By WHITNEY HOLLAND
President
AFT New Mexico

The beginning of the school year can be an exciting time! New and returning students and their parents filling our halls, cafeterias, busses, and classrooms, and the entire community is abuzz with activity.

As an educator, this is always my favorite time of year, and as educators, seeing the faces on our students helps to remind each of us about the importance of our work and our love for this professional calling.

We also know that the beginning of the academic year can bring unexpected challenges – broken air conditioners, different bell schedules, and other unexpected challenges that can be a distraction from teaching and learning. Your local union can assist you in working through these issues. If your year has not started like you expected, please reach out to your local AFT union – we are always here to help.

Every educational employee is a critical part of ensuring that our students in New Mexico’s public education system are successful both during their time at school, but also as part of their future higher education or career. We all have a part to play in laying a solid foundation for every student.

Our profession is growing daily, and we know that strength also comes from keeping the best interests of our students at the forefront of our work. Having a strong, statewide union ensures that our fights for less testing and greater opportunities for authentic learning, greater local control, more opportunities for career technical education, and closer attention to equitable education are heard by decision makers in Santa Fe.

As educators, our union also fights for our profession. We believe there is tremendous dignity in our work, and we strive for greater respect, autonomy, increased local decision-making, living wages for all educational employees, and a return to the belief that educators – from early education through higher education – are the backbone of our communities, schools, and educational institutions. Every day that you work in our profession is a chance to exemplify these values we all share.

I strongly encourage you to join your union today if you have not already – being active and building power at the local level allows us to keep public education in New Mexico student and educator-focused and allows us to use our collective voices to create opportunities to achieve the visionary, world-class public education our students deserve.

We are stronger together!

In Solidarity,

Whitney Holland