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Education

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As Americans, we believe that all children should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential.  To make this ideal a reality, we need a strong system of public schools with the resources to succeed.  We also need to ensure that every student who works hard in high school can go to college. When I served in the U.S. House of Representatives, I supported the largest increase in college aid since the G.I. Bill, and as a U.S. Senator, I continue to fight for these kinds of investments in New Mexico’s youth.

Preparing Students for Graduation

We need to do a better job of preparing our students to graduate and succeed.  This means finding fair ways to assess student progress and achievement, enhancing student enrichment programs, and investing in intervention strategies to keep our kids in school and improve New Mexico’s graduation rate.  This also means preparing students to succeed in college and in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Making Our Teachers the Best Teachers

We need our teachers to have the knowledge and tools to provide our students with a world-class education.  That’s why I support strengthening and rewarding teacher performance and master teachers program.  I also believe that we need to provide incentives for those educators who teach our most challenging students or in challenging rural or urban areas.

Making Schools Safer and Healthier

We have an obligation to our children to make sure that their learning environment is as safe and healthy as possible. That means improving school nutrition and physical activity standards and opportunities.  I support finding resources to renovate school buildings, improving school nutrition and physical education standards and programs, supporting after-school activities and encouraging schools to be part of the fabric of a community.

Strengthening Parent Involvement

Getting parents involved in students’ learning experience can help to foster success.  By encouraging communication between parents, students and teachers through projects like parent mentoring programs, we can strengthen the important pillar that parents play in children’s education.

Fair Assessment of Student Outcomes

We know that children learn in different ways, so we should assess them in different ways too.  I’m an advocate for exploring ways to qualify as well as quantify progress and believe we should appreciate our students’ different abilities in our expectations and testing.

Our Promise to Tribal Education

I believe in the solemn trust obligation of the United States government to help provide for the education of Native children, and work as your Senator to honor this responsibility. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) offers another opportunity to improve the learning environment for Native communities in both tribal and public schools. Unfortunately, Native children have some of the lowest achievement scores in the country, and the poor conditions of many tribal schools compromise students' safety and their ability to achieve their highest educational potential. Our nation needs Native American students to graduate from high school ready for a career or college, and help their tribes and communities strengthen their cultural heritage and economic independence. Our First Americans deserve schools that honor their unique culture and language needs, that can help enhance their educational experiences and build the future of their own tribal nations and our own.

Office Locations

  • Albuquerque
    219 Central Ave NW
    Suite 210
    Albuquerque, NM 87102
    (505) 346-6791

  • Carlsbad
    102 W. Hagerman Street
    Suite A
    Carlsbad, NM 88220
    (575) 234-0366

  • Las Cruces
    201 N. Church Street
    Suite 201B
    Las Cruces, NM 88001 
    (575) 526-5475

  • Santa Fe
    120 South Federal Place
    Suite 302
    Santa Fe, NM 87501
    (505) 988-6511

  • Washington, DC
    110 Hart Senate Office Building
    Washington DC, 20510
    (202) 224-6621