In April 2020, just weeks after the Governor’s office announced school closures for the remainder of the school year, the New Mexico Public Education Department demonstrated strong leadership and foresight and developed a program to support districts and students during the difficult and abrupt transition to full-time remote learning.
The new program, referred to as ENGAGE New Mexico, included the opportunity for LEAs around the state to opt-in to participation and refer students in grades 6-12 who were not engaged or not progressing in remote learning for outreach and on-going coaching support through the end of the school year.
The program results showed the potential impact of systematic, persistent, consistent outreach and support for disengaged students. But the program was invaluable for learnings obtained from the interactions with referred students and their families, understanding their true barriers and support needs, and ways to think about supporting families and students during anticipated periods of disruption in the coming months and years. These results and learnings are detailed in the whitepaper, which we hope will be of value to you as you plan for an uncertain future.
