New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham served as a substitute teacher Wednesday. She decided to step in as the state faces a teacher shortage due to COVID-19.
"Yesterday I was glad to be one of many state employees and National Guard members around the state volunteering as substitutes in classrooms across New Mexico," the Democrat said in a tweet that showed her working with a student.
Yesterday I was glad to be one of many state employees and National Guard members around the state volunteering as substitutes in classrooms across New Mexico.
Together we are supporting educators, students, and families and keeping schools open safely. pic.twitter.com/Ae4n4qQSO3
— Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) January 27, 2022
Lujan Grisham volunteered in a kindergarten class in Santa Fe, days after she asked the New Mexico National Guard and state employees to do the same.
“Our kids, our teachers and our parents deserve as much stability as we can provide during this time of uncertainty, and the state stands ready to help keep kids in the classroom, parents able to go to work and teachers able to fully focus on the critical work they do every single day in educating the next generation," she previously said.
All volunteers have to pass a background check and complete an online substitute teaching workshop, which the governor did.
According to KOB 4, the NBC affiliate in Albuquerque, Lujan Grisham said she learned a lot from the experience and plans to apply that knowledge to ensure improvements are made in the state's education system.
