technology. The school offers both a before and after school literacy program, computer based reading programs, tutoring, advance coursework in literacy/numeracy combined with recreational and Fine Arts programs. The funding will be used to expand the program, offering more activities and making it available to more students.
Harrison Middle School After-school program - $50,000
The Harrison Middle School after-school program is held three days a week. They have sports activities (indoor hockey, flag football, soccer, cheerleading, drill team, etc.), arts and crafts, computer based learning program, and tutoring. The program serves about 300 students, which is just under 50% of the student population. Harrison Middle School provides incentives for students who participate in the program and improve their grades. The funding will allow the school to expand the program to include a literacy program and experiential education program.
Because Ernie Pyle and Harrison are outside of city boundaries, they do not get funds from the City of Albuquerque’s Middle School Initiative.
Both houses of Congress must now vote on the Conference Report before it can be sent to the President for signature. |
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