Think New Mexico

In 2023, Think New Mexico continued our ongoing effort to dramatically improve student outcomes in New Mexico's public schools. Think New Mexico launched this initiative in 2022 with the publication of a policy report titled, "a roadmap for rethinking public education in New Mexico," which laid out a sweeping ten point plan with 30 separate legislative recommendations to improve the performance of New Mexico's public school students. Think New Mexico also developed legislation to implement our proposed reforms and organized a diverse coalition of supporters to advocate for them. During the 2023 legislative session, several of Think New Mexico's proposed education reforms were enacted, including increasing learning time for students by the equivalent of 27 extra days a year for elementary school students and 10 extra days for middle and high school students, as well as securing funding for higher principal salaries and for teacher residencies, paid year-long experiences in which a New teacher teaches alongside an experienced teacher. During the 2024 legislative session, Think New Mexico successfully championed the enactment of legislation enhancing the training and transparency requirements for local school board members. This law will ensure that every school board member receives training in essential topics like how board members can improve student outcomes; public school budgeting and finance; and effective practices for supporting and supervising the local superintendent. The New law also brings New Mexico in line with the 44 states that require all school board candidates to disclose their donors, and will ensure that school board and charter school board meetings be webcast and the recordings and minutes posted online. Finally, in 2023 Think New Mexico continued its leadership internship program, which aims to retain a New generation of potential leaders in New Mexico by teaching them how they can make a difference in their home state. In 2023, the internship program served six students from across New Mexico, training them how to develop and enact sound public policy and introducing them to key policymakers and opinion leaders.