Committed to being a charter school with a professional learning community that empowers teachers, New Mexico's South Valley Academy (SVA) staff transformed its state evaluation process into a practitioner action research process (Anderson, Herr, & Nihlen, 2007). While teachers self-diagnose growth needs and play active roles in improving…

The New Mexico Rural Revitalization Initiative (NMRRI), an innovative program to enhance the growth and development of rural communities, involves schools and students as part of a holistic approach. The program requires community members to take responsibility for revitalizing their economy and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit among students.

While state leaders understand the value of professional development, they also need to consider the costs. Such costs are some of the most difficult to calculate. If state leaders are going to pony up for improving the instructional skills of teachers and principals, they want to know that their dollars are well-spent. The same can be said for…

Full-release mentoring programs draw successful mid-career teachers away from classrooms, with the inherent risk that they will decide not to return to classroom teaching, thus eliminating the opportunity for future students to benefit directly from their expertise. This might be enough for some districts, particularly those struggling to retain…