Latest news with #NewMexicoEarlyChildhoodEducationandCareDepartment
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National pre-K report highlights New Mexico investments in enrollment, funding
New Mexico has significantly improved funding and enrollment in preschool, according to a recently released national report. (Photo courtesy of the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department) New Mexico's national rankings for preschool education have improved significantly due to increases in enrollment and funding, according to a recently released report. The National Institute for Early Education Research, a nonpartisan research organization established at Rutgers University, released its 2024 State of Preschool Yearbook last week, which looks at access to preschool, quality of programs and state funding. According to the report, New Mexico pre-K served record high percentages of children aged 3 and 4 between 2023 and 2024. The state improved to sixth in the country for preschool accessibility for 3-year-olds to 12th in the country for access for 4-year-olds – New Mexico was 13th in both areas in the previous report. New Mexico also moved from 14th to fifth in the country for state spending per child. The total amount spent by the state more than doubled from the previous year to nearly $212.9 million, which translated to about $13,200 per child, according to the report. The state appropriated nearly $100 million to the Early Childhood Education and Care Department from the Land Grant Permanent Fund, further increasing funding to pre-K programs, Head Start and other community-based programs. New Mexico was one of six states to increase funding by more than $100 million between 2023 and 2024, according to the report. 'These investments are part of a broader strategy to ensure that every child in New Mexico has access to high-quality, world-class early education and care, setting a strong foundation for lifelong learning and success,' Early Childhood Education and Care Department Sec. Elizabeth Groginsky told Source in a written statement. She said the NIEER report's findings reflect the steps the state has taken toward a 'cradle-to-career education system' for New Mexico children. She added that legislative investments have funded 20,375 preschool slots for fiscal year 2026. Kate Noble, president and CEO of advocacy organization Growing Up New Mexico, told Source NM that the $100 million appropriation was the largest increase in funding to early childhood in the state's history. 'New Mexico has, I think, been fortunate to have an administration and Legislature that really understands the importance of investing in early childhood, and they've been willing to make significant commitments,' Noble said. 'It's not just funding the system properly that's important, but it's also the way that we have…been holding it and talking about it in our communities.' Noble said expansions to funding play important roles in increasing enrollment, expanding classroom capacity and investing in teachers, but the idea of universal pre-K remains 'rooted' in New Mexico communities. The state now has a cycle, she said, of expanding funding, expanding community knowledge and engagement and therefore, expanding child participation. 'We have this sort of social appreciation for it that has also shifted measurably over the past six years since the Early Childhood Education and Care Department came into existence,' Noble said. The NIEER report also looks at several benchmarks such as teacher qualifications, class sizes, learning standards and health screenings. New Mexico met nine out of 10 benchmarks. The state fell short of the benchmark for all early education teachers to have a bachelor of arts degree. 'When states put money into quality preschool programs, they are investing in children's futures and can expect to see strong returns on their investments. New Mexico leaders have put the right quality standards and per-pupil funding levels in place to ensure that pre-K programs adequately support children's development and result in the lasting gains that ultimately deliver savings for taxpayers,' W. Steven Barnett, NIEER's senior director and founder, said in a statement. Noble said 'there's no question' that New Mexico is a leader in expanding early childhood education 'in its thinking, in its rhetoric and in its actions.' She added that the state should also start seeing the investments made in early childhood start to translate into positive outcomes as children grow and make their way through the educational system. 'Investment without quality is not going to get us anywhere,' she said. 'It does take time because children need to grow, but we have studied pre-K. It does have positive outcomes that extend into school-age years. And New Mexico has made significant investments and really should start to reap the benefits of what we've done.' Noble told Source that she believes the state needs to show a similar focus on home visiting, a program that supports families and can often be a first step in screening for developmental delays in children aged 0 to 3. Home visitors can then refer families for early intervention to help mitigate delays before a child enters K-12 school. She said there also needs to be a focus on early childhood workforce in the state through professional development and increased wages to reflect the 'benefit to society' they provide. Groginsky told Source that the state is working to support educators through a pay parity program, matching compensation between early childhood teachers and K-12 teachers based on 'credentials and experience.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Concerns mount over Head Start programs for children
New Mexico officials say Heads Start programs in the state are stable for now. (Photo courtesy of the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department) New Mexico officials say Head Start remains stable for now in the state amid mounting concerns about federal efforts to dismantle the program. While Head Start funding has been an ongoing issue since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, recent reports that the Trump administration seeks its elimination have ramped up pushback. On Monday, several Head Start providers and parent associations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with Secretary Robert. F. Kennedy Jr., for unlawfully attempting to demolish Head Start programs and going against Congress' mandate to operate such programs in the country. 'All parents deserve the opportunity to provide a better life for their children,' Candice Vickers, executive director of Family Forward Oregon, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement provided by the ACLU. 'Head Start gives children and families, including Black, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Latinx, and immigrant children and families, a fair opportunity to work towards a better life. Taking this program away continues cycles of poverty and unfairly targets the children and families it was created to support.' New Mexico Democrats U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján signed onto a letter this week, along with 40 other U.S. senators, to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'demanding' that the administration unfreeze funding to Head Start programs and 'reverse' mass firing of program employees. Luján frequently comments on his time in Head Start as a child, and points out that he is one of two Head Start graduates to serve in the U.S. Senate. 'Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year,' the letter reads. 'It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.' The letter also points to a statement made by the National Head Start Association in February, which claimed that programs in 23 states that were awarded federal grants were having problems accessing the money. The association projects more programs have been impacted in the following months. New Mexico, according to the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department's February 2025 fact sheet, has 2,233 funded Early Head Start slots for New Mexico children and 5,457 funded Head Start slots. Programs provide accessible childcare and prepare children up to 3 or 4 years of age from low-income families to enter school successfully. Programs also provide meals to children and access to community resources for families at no cost. Thus far, they remain unaffected, officials told Source. 'New Mexico Head Start programs are still able to access funds, and we have had no reports of interruptions. We have been in close contact with our Head Start programs to ensure that services continue without disruption,' Julia Sclafani, spokesperson for New Mexico's early childhood department, told Source NM in a written statement. 'We are monitoring developments regarding the proposed closure of regional Head Start offices and any potential federal funding cuts.' And while the future of Head Start programs is uncertain at this time, Sclafani added that 'the State of New Mexico remains firmly committed to supporting early childhood services, including maintaining access to Head Start programs for children and families.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
