In the 2018 Yazzie v. Martinez lawsuit, New Mexico was found not to be providing equitable education to low-income, Native American, and English language learners. Years later, many students living at or below the poverty level are facing hard decisions about continuing their education. One non-profit tries to address systemic poverty to help students stay in school and graduate.
COVID-19 unloaded a lot onto students. There are empty classrooms due to teacher shortages and reports that 1 in 4 young adults were treated for mental health during the pandemic. There's also pressure to help parents navigate the rising cost of living by getting part-time jobs.
The community school model focuses on providing support to the whole family so students can succeed. Julia Bergen is executive director for Communities in Schools in Santa Fe, which follows this strategy.
Bergen said the organization places youth development and social worker trained professionals in Title I schools and those site coordinators are seeing increased family expectations that their children will find work and help contribute.
"That young person is then confronted with a really difficult question: 'Do I stay in school and not honor my commitment and responsibility to my family, or do I drop out of school in order to support the family?' Bergen said.
Those site coordinators work to help connect families to access basic needs like rent and utility bills, access to food, and mental health supports.
Bergen said that once we can understand those challenges that students are carrying we can start removing those barriers so they can lean into school and receive a quality and equitable education, which she called an inalienable right.
This coverage is made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners.
