The passion for truly educating our children in New Mexico goes without question. I know this is true, despite our current ranking of 48th in the nation. So it's now time to take notice of our failing school system, examine the opportunities for positive change and give our public education system the chance to live up to its potential. And it's time for parents, our communities and our legislators to embrace the reforms necessary to make it so.

In the past year, I have visited nearly 50 of our 89 school districts. With each visit to every school, and in every classroom, I have witnessed the optimism, desire and hope on the faces of every student across the state. Our students, educators and parents deserve to be recognized for their continued trust in our public school system and deserve to realize true progress as a result of their faith.

There is no magic solution to our current status, but there are a few key initiatives that will have a lasting impact on our students' futures. Two bills before the Legislature right now will, if passed, dramatically and positively impact our students.

Bills to assess and advance reading proficiency (House Bill 69 and Senate Bill 96) are being considered by our legislators. The news media call this initiative the "No Social Promotion" bill, and while, yes, third-grade retention is part of it, that label demeans the bill's true purpose and character. This initiative would, for the first time, gauge the reading skills of our children from kindergarten through the third grade, something many schools don't do now. This provides us -- parents, teachers, administrators -- the opportunity to help our children with progressive reading interventions years before they reach the third grade.

We have proposed $17 million for this program. While this may seem like a large sum, the cost is insignificant in comparison to the cost to our children and their futures if we fail to intervene on their behalf now. Only if they learn to read will our children have the chance to excel in subjects like math, science and social studies, and be empowered in all aspects of their lives. We know if a child can't read by the end of third grade, he or she is four times more likely to drop out of school.

The second initiative before the Legislature would redesign the system for evaluating our teachers and principals. We need to identify our greatest teachers, celebrate them and, yes, pay them more. New Mexico's current teacher-evaluation system places nearly zero weight on student performance, which means that those teachers working miracles in our classrooms receive no credit for their heroic efforts.

New Mexico teachers can reach the ceiling for pay in just seven years based only on years of experience and number of college degrees -- not how successful they are in teaching our kids. Our teachers deserve the satisfaction of being rewarded for their efforts. If a teacher continues to demonstrate excellence through improved student achievement, then she or he deserves a system that continues to reward those strides. We all should expect, and our children deserve, an evaluation that ensures our students are learning and excelling.

According to the 2011 Diplomas Count report, New Mexico loses 71 students every school day. When we say "loses," we mean these students will fail to graduate with a diploma. These children are our loved ones, our neighbors, our future, and, ultimately, our responsibility. If we're going to push education forward in New Mexico, we need to speak up for these reforms.

If these ideas sound like the kind of reform you want for our children, I urge you to join us. Please email us at school.
success@state.nm.us and we'll keep you updated on opportunities to support these initiatives. And please don't hesitate to call your legislator!

I love this Land of Enchantment because of its rich culture, history and passionate people. These three factors play an enormous role in our education system. Let's make sure we continue to honor the diversity of our state, learn from our history and move forward with real change for our children.

Hanna Skandera is the New Mexico Public Education Department secretary-designate.