Clovis schools lead state in 'ed fellows' participants

Clovis Municipal Schools leads the state in the number of teacher trainees participating in a program that gives the participants classroom experience while they accumulate college credits to obtain a full-fledged teaching license.

The participants are called “ed fellows,” and Clovis Municipal Schools has registered 43 of them, the largest number of ed fellows in the state, through the New Mexico Public Education Department’s Educator Fellows NM program, which is designed to help alleviate the state’s teacher shortages.

“During our first year, 2022-2023, we were able to have 36 ed fellows with a $1.31millon grant,” Mandy Carpenter, Executive Director for CMS Talent Management & Development said.

Carpenter then told NMPED that the program was working well for CMS, and that she’d love to be allowed to have more, if the funding was available.

“A few weeks ago, CMS was awarded $2.07M for 43 ed fellows for the 2023-2024 school year. During both years, CMS has had the largest participation in the state of the aspiring teachers in our school system,” Carpenter said.

CMS has proven to be successful in the program because of the dedication the district has demonstrated for the program from the very beginning, according to Carpenter.

“Each one of our building leaders wanted at least two fellows at each of their sites, so we made it happen,” Carpenter said. “I think there was a bit of a fear of the unknown from other districts, but we were all hands-on deck, jumping in headfirst from the start, and it has proven to be one of the most impactful programs we have been a part of in many years.”

The program is a two-year fellowship that “removes barriers for those interested in becoming licensed educators,” according to a CMS press release.

Statewide, the program has grown from 380 participants last school year to almost 500 this year.

Fellows are paid education assistant salaries, receive full health benefits and are given paid leave to attend up to 12 hours of college coursework a week, the release stated.

“Mandy has done an exceptional job,” said Amber Romero, the program’s administrator.

“When the ed fellows are not in their college courses, they are working in our schools as classroom EAs, and getting to put into practice the things they have just learned about in their college courses,” Carpenter said.

“We are planting seeds now, and with proper care, cultivation, and support, we will see the benefits in our New Mexico schools in years to come,” Romero said in the release.

For Carpenter, the hope is that this program will create a pipeline of educators that are invested in their individual communities upon graduation, and that those educators will become invested in staying in Clovis.

“If our staff and fellows know that we are working with them hand-in-hand on getting them through to graduation, that they are supported and cared about, then they are more likely to stay in Clovis,” Carpenter said.

Last year, Carpenter said CMS had three ed fellows that completed education degrees and were offered full teaching positions for the 2023-2024 school year. This year,another five are scheduled to finish in May. “My hope is that those 5 will also accept employment with CMS,” Carpenter said.