Excellent Schools New Mexico

02/08/2023

Our legislative field trip included a wonderful meeting with Scott Groginsky from Gov. Lujan-Grisham's office.

02/08/2023

Today, a group of fellows from the Changemakers Fellowship and the Parents Together Fellowship participated in a legislative field trip. They are meeting with members of the legislature, the governor's office, and national education leaders to learn about how the New Mexico legislative process works.

01/17/2023

This week, Excellent Schools New Mexico and NewMexicoKidsCAN, brought our 2nd Cohort of Changemakers together for their fourth convening.

Fellows learned about “The Opportunity Myth” from Kristin Oliver and Kasey Johnson of TNTP and heard a presentation from Jade Rivera, Founder and Executive Director of Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School. Fellows also toured Albuquerque Collegiate to see what strong instruction looks like first hand.

01/13/2023

Just released! In collaboration with Bluum and the Colorado League of Charter Schools, we are excited to share our new report, “Charters and Public School Choice Out West: Lessons and Challenges from Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico.” This report discusses the strengths and the challenges of quality charter school growth in our three states, highlights the successes of several of our portfolio schools, and spotlights the work of our local partners, including the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, NewMexicoKidsCAN, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico, and Teach Plus New Mexico.

12/01/2022

Congratulations to Mission Achievement and Success Charter School , which just received a $3M grant from MacKenzie Scott (and thank you to the Albuquerque Journal for featuring MAS on today’s front page)! This grant will allow MAS improve its current offering, provide more services to students, and serve more families.

In 2018, Excellent Schools New Mexico made the first startup grant to MAS to help the school replicate its first campus and significantly grow its enrollment. We continue to be strong supporters of MAS and are grateful to see the school receive the recognition and support that it deserves! 👈🏼👀

ABQ charter school to receive $3M from philanthropist

11/30/2022

We are grateful for our partnership with NewMexicoKidsCAN and look forward to our third Changemakers convening in December!

10/14/2022

In August, Thrive Community School opened its doors to approximately 115 students in Santa Fe. At full-scale, THRIVE will serve 600 students in grades K-8, and the school is the first new public charter school authorized in Santa Fe in over a decade.

Excellent Schools New Mexico is proud to support the launch of THRIVE, having made the first startup grant to the school's founding team last year. Congratulations to THRIVE's co-founders, Amy Chacon, Sean Duncan, and Julie Lucero, and to THRIVE's founding staff and families for taking this big step towards creating more high-quality public school options for New Mexico's kids!

09/30/2022

A big "thank you" to New Mexico Education for highlighting the great work taking place at Altura Preparatory School, a grades K-5, Title I school in Albuquerque. Teach Plus New Mexico recently honored Altura Preparatory School and its co-founders, Lissa Hines and Meaghan Hindman, for the school's innovative staffing model. Altura Prep currently ranks in the top 1% of all New Mexico public schools statewide in student proficiency in all tested subjects - Reading, Math, Early Literacy, and Science.

Excellent Schools New Mexico made the first startup grant to Altura Prep's founding team in 2018, and we continue to celebrate the students, families, staff, and leadership team who have put in the hard work to make this school a great option for all families in Albuquerque.

At Altura Preparatory, teachers are given more time to thoroughly teach their subject area, providing students with a learning environment where each subject is taught with fidelity and dedication to student mastery.

09/27/2022

NewMexicoKidsCAN and Excellent Schools New Mexico are excited to announce the 2022-2023 New Mexico Changemakers class! Changemakers is a nine-month fellowship that equips New Mexico community leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to positively impact our state's K-12 public education system. Find out more about this year's class: https://www.nmchangemakers.org/

09/26/2022

We're excited to be part of what THRIVE is doing in Santa Fe!

The new charter school moved into the campus on Old Santa Fe Trail formerly occupied by Desert Academy.

07/22/2022

We are looking forward to launching the 2nd cohorts of our Changemakers and Parents Together Fellowships this fall, and applications are now open for both fellowships!

The Changemakers Fellowship is a nine-month program that equips New Mexico community leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to positively impact our state’s K-12 public education system today. All New Mexicans are welcome to apply, and we especially encourage applications from individuals who work outside of our K-12 public education system. The application can be found at nmchangemakers.org.

The Parents Together Fellowship is a seven-week program focused on growing the number of New Mexico parents who have the knowledge and skills necessary to become better advocates for their children and communities. New Mexico parents and caregivers are encouraged to apply, and the application can be found at nmparentstogether.org.

Please reach out to Scott Hindman ([email protected]) or Steve Ulibarri ([email protected]) with questions.

07/08/2022

In mid-May, Mission Achievement and Success Charter School hosted its fifth Senior Signing Day, where MAS seniors announced their post-secondary plans to their classmates, teachers, families, and other local leaders. Impressively, 100% of MAS seniors graduated, and 100% of these graduates were accepted into a college or the military. 94% of MAS seniors will be the first in their families to graduate from college, and perhaps staggeringly, 46% of MAS seniors were the first in their families to graduate from high school!

In 2018, Excellent Schools New Mexico made the first startup grant to MAS to help the school replicate its first campus. At the time, MAS served approximately 800 students, with over 1,000 students languishing on a waiting list. Next year, MAS will serve nearly 2,400 students across two campuses in Albuquerque, with both campuses ranking among the top schools in both Albuquerque and New Mexico.