“New Mexico made several attempts at statehood, but was considered ‘too exotic’ because residents only spoke Spanish and Native languages,” author and historian Sigfredo Maestas said. “It was the need to learn English and grow that brought public education (to New Mexico).”
L. Bradford Prince was territorial governor from 1889 to 1893 and created the first public institution for education. Territorial governors were appointed and took an interest in education.
Armando Chaves became the first superintendent of public instruction when appointed in 1891 by Gov. Prince.
“Education was primarily Catholic in early days,” Maestas said. “There were two schools in existence that were catholic-based institutions. One was in Taos and the other was the Loretto Academy in Santa Fe.”
Most wealthy families hired personal tutors to educate their children, while poor residents went without formal education.
“In the 1890s schools started opening and the counties were put in charge,” Maestas said. “In 1909 a bill was submitted to start the Spanish American Normal School. It was a teacher’s college (and) meant to educate and train people to teach in schools.”
Early teachers could effectively teach with a sixth-grade level of knowledge.
“My grandmother and grandfather taught in the early days,” Maestas said. “Things improved over the next 20 years. My mom was taught by a graduate of the Normal School in elementary school and teaching was bringing great things to the area.”
Those able to go to school attended until the eighth grade, but many usually left earlier due to family responsibilities.
Until 1930 county commissioners ran the schools.
“As money became available, enrollment increased and the level of education rose,” Maestas said. “A school tax was implemented and meant to help run the schools. Commissioners would collect the tax to hire staff and oversee school operations.”
Until the mid-1950s county school superintendents were in charge of overseeing public education, with Placio Garcia being the last acting superintendent in Rio Arriba County.
“Counties didn’t have much to support schools (and) not all schools were being run the same way, so someone got the idea to create districts that were directly under the state Public Education Department,” Maestas said. “This helped because it brought to surface the unequal distribution of funds for education and the idea of equalization was established.”
Because of newly passed legislation, all schools were now receiving the same amount of money used for teaching and administration needs.
“The Garcias were influential (and) several became advocates for the equalization formula,” Maestas said. “Having equal education throughout the state meant people all over the state were getting the same type of education (which could be) passed on and encouraged in the next generations.”
Enter McCurdy
Edith Brown is a graduate of McCurdy High School and an active school and alumna supporter. She serves as the curator of the McCurdy historical room,
Brown said Mellie Perkins saw a need in Northern New Mexico and made it her mission to fill that niche. Having been influenced by her mentor and former teacher, Mellie Perkins wanted to give local children the opportunity to learn trade skills and gain a higher level of education.
“Mellie Perkins came to the area and while buying fruit heard children talking about wanting to go to school. Perkins went to college to learn Spanish and was taught by Edith McCurdy,” Brown said.
The school had its start in 1912 as a small mission in Velarde.
“People heard of her work and Mellie was asked to open a mission in Santa Cruz,” Brown said. “The school came here in 1915. It started with elementary education (and) as students got older, classes were added and expanded to add high school education.”
The first dormitories served as sleeping and learning areas and allowed students to come from farther away to get an education.
“The first group of dorm students was in 1921. People were interested in getting a good education for their children (and) were willing to travel to get their children to school,” Brown said. “The school was far enough out that it became easier to board students and save a drive. Students would come from as far north as the Antonito (Colo.) area.”
Patricia Alvarado is McCurdy Ministries executive director. She’s served in several capacities at McCurdy over the past 20 years, including principal and superintendent, before McCurdy converted to a public charter school.
Dorm students would help with chores and maintain the farming culture at the school, Alvarado said.
The first graduating class was in 1926 and the six graduates went on to earn degrees. Some returned to the Española area as teachers and doctors.
“McCurdy was the first Christian school without being Catholic, which was a change,” Alvarado said. “Students came from families that wanted a Christian influence and a good education.”
The United Methodist Church owns the land upon which McCurdy sits and rent is paid for each school year.
In 1968 a new superintendent came in and developed a local school board, which started to turn the school over to the community and away from United Methodist control.
“Glenn McCracken was the superintendent for a long time and brought stability to the school,” Brown said.
The school’s gymnasium, named after McCracken, was built in the early 1920s and was the first gym in Española.
“The building burned before it was officially completed (and) the community gathered to help with the cleanup and renovation,” Alvarado said. ”It brought more community involvement and showed people were here to support the school.”
The gymnasium was treated more as a community building than a high school gymnasium.
“The McCrackens opened it to the community for use,” Alvarado said.
By the 1970s the school started to make a change to gain distance from the church in the classroom.
“My stepfather (J.M. Stevenson) was hired as a non-mission teacher in 1968 (and) the school had quite a few ‘couple’ teachers that came here together to teach,” Brown said. “At times, teachers were commissioned to come here through the United Brethren Church and stayed here on campus.”
McCurdy’s dorms were full for the next 20 years, but by the late 1990s boarding had diminished because advances in transportation made it easier for students to commute to school, Brown said.
The smaller class sizes drew students to McCurdy’s campus as public middle and high schools were growing.
“The Española school system had three separate junior high schools that were combined in high school. Having no more than 20 in a classroom led students to come here to avoid being sent to the bigger Española schools,” Brown said. “McCurdy has had to change with the times (and) we’re adjusting to the situations.”
Lab influence
Developments in technology also brought a bigger workforce and growing economy to Española.
“Education in Northern New Mexico positively helped to grow the workforce when (Los Alamos National Laboratory) was established in the mid 1940s. Prior to that, there was very little money coming to the area,” Maestas said. “Today, you see a number of natives being trained and educated who are working here in state government and at (Los Alamos National Laboratory).”
Pete Gomez, former assistant principal and assistant superintendent for the Española School District, saw nearly all aspects of the education system in the 1960s and 1970s.
“I started as an English and history teacher (and) high school was the most pleasant place to work. We had excellent teachers and the students were truly models of nice, well mannered kids,” Gomez said. “Parents used to be very cooperative. They would be at school in no time in a very positive way when we needed them.”
At the time, there were only three schools in School District 45: an elementary, junior high and high school.
“In rural areas they had schools up until eighth grade, then the kids came to Española High School in ninth grade,” Gomez said. “At first it was difficult because the kids didn’t know each other and would stay grouped together. By the later grades they were all mixed together. It took a while to assimilate with each other, but everyone got along well.”
Gomez became assistant principal in 1966 and in the same year started Early Bird Classes in addition to programs offered at Española Valley High School.
“Seniors that had a job would come in at 7 a.m., be at the school for two hours and then would leave to their jobs,” Gomez said. “I taught that for three or four years (and) had classes of 30 to 35 students.”
The Early Bird Classes were co-taught by Gomez and Eva Murphy, whose classroom was next door to Gomez’s.
“Every Monday we had the 70 students together for group teaching. (Murphy) and I used the same lesson plans and would take turns leading the class. I would lead one week and then trade,” Gomez said. “It gave kids the opportunity to work with different people. We would coordinate the information for the tests and have it match what was taught in the classrooms.”
Gomez also coordinated an after-hours program in the school’s gym.
“There was no form of recreation for kids at the time (and) there was also a curfew in place,” Gomez said. “A whistle would blow and no kids were allowed to be on the streets (so) we would open the gym to let the kids play ball and hang out. We would charge them 10 cents, which helped fund our classes. We had a lot of fun and never had any problems, especially because it was just Eva and I that would supervise. We would brainstorm ideas to see what we could do to have fun activities for the kids.”
The athletic department had also strengthened during this time.
“The academics were good and (the high school) had excellent athletics. All of the teams did extremely well and had good coaches that gave the proper training and equipment,” Gomez said. “The school really provided for them. No politics ever came into play (and) we were never pushed to do things a certain way.”
In 1972 Gomez became assistant superintendent of the Española School District and was giving full hiring power for the district.
“I was in charge of hiring district employees. It was my responsibility and had no interference. It was really something nice, knowing I could provide good staff,” Gomez said. “I liked to coordinate programs for the kids (and) wanted to see more done with music. Things take a lot of planning, it doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot to have something nice.”
Gomez continued to plan field trips and organize music performances until 1977, when he was hired as assistant principal at Hernandez Elementary.
“It was really a lot of fun,” Gomez said. “I had gone from dealing with high schoolers to dealing with younger kids, which was a fun change.”
He then worked for the Pojoaque School District for three years prior to retiring and was also instrumental in starting the Española Military Academy.
“I was chairman of the board for three months, was part of recruiting and got the program going,” Gomez said. “The building was rented from the National Guard (while the armory was out of use). Students acquired a uniform and we had one person in charge of the military portion (and) the other was in charge of overseeing academics.”
The school had between 250 and 300 students enrolled, but eventually the program was not renewed by the state because it was not meeting state standards.
“We had hoped to attract kids that wanted discipline and had interest in the military,” Gomez said. “Instead, the perception was that it was a type of reform school, which was not the case.”
Mr. Math
Orlando Leyba began teaching in 1959 at Grants High School. After receiving his degree he taught in Seboyeta and Cuba before becoming a math teacher in the Española School District.
“In Cuba I taught strictly in the math department (until) I got a job with the Board of National Missions in New York City,” Leyba said. “I then returned to New Mexico and taught at a mission school for four years.”
During this time Leyba taught fourth through eighth grade in a single classroom.
“The size of the classes was very minute in those days. There were between four and 10 kids in each grade,” Leyba said. “I stayed with them for four years and after that I went with the public school system and taught fifth grade.”
Following a year at the elementary level, Leyba went to the math department at the Española Middle School until offered a job by the assistant superintendent to become president of the board for mission schools in Chimayó and Truchas.
A meeting was held to offer Leyba a position in the math department at Española Valley High School, teaching classes that ranged from general math to calculus.
“It was a nice environment to be a part of (and) after a couple of years we made the move to a brand new school building,” Leyba said. “It was mentioned that not everyone would go. I asked and was one of the ones chosen to go to the new building and continue to teach.”
During his years at the high school, he received a number of awards, including Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1976.
“I can’t find words to emphasize how well I was treated by both the staff and students while teaching,” Leyba said. “It was a very great environment and I felt very appreciated.”
He retired from the Española School District in 1993 and went on to teach at McCurdy.
“After Española I went with McCurdy and taught there for about four years until a (former) student of mine came and asked me to visit him at the community college,” Leyba said. “I was introduced to students (as well as) the college president and chairman of the math department and shortly after my visit I got a notice in the mail that they’d like me to teach.”
Leyba has continued to hold this position with Northern New Mexico College and currently teaches algebra at the collegiate level.
Today’s different needs
Sigfredo Maestas sees a change in the way teachers are required to conduct a classroom. As the community begins to grow, classroom populations have begun to increase and students’ needs shift.
“Teachers are now having to deal with kids who use English as a second language,” Maestas said. “There aren’t enough teachers locally (and) schools are going abroad to recruit staff.”
McCurdy’s operations have also shifted because of a changing economy.
“With declining enrollment we couldn’t support the teaching staff (and) felt that we couldn’t raise tuition to make it,” Brown said. “We didn’t have the assets to borrow (and) the decision came to transition into a charter school. McCurdy is still a mission, but (religion) isn’t necessarily in the classroom anymore.”
Through this process, the medical program and Project Cariño has remained a part of McCurdy’s teachings.
“The Española Hospital had its roots here and Project Cariño has been very strong,” Brown said. “Starting the clinic was a way to look back to what Mellie and Edith started. Although Edith never made it to the McCurdy site, the school keeps (McCurdy and Perkins) in the roots of teaching.”
Almost exclusively in the Rio Arriba County area the education systems have improved, giving little reason to travel to get an education, Brown said.
While populations were small, families were able to send their children to school, but as populations began to increase, the number of teachers was inadequate and required as many as possible to learn to teach.
“Equal opportunity was granted in Northern New Mexico in regards to education,” Maestas said. “Both men and women were encouraged to become teachers, which was not commonly seen in other parts of history. By educating and training as many as possible, everyone was given the opportunity to earn a good education.”
As Maestas has found, education serves three purposes: socialization, help in making a good living and increasing intellectual knowledge and the gathering of wisdom.
“Schools early on did a good job of socializing people. Hispanics became very good citizens and embraced the American culture,” Maestas said. “By training people to make a living, schools needed to focus on what students were being trained to do (and) needed to look at how to attract the right jobs and industries here. There will always be a need for technical skills and we need to continue teaching that.”
According to the New Mexico Public Education Department statistics, the state proficiency exams for elementary and middle schools show significantly low scores from the 2010 to 2011 school year. The schools show students are reaching just above 34 percent in reading, near 25 percent in social studies and around 11 percent in math and science in terms of comprehension and proficiency, according to 2011 Proficiencies Data.
The graduation rate in the Española School District remained around 52 percent in the past five years, with rates dropping significantly to 45.2 percent in 2011.
Charter school
alternative
Charter schools are starting to find success in the area by focusing on specialized areas of learning and embracing programs that public schools have had to remove, essentially giving students more time to grasp the subjects they will be tested on in later years.
“With charter schools, we need to ask why (students) are leaving public schools,” Gomez said. “It’s important to see what isn’t offered through the public schools. All of the charter schools are attracting students that want a certain kind of program.”
Cariños Charter School was founded with the purpose of preserving bilingual education.
“Our goal was to serve Spanish-speaking students so they could learn in their own language and to give non-Spanish speaking students an opportunity to learn Spanish while also getting an education,” Juanita Cata, a founding member of Cariños, said. “It’s a dual-language school, where half of the instruction is done in English and half in Spanish. It gives students a balanced education in terms of the culture and languages of the area.”
The charter school enrolls residents of the Española Valley and is funded through the Española School District.
Vernon Jaramillo has worked in education in Northern New Mexico for 39 years. He is a longtime Mesa Vista School District superintendent and for the past six years has served as Cariños’s chancellor.
“We receive approximately $2 million from the district,” Jaramillo said. “About 85 percent goes to personnel while the remaining 15 percent goes toward instruction.”
Emphasis is also placed on the agricultural lifestyle of the area.
“Because we’re a part of a rural community, we wanted to focus somewhat on agriculture, the earth and knowledge of the surrounding areas,” Cata said. “The school offers supportive instruction in both English and Spanish history, geography and sciences that are taught in both languages.”
La Tierra Montessori School of the Arts and Sciences places focus on providing a holistic, well-rounded integrated learning environment for their students.
“The Montessori method is a primary piece of our operations,” Roger Montoya said. “We wanted to broaden choices for families in the public education realm in the valley. We wanted a school like ours to be available and focused on arts integration in the kindergarten through eighth grade age group.”
La Tierra works to provide an individualized learning experience that is self-paced and beneficial to students’ learning.
“We brought about 25 percent of our population from home-schooled situations (and) brought students out from several districts, such as Santa Fe, Taos, Mesa Vista, Pojoaque and Los Alamos. We also have a fraction of students that came from Española schools in the area,” Montoya said. “We support children learning at their own pace and in their own manner rather than forcing them into a place-based en masse learning.”
In terms of funding for the charter schools, La Tierra operates on government funds.
“We’re a state charter, so we don’t get (Española School District) money. We are our own district, have our own superintendent and board (and) are a public school,” Montoya said. “Cariños and McCurdy are district charters and tied to the Española Schools, while we are run exclusively through the state.”
With the increasing enrollment in new charter schools, Española’s public schools are at risk of losing not only students, but funding as well.
“The difference is when it’s time for public schools to prepare the budget, administrators have to ask, ‘How do we retain these kids?’ and estimate enrollment,” Gomez said. “If (the schools) lose money by having low enrollment, the school won’t be able to provide quality education. The main question is how to project enrollment and determine the proper teacher-to-student ratio (while) still providing quality education and programs in all schools (in Northern New Mexico).”