That’s what SODA’s Principal Michael Ogas stresses most about Valencia County’s only state authorized charter school in Los Lunas.

The school, which is home to 15 teachers, 280 students and six computer labs, utilizes a cutting-edge software, or “courseware” program, called Education2020, which provides students with a virtual classroom setting on their computers that teaches them their core classes at their own pace.

The courseware creates a one-on-one experience for students, and since work is completed at a student’s own pace, a student is able to advance to the next grade level if they are able, as well as work on their assignments at home.

And of course, in addition to E2020, each class has a teacher to instruct and help students in person. The courseware is not only aligned to state standards, but national standards as well, meaning SODA students are being educated at a national academic level.

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Academic outcomes indicate the state’s traditional schooling system is not up to the task. New Mexico ranks 49th in fourth-grade reading proficiency; 48th in eighth-grade math proficiency; and 50th in graduation rates. Poor funding does not explain such poor performance.

Per-pupil education spending has increased 54 percent faster than the rate of inflation since 1991-92. With a $400 million budget deficit, such performance is no longer tenable — and state policymakers know it.

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