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Leaders lead – and in Doña Ana County, we are leaders in the state!
That’s why our people are going to be part of two projects currently underway with the New Mexico Public Education Department focused on strengthening the “bridge” between education and employment.
New Mexico secured two federal grants recently – one to develop the first curricula combining high school math and geometry instruction with high-demand, high-wage career applications – and the second to develop and deploy a next-generation approach to career exploration for students – bringing industry, education, and economic development into the same conversation.
Dr. Joseph Goins, president of NS4ed, is working in partnership with the state on both projects and is a long-time partner with The Bridge of Southern New Mexico. Thanks to the solid foundation of cross-sector relationships, career pathways and employer engagement built through the Workforce Talent Collaborative, the voices and involvement of Doña Ana County will be key players in both projects.
For the curriculum project, each lesson will be available online to all schools in New Mexico. Accompanying actual explanations of various careers will be testimonial videos of real New Mexicans doing these jobs in high-demand, skilled and technical high-wage careers.
They will answer questions like:
We are collecting interviews now. To participate, email TraceyBryan@thebridgeofsnm.org or call 575-646-2527.
For the second project, it’s only just the beginning, but our partners in this county will work with the project team on the initial design and testing. It helps address the issue that, as stated by the former head of the Association of Career and Technical Education, “Children cannot become what they cannot see.”
Traditionally, career awareness began in high school or college. This project backs it up into the middle schools, the ideal time to start exposing students to a host of careers they may never even have dreamed of pursuing, mostly because they simply didn’t know they existed.
The project will design a step-by-step progression of career awareness, understanding and planning from sixth through 12th grade. It will include a strong employer presence, mirror local workforce needs and support regional career and economic growth opportunities.
Thanks to the strong partnerships built by The Bridge of Southern New Mexico and among members of the Workforce Talent Collaborative, Doña Ana County will, once again, be ready to lead.