Being raised in Texas, there is a certain pride of ownership of anything created in the Lone Star State. Dr. Pepper, cowboy boots and Southwest Airlines are three uniquely Texas products. However, the last item, Southwest Airlines, the company that came to live on a napkin is where I’ll focus the next few minutes.
The late Senator Ted Kennedy and I met at a luncheon in Washington DC. Though he and I end up on opposite sides of many political discussions, he represented something that is larger than any philosophical difference. To me, he represented a “comeback” kid and an ideologue whose family’s presence broke the proverbial glass ceiling for Irish Americans.
This week the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) announced its progress, or lack thereof, on improving the State’s high school graduation rate. The measure, called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), shows New Mexico’s 54% success rate is one of the worst in the United States, which has an average graduation rate of 70%).