PBS NewHour host to host NM town hall

Ray Suarez

KRQE -  A teacher town hall in Albuquerque that focuses on New Mexico's high dropout rates, especially among Latino students, is drawing PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Ray Suarez as part of a campaign to bring national attention to the increasing number of students who don't graduate. Suarez is scheduled to moderate next week's town hall, which is expected to draw close to 200 teachers from around the state. The forum at the University of New Mexico will give teachers a chance to offer solutions amid planned reforms in the state, he said. "There are interesting things happening in New Mexico," Suarez told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "So, it'll be great to talk to teachers there ... and also some schools that are representative of the problem." The Albuquerque event comes after Gov. Susana Martinez announced her administration is developing a new teacher evaluation system this summer. A teacher evaluation proposal passed the House earlier this year but died in the Senate. Martinez said this week she will use administrative rules to make the changes the Legislature did not. Read More News New Mexico

PBS NewHour host to host NM town hall