$1.98 Million Allocated to 34 Public School DistrictsTo Improve Student Achievement Through Technology

(Santa Fe, NM)--The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) announced today that 110 schools in 34 public school districts would share in $1.98 million in state Computerized Learning System Grant funding to develop computerized learning systems capable of diagnosing students’ skill deficiencies in the core academic areas of reading, language arts and mathematics. The systems will automatically prepare lesson plans to address those deficiencies.

A total of $2 million in funding was included in the General Appropriations Act of 2003. The funding was envisioned by State Rep. Ben Lujan, speaker of the House of Representatives, as a way to help teachers align curricula and standardized testing and better meet the needs of culturally diverse students. Governor Bill Richardson is committed to improved student achievement through the use of technology in the state’s schools. The remaining $16,465 will support further implementation and analysis of the program.

“A critical need exists in New Mexico’s schools, especially those that serve students in high-poverty areas, to target improved achievement in reading, language arts and mathematics. These grant dollars will enhance learning options in those areas and support increased student outcomes,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Veronica C. Garcia.

Funding levels for each district or charter school were based on student enrollment. The funding amounts for each district and the schools targeted are as follows:

Funding priority was given to schools serving a student population of 50% or greater that are eligible for free or reduced lunch and schools identified as probationary or for corrective action.

Under the Computerized Learning System Grant program, recipients must purchase one of two selected computerized learning systems from A+nyWhere Learning System® -- Educational Software Systems, Inc. of Cedar Crest, New Mexico, or The In$ite and Virtual Education System™ of Irvine, California. The two were selected by a team of classroom professionals and technology coordinators based on published criteria. Five vendors submitted applications to the NMPED in August.

The criteria included offering a computerized learning system capable of aligning the public schools’ curricula to the TerraNova and state standards-based tests, New Mexico’s content standards and benchmarks and adopted textbooks, diagnosing students’ skill deficiencies and automatically preparing lesson plans to address those deficiencies and measure objectives by grade level, providing reading, language arts and mathematics programs in English and Spanish and translating the programs into other languages and allowing teachers to extend and customize lessons.