Deb Haaland, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said Saturday that New Mexico’s education challenges rest with the adults and leaders responsible for shaping the state’s next generation.
The Haaland campaign team made its third visit to Shiprock on Saturday after winning 74% of the state party’s votes at the preprimary convention and receiving the endorsement of the New Mexico Voices for Children Action Fund.
She faces Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who received the remaining 26% of the vote.
“I believe wholeheartedly in the local economy and supporting my local economy,” Haaland said while visiting the Shiprock Flea Market. “This is a perfect place to spend some money, to meet people and to enjoy the amazing fry bread.”
Literacy, infrastructure, universal child care and after school programming are among the topics included in Haaland’s education plan, which was unveiled in January.
On literacy, Haaland said she believes the first step in detecting problems is supporting teachers in the classroom.
“If you are a teacher and you’re working every day with your classroom full of children, you will know specifically which children need more help,” she said. “You can do all kinds of tests and spend money on reading tests and bringing people in – but I feel that we really need to make sure that we’re trusting the teachers and the teachers aides and the education professionals that are in the classroom.”
Haaland also pointed to a lack of access to books in New Mexico as a barrier to early literacy.
“There are not enough children’s books right to go around. There are some households that just don’t have books to read, and so that’s another thing,” she said.
In January, the Haaland’s campaign delivered more than 350 children’s books to Read To Me! – ABQ Network, a regionwide nonprofit focused on promoting childhood literacy.
With universal child care receiving mixed reactions in San Juan County because of capacity and staffing concerns, Haaland said workforce training could help address those challenges.
“I’m sure there are a number of people right here in this community who, if they had the training, they would be able to go to work for an early childhood center,” she said. “I think training is one of the keys that we need to ensure that we’re bringing that workforce up to capacity.”
In her education plan, Haaland proposes improving child care provider benefits and career pathways, opening more child care facilities and growing the Early Childhood Trust Fund.
Improving and modernizing school facilities is another priority in the plan. Haaland said she has heard directly from school maintenance workers about the need for additional support.
One solution those workers have proposed, which Haaland said she supports, is providing training toward certification to reduce reliance on contractors.
“I feel like our schools can save money if we give opportunities for existing working staff to rise in their jobs – climb the career ladder, if you will,” she said. “They can learn these things, so that they can fix the things that are broken. If a child’s in a classroom and it’s winter outside and it’s too cold and they’re having to wear their coats inside, it’s a really challenging learning environment for them.”
Haaland said creating a priority list could help determine how schools receive infrastructure improvements and ensure transparency in the process.
Addressing the Martinez-Yazzie Action Plan, which has gone through several revisions, Haaland said she wants broad participation and openness as decisions move forward.
“I want everyone to come to the table,” she said. “There has to be complete transparency on how we’re moving forward with that decision. I want it to be something that people believe will service their children in the best possible way.”
Through her interactions with communities in San Juan County and the Navajo Nation, Haaland said she sees many issues as interconnected.
“When I went to the Northern Navajo Agency, I sat next to a woman who works for the U.S. EPA and asked me if I wanted to do a tour of the uranium sites – the abandoned mine land sites here,” she said. “There’s a lot of issues about the environment that affect the place where kids live, what they’re breathing and how they’re seeing the world.”
From environmental and infrastructure concerns to teacher salaries, Haaland said all of these factors influence how children view themselves and their communities.
“For me, it’s about the kids,” she said. “It’s about the future generations, because that’s what my ancestors thought about for me. They never thought about themselves.”
