APS superintendent speaks against governor's plan to reform education

From KOB-TV.com - Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks is speaking out against the governor's plan to reform education. In fact, Brooks said some of it is not reform. Governor Susana Martinez proposed holding elementary students back if they cannot read. She said she wants the state to buy every first grader a book. Brooks said it is a relief that there is finally some money coming in to education but thinks where that money goes should be decided by the individual school districts. "I think too much of what the governor is proposing is being dictated and the state level, I think it takes away local control," Brooks stated. Brooks said Governor Martinez and lawmakers should be turning to educators to figure our how and where to spend an extra $97 million for the classroom. "Those of us who work locally know better about what our communities need than probably the governor does," Brooks said. He agreed with the governor that reading is a priority but questions her approach. "Getting every first grader a book is a great symbolic gesture on the part of the governor - do I think that's meaningful school reform? Not at all," said Brooks. Instead, Brooks said he would put the focus on forming a solid pre-school system to kick start kids on reading. "Preschool programs developed for state wide could be extremely helpful, particularly for those families that we have who live in poverty here in this state," Brooks said. Read more

APS superintendent speaks against governor's plan to reform education