PED Secretary Kurt Steinhaus

PED News:

• • • • • Money Earmarked for Engagement and Learning

SANTA FE – A $300,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will make it possible for the New Mexico Public Education Department to partner with educators to expand culturally and linguistically responsive instruction in social studies and art classrooms around the state.

“We are excited about this opportunity for education leaders to help ‘move the needle’ on learning activities that directly relate to a child’s background and culture,” PED Secretary Kurt Steinhaus said.

The grant award fits nicely with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s unwavering focus on education during her first term. In her inauguration speech last Sunday that kicked off her next four years in office, she spotlighted educators, calling them an investment that New Mexico’s students depend upon in their communities.

The Kellogg Foundation, created in 1930, funds projects that help vulnerable children succeed individually and contribute within their families and communities.

The two-year award will include in-person and virtual opportunities in regions and communities across the Land of Enchantment, the continuation of Communities of Practice in social studies and art, teacher stipends and coverage of leadership training conference fees.

“The dedicated staff at the Literacy and Humanities Bureau saw that there was a great need for providing teachers with professional development support that puts diverse student needs at the center,” said its director, Severo Martinez, adding that this is the first time his bureau has received a Kellogg grant. “It allows us to provide a variety of high-quality professional development, which is a crucial tool during this time of transition into the new social studies standards and in support of bolstering more robust art programs that focus on the whole child.”

Both teachers and students will benefit from the grant, according to Lorraine Archibald, PED humanities specialist who will oversee the management of the funds.

For example, projects will ensure social studies teachers are supported when it comes to the new standards and educators learn how to integrate art across content areas. They will be provided guidance about how to be “culturally competent and empowered to meet the needs of their students,” said Archibald.

Meanwhile, the grant will boost student engagement by emphasizing social and emotional well-being, in addition to valuing and celebrating cultural backgrounds.