The New Mexico Public Education Department announced a $7.4 million investment in community schools last week, awarding grants to 68 schools with high numbers of students from low-income families.
The funding represents the continuation of the New Mexico Community Schools Act, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in 2019. In a news release, the education department said the number of schools applying for grants has increased in the years since the law's passage.
A "Community School" is a school that partners with outside organizations to provide students with resources that might improve academic success, such as health care, after-school programming and food.
“This is not more money for programs but a new way of doing school,” Feliz Garcia, Community Schools director for the education department, said in a news release. “These schools are opening up, becoming hubs of their communities, and that changes everything.”
The strategy is meant to align with New Mexico's response to the landmark Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, which deemed the state's education system constitutionally inadequate for the majority of students.
Eight Santa Fe public schools received funding this year. César Chávez Elementary School is receiving its fourth year of funding, worth $75,000. Santa Fe High School was awarded $150,000 for its third year of funding. Kearny Elementary School, Milagro Middle School and Nina Otero Community School all received $150,000 for their first year of implementation.
Amy Biehl Community School and Chaparral Elementary School both received $50,000 planning grants, to begin implementing programming after the upcoming 2022-2023 school year.
Public Education Department unveils "Innovation Zones"
The New Mexico Public Education Department announced last week it has selected 20 high schools in the state to become "Innovation Zones" for a new pilot project.
The schools will receive funding awards of between $150,000 to $750,000 to "re-imagine" the high school experience by implementing work-based and experiential learning. The funding comes from the 2022 legislative session, part of the General Appropriations Act's set-aside for career and technical education initiatives. Schools will receive technical assistance and professional development as well.
The goal is to identify ways to raise graduation rates in the state by making high school more "relevant," according to a news release about the pilot project. The education department is also hoping to see an increase in the number of students attending college after graduation, taking dual-credit courses during high school and getting work-based learning experiences.
Awardees include eight districts: Alamogordo, Aztec, Hatch Valley, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Silver City and Zuni. Six Las Cruces high schools and four Rio Rancho schools are participating.
