REGIONAL EDUCATION COOPERATIVE VII
April Williams, MS CCC-SLP  Executive Director

April currently serves as the Executive Director for the Regional Education Cooperative VII. The REC 7 serves the following member districts: Hobbs Municipal Schools, Eunice Public Schools, Jal Public Schools, and Tatum Public Schools. She has had the opportunity to work and serve in member districts through the years. April began work as the Executive Director of REC7 in July of 2023.

April lives in Seminole, Texas, and is licensed as a Speech Language Pathologist in Texas and New Mexico. She has 32 years of service in Special Education, which includes 28 years as a Speech Language Pathologist. She has served as a speech-language pathologist in both Texas and New Mexico, where she has had the opportunity to serve students and their families through therapy, evaluations, and IEP/ARD meetings. Further, she has had the opportunity to collaborate, train, and work with invaluable staff to determine how to best meet students' needs

April and her husband have five children and three grandbaby boys, and they love to spend their free time playing golf.

In 1984, the New Mexico State Board of Education established Regional Center Cooperatives (RCC’s) under SBE Regulation No. 84.6. In 1993, the New Mexico State Legislature created Regional Education Cooperatives, Act 22-2B-1 to 22-2B-6, NMSA 1978, as “state agencies administratively attached to the Public Education Department”.

Unlike educational service agencies in other states, Regional Education Cooperatives (REC’s) receive minimal direct, state funding to support the programs and services they provide. Their existence and success depends upon providing programs and services that would otherwise be cost prohibitive to their member districts. The REC’s depend upon revenues from contracted delivery of services to districts, grants, inter-governmental agreements, and joint-powers agreements.

RECs are a vital and necessary component of New Mexico's education system and will continue to serve as a conduit and delivery system for New Mexico's school improvement and educational reforms.

Special Education Services
  • technical assistance and support
  • child find
  • professional development and support
  • SDAA-Activity J&M state performance            indicators

Fiscal Management
  • leadership for grants and   initiatives
  • cooperative purchasing for cost savings
  • consortiums
  • intergovernmental agreements

Vision-driven Education Services
  • support for educator effectiveness
  • implementation of statewide initiatives
  • educator professional development             based on district's needs
  • advocacy for districts needs

THE ASSOCIATION

NM RECA MAP 

The New Mexico Regional Education Cooperatives Association (NMRECA) is comprised of ten Regional Education Cooperatives that are located throughout New Mexico supporting 89 school districts, charter schools and state-supported schools, with direct services to 68 member districts.

NMRECA was organized in 1997 by the Executive Directors of the regional education cooperatives.

NMRECA envisions a system of regional and statewide collaboration that ensures all New Mexico children, families, schools, and communities receive high-quality and comprehensive education and health services.

NMRECA is affiliated with the NM Coalition of Educational Leaders (NMCEL), Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), and National Staff Development Council.

New Mexico's ten REC's are geographically distributed across the state and support all 89 school districts and state supported schools and provide direct services to 68 member districts.

RECs are a vital and necessary component of New Mexico's education system and will continue to serve as a conduit and delivery system for New Mexico's school improvement and educational reforms.