Allison Caldwell, a structured literacy coach, has over 15 years of experience in the education field. This episode is all about literacy! Allison shares her experiences as a literacy coach, what is being done to improve New Mexico’s literacy rates and the importance of elevating this conversation for educators, parents and all community members.  

We also discuss the upcoming screening of the Right to Read documentary, which will be held on Tuesday, October 10, at the Hispanic Cultural Center. 

Join the New Mexico: Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2478602839100235

Interested in joining The Reading League? Click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScluQ4L5_jKEERyqDDn1qh2jTAvz7X4M5dmEDNgX4cT-jNPnw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1HpuVYO7XXIe4Y2zBSwyTMnjM5wLTif7GdgTLY7cRMzSTBvZkQmY-AhCM

Register for the Right to Read Screening: https://p2a.co/UMLfiR0

Kyle Rhodes, former President of the Farmington school board and CEO of PESCO, joins us in our first episode of semester 2. Kyle shares his passion for providing children with the opportunity to succeed, his role in improving student outcomes for Farmington Municipal Schools and why he is optimistic about what is possible for New Mexico’s education system.

Rebekka Burt, Vice-Chair of the Public Education Commission joins us for a conversation about the importance of quality charter school authorizing. What’s charter school authorizing you ask? Tune in to learn more about this critical role in New Mexico’s education system. Bekka also shares more about how she navigated school options to find the right fit for her daughters and a special tidbit about the Rio Rancho High School football team. 

Isaac Rivas-Savell, founder and executive director of Voz Collegiate Charter School joins us for a fun and heartfelt conversation about his journey to start a high performing charter school in Albuquerque. We chat about the challenges he had to overcome, the progress that has been made and the legacy of the family members that came before us. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about the importance of using your voice. 

The NMPED is offering free Algebra 1 tutoring for students transitioning from 8th to 9th grade. For more information and to register, click here: https://bit.ly/AlgebraHDT

Check out NM Education's summary of legislative bills related to education here: https://nmeducation.org/a-view-of-the-2023-legislative-session-all-proposed-education-bills/

Matt Pahl, Executive Director of Public Charter Schools of New Mexico joins us to provide our listeners with an update on New Mexico’s legislative session! Tune in to hear a summary of the big education ideas being debated and how Amanda and Matt think they will impact New Mexico Schools.

Jade Rivera, Founder and Executive director of Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School, joins us to share about what led her to start a high performing school in Albuquerque’s South Valley. Jade shares more about the excellent results her school has achieved, especially in early literacy and what she believes is possible for New Mexico students. Jade also shares with listeners tips for school enrollment season and reviews the process and timing for charter school applications.

Bella Chandler, kindergarten teacher at S.Y. Jackson Elementary in Albuquerque, NM shares her vulnerable journey to learning about the Science of Reading and how it completely changed the way she teaches reading in her classroom. 14 years into her career, Bella realized that everything she knew to do was wrong. After lots of training Bella is now seeing phenomenal results in her classroom and believes New Mexico can dramatically improve literacy rates across the state if we adopt the Science of Reading.

Matthew Montano, Superintendent of Bernalillo Public Schools has been in the role leading his hometown school district for a year and half. In this episode he chats with us about the challenges of taking over the leadership of an underperforming school district, how it feels to lead in his hometown and so much more.