State director addresses communities, schools....
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of Searchlight New Mexico interviews with education activists in the state. The conversations span the gamut from language immersion to teacher shortages, child trauma and what it takes to finally reform New Mexico’s schools. It was just two days into the school year and Julia Bergen already was dealing with two cases of student homelessness. Then she heard about an influx of Guatemalan migrant children just released from federal detenti

Helping Hands: Communities In Schools!
It’s 7 a.m. on a Thursday morning, and Stephanie Walther is heading to work at Aspen Community School. Unlike the teachers in her school who arrive with the day’s lesson plan, Stephanie is concerned about whether some of the families from her school had a bed to sleep in last night, if she will have enough snack packs for the kids who will pass through her classroom for extra food, and how many students her volunteer tutors will be able to help out today.
Stephanie is a si


Communities In Schools Summer Intern Heads to College!
Behind the scenes this summer at Communities In Schools of New Mexico (CIS), we were thrilled to have Jocelyn Solis (Capital High CIS student, class of 2019) as our summer intern to manage the School Supply Drive!
It was so rewarding to have a CIS graduate work with our administrative team. Jocelyn created Amazon Wish Lists, wrote social media posts, interfaced with our business sponsors, and helped pick up, deliver, and distribute the supplies collected for our CIS schools


Our View: Helping Out With Back-To-School Supplies
It takes a village to prepare for back-to-school. Not to kill the summer buzz, but the start of the school year is just around the corner. And that means getting ready — buying school clothes, getting physicals and, of course, purchasing school supplies. For many families, school supplies are just another cost they can’t cover. That’s why so many organizations are raising money or gathering supplies to help make sure children and teachers have what they need once classes begi
