As the director of licensure for the Public Education Department of
the State of New Mexico, I knew I had accepted a huge responsibility. I was
responsible for serving every public school district and every public school in
the state. Superintendents and principals depend on having appropriately
licensed teachers in every classroom to ensure that learning at the appropriate
pace occurs. For superintendents and principals, having a licensed teacher is a
must! My responsibility was to support these superintendents and principals
with their challenging, yet rewarding job.
When I accepted this responsibility, it took the Professional
Licensure Bureau 12 weeks to issue a license – from the time the application
was received until the license was viewable on the state website. As a
life-long educator, I knew this was not acceptable. The students, teachers, and
administrators in New Mexico schools deserved better. As an experienced
teacher, coach, and administrator, I knew that the problem was a systems issue.
A systems issue that had to be fixed. New Mexico students, teachers, and
administrators were depending on it. I knew that we needed to evaluate our
internal systems at the Professional Licensure Bureau. I knew that we needed to
evaluate what was working and what was not.
Fortunately, I had a dedicated staff of 10 individuals who were
willing to embark on this evaluation journey. I said at the beginning of our
efforts that the evaluation of our daily work would be hard but it would be rewarding.
I said that, if we stayed the course, we would like the results and New Mexico
schools would benefit. Through our evaluation process and constant monitoring
and adjustment, that dedicated staff cut the time in issuing licenses from 12
weeks to one week!
Who was the winner for implementing this evaluation effort?
New Mexico students, teachers, and administrators. Evaluation works!
Phil Baca
