Art, Music and Salad

This All Saint’s Day November 1^st will be my 5^th year in Santa Fe. It has been an inspiring, exhilarating, uplifting and patience-seeking time. Santa Fe has the reputation of being a culturally unique and creative space.

Students in this photo (right) off Agua Fria Road posed with permission in front of one of Santa Fe’s most beautiful murals. When asked to pose for a ‘peace photo’, they readily agreed. A word about the Railyard, it houses Warehouse 21 a youth center for the arts, music and teen space an important innovation in this town as there is not much ‘hang-out space’ other than with sports teams, part time jobs or gang related trouble zones.

The gang problem is real here as evidenced by two students this past year tragically killed by kids with guns. But graffitied walls allotted to students who have violated graffiti regulations are also everywhere. We are supposed to be the #3 art market in the US. In addition to the fancy Canyon Road, Site Santa Fe is an open space art exhibit near the newly created Railyard. Next door is a Farmer’s Market and adjacent there is a sustainable garden exhibit run by some of the schools with water rocks and acequia (acequia are the southwestern irrigation ditches which have been here for 100’s of years) to demonstrate water conservation and use.

A remarkable part of Santa Fe is the convergence of fiction and reality. We have a fantastic NM Film Office which attracts film makers with tax incentives and enticements for hiring local set designers, artists and couturiers. No Country for Old Men (and I guess women) was filmed in the state. We have a school system which tries to involve the arts in all aspects of student life and some marvelous time for celebration. For instance, this Saturday October 15^th will be a Santa Fe Music Fest beginning on Canyon Road and featuring some of our students and teachers. But our schools’ track record in passing standardized testing is dismal:

“The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED), in compliance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, is required to assess our schools to determine whether they have made adequate yearly progress (AYP) which means that they have met the academic testing standards set by the state. This year, all of our secondary schools did not meet the required academic standards that have been established by the NMPED.”

Whole Foods Supermarket has a large bright red apple painted on their exit sign saying that they contribute to healthier life styles for children by providing organic food and salad bars for Santa Fe Public Schools. So I contributed $1 because here is a place where it is really possible to get something done about student appetites and diet. Our students tend to be very active with lots of sports activities in their lives and healthy menus-- Beans, vegetables and salad. New Mexican and Mexican style tacos, frito pies, pizza with green chile and ‘christmas’ burritos are a standard. My favorites are chiles rellenos and chicken with mole. How one longs for these specialties when gone from Santa Fe!

Hyde Park nearby offers a magnificent place to peep at the leaves and marvel at fall foliage. Most adults take advantage of the outdoors recreation possibilities but fewer young people have ever been or taken a hike in the Sangre de Christo mountains about a mile from our school.

A bright spot in my school is our Capital Green Project a community garden started about two years ago by some dedicated faculty, students and local officials. Earth Care, a local non-profit has taken the lead in stimulating more green spaces with training for facilitators. Teachers unite science, language and social studies curricula to this outdoor hands-on space. Earth care has seconded Americorps volunteer, Katie Maley to the garden project. Katie and I taught students how to use a compass, striding and different types of soil for my NM History class. Another teacher uses Spanish vocabulary acquisition to her lessons and another science teacher has started a composting project.