The High School Transformation Coalition brings together representatives from the New Mexico Public Education Department, Higher Education Department, Department of Workforce Solutions, tribal education departments, and workforce systems to achieve its purpose through program coordination, troubleshooting, data collection, and communications.
Our Purpose:
The purpose of the High School Transformation Coalition is to support, through implementation and technical assistance, the holistic transformation of high schools to become engaging places that prepare students to feel successful, secure in who they are, and ready for whatever path they choose. Ultimately, our aim is for this work to increase the health and prosperity of young people and their communities.
The Coalition will enable stronger programmatic coordination across multiple levels of government (local, state, tribal, and federal) and across multiple systems (K-12 education, higher education, and workforce development) to engage communities in developing graduate profiles to guide the experience of all high school students and creating schools that integrate:
- high quality, culturally-responsive instruction;
- core academics with challenging technical education through college and career pathways;
- youth leadership and voice;
- purposeful dual credit opportunities that are equitably accessible to students;
- high-quality work-based and experiential learning opportunities;
- robust, personalized supports and counseling; and
- meaningful capstone projects.
Our Mission:
The High School Transformation Coalition brings together representatives from the New Mexico Public Education Department, Higher Education Department, Department of Workforce Solutions, tribal education departments, and workforce systems to achieve its purpose through program coordination, troubleshooting, data collection, and communications. This Coalition is a tactically-focused, solution-oriented group, identifying systemic barriers, then developing tools and resources and mobilizing the key people across systems and organizations to enact needed change.
Year-One Outcomes (by June 30, 2023):
Focus on Learning
- Members of the High School Transformation Coalition establish meeting norms and identify shared values that will underpin their work together.
- Members understand the Innovation Zone initiative, from which the Coalition was created, as well as the purpose, mission, and outcomes of the Coalition.
- Members build trusting relationships with each other and, through these relationships, broaden and deepen their understanding of the diverse cultures, languages, and histories that are woven into the fabric of New Mexico.
- Members gain a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Martinez/Yazzie student groups (Native American students, students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students), as well as other marginalized student populations in New Mexico.
- Members get to know members of the College and Career Pathways Alliance and understand how the two groups are distinct, yet mutually supportive.
- Members are grounded in state and national research that relates to the Coalition’s purpose and how these approaches can improve outcomes for New Mexico’s diverse student populations.
- Members gain a deeper understanding about best and promising practices for high school transformation and innovation to advance college and career pathways that have the potential to be scaled statewide, as well as barriers that prevent such practices from being realized or fully implemented in New Mexico.
Potential Year-Two Outcomes (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024):
Focus on Planning and Action
- The High School Transformation Coalition develops a 2-3 year coordination plan, which includes a vision, goals, and prioritized strategies for high school transformation and innovation to advance college and career pathways in New Mexico.
- The Coalition develops a 1-year work plan, aligned to the strategic plan, that defines key milestones, short-term objectives, and actions that it will achieve prior to June 30, 2024.
- The Coalition develops an executive report detailing systemic barriers to student participation in college and career pathways programs, priorities for action during the 2023-24 school year, and initial recommendations concerning school recruitment strategies, the refinement or creation of best-practices guides and standards, and alignment of dual credit courses between college campuses and high schools.
- The Coalition engages with “end users” (students, families, employers, and others) to gather feedback and co-create solutions that address barriers identified in the executive report.
- The Coalition develops recommendations to address the priorities for action previously identified.
- The Coalition oversees implementation of the recommendations and provides support to break down barriers, as needed.
- The Coalition identifies systemic barriers that can only be removed through legislative or administrative action and communicates these barriers to the College and Career Pathways Alliance for further action.
Our Members:
- Michael Abernethy, Director of Education, Santa Fe YouthWorks
- Jeannie Baca, Associate Dean, University of New Mexico – Taos
- Joan Baker, Outreach Director, UA Local 412/ Southwest Piping Institute
- Gretchen Chase, Guidance Counselor and Early College Academy Advisor, Ruidoso High School
- Shafiq Chaudhary, Director, Math and Science, Public Education Department
- Curtis Clough, Superintendent, Hagerman Municipal Schools/ NMACTE Administrative Chair
- Dalene Coriz, Programs Coordinator, Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute
- Argelia Flores, Rising Together Program Manager, United Way North Central New Mexico
- Breezy Gutierrez, Interim Director, College and Career Readiness Bureau
- Jessica Hathaway, Senior Policy Analyst II, Legislative Education Study Committee
- B. Lee Hurren – Dean, College of Education and Technology at Eastern New Mexico University
- Sue Martin-Trujillo, Program Coordinator, Bridges Project for Education
- Caz Martinez, Charter School Leader/ Director, Las Montañas Charter High School
- Jody Martinez, PreK-12 Principal, Cimarron Municipal Schools
- Melanie Martinez, Education Manager, Pueblo of Santa Ana (Department of Education)
- Mónica Martínez-Archuleta, Community Outreach Specialist, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Severo Martinez, Director, Literacy, Public Education Department
- Michelle Montoya, Academic Counselor, Capital High School
- Valerie Montoya, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
- Alliyah Noor, Executive Director, College and Career Plaza
- Kevin Shendo, Education Director, Pueblo of Jemez
- Kenneth Stowe, MLSS/C&I, Public Education Department
