SY 25-26 First Virtual Counseling Community of Practice Event - Wednesday, Oct. 29th. Register now by clicking HERE.
Operation Graduation. Secretary Padilla has announced the goal of graduating 2,400 more students with the class of 2026. The New Mexico Public Education Department will be offering regional support to educators, parents, and students. The regional convenings, known as Operation Graduation, will be held in a location near you.
Sessions for school district personnel such as superintendents, principals, counselors, teachers, and registrars will be from 12 – 4p.m. Sessions for parents and students will be from 5:15 – 7:30 p.m. All districts and families from the surrounding areas are invited. Topics will include:
Coursework Requirements
Assessment Requirements
Diploma Pathways
Students with disabilities
Transcript audits
MLSS
Gifted
Next Step Plan
Graduate Profiles
Dropout prevention and attendance
At-risk populations
Please join us for our first regional convening in Portales on Monday, October 20, 2025. Eastern New Mexico University, Becky Sharpe Auditorium, 1500 S Ave K, Portales, NM. Stay tuned for updates about future convenings. Questions? Email: Grad.Questions@ped.nm.gov.
Opportunity Gap Workshop. If your district plans to apply for CTE funding next year, attendance is required at one of the sessions: October 27 in Albuquerque or October 28 virtually. Register here today
Introducing New Leadership on the NM School Counselors Team
Judy Cruz is the School Counselor Specialist with the NMPED. Judy has worked with the NMPED for 3 years, overseeing graduation requirements and work-based learning initiatives. Judy brings over 20 years of experience as a school counselor, across all levels and in various roles (career, special education, academic, and crisis intervention counselor). Judy is from Silver City where she lives with her husband, daughter who is in middle school, and son who is in elementary school. Judy can be reached at Judith.Cruz@ped.nm.gov
Gabriela Marquez (Gaby) is dedicated to supporting school counselors in their mission to foster safe, inclusive, and supportive environments that empower every student to reach their fullest potential. Through advocacy, empathy, and proactive guidance, she helps counselors stay informed on best practices and state regulations. With over 30 years of experience in education, 25 in multiple levels of school counseling, Gaby brings a wealth of expertise to her role. She began her career as a bilingual 4th-grade teacher before serving in administrative and school counseling positions across elementary, middle, and high schools. Most recently, she worked in a large district alongside campus counselors, where she focused on providing direct support to their daily work. Originally from Anthony, New Mexico, Gaby is the proud mother of three grown children—all graduates of New Mexico schools. Gaby can be reached at Gabriela.Marquez@p2c.org.
Dr. Joseph Goins, founder and CEO of Pathway2Careers, has been working with the College and Career Readiness Bureau of the New Mexico Department of Education since 2016. He started his work focused on helping the state build its Early College High School community, but later partnered with New Mexico to secure $48 million in Federal grants to build out New Mexico’s first-of-its-kind career-connected learning resources: Pathway2Careers Career Explorer, Math (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, Geometry, and the new Math Bridge intervention curricula, and the Disability Innovation Fund grant that makes all of those tools accessible, as well as the Labor Market Navigator, which helps counselors, teachers, and students explore the state’s careers in the context of the new Modernized Career Clusters Framework. Joseph can be reached at Joseph.Goins@p2c.org.
Building the Bridge from Classroom to Career:
The New Mexico Resource Hub for CTE
The CCRB has partnered with Pathways2Careers to create a CTE resource hub for New Mexico, supporting the state’s goal of ensuring that students statewide are career-ready and equipped with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet the needs of their local economy. Students thinking about their future and preparing Next Step Plans can use the information on the new Resource Center to work alongside counselors on charting their career journeys. The site includes real-time labor market information by Career Cluster and Sub-Cluster, credential and degree pathways, Career and Technical Student Organizations, Career Pathways, and more. To visit the New Mexico Resource Center for CTE click here.
Resources
The New Mexico State of the Workforce report is published annually and provides information and analysis on what New Mexico’s workforce looks like and how it’s growing. It also highlights employment in the state’s industries alongside occupational employment and wages. This, coupled with data on skills and education, evaluates not only the existing workforce and job market but also the future supply and demand of jobs and workers. Click here to view the New Mexico 2025 State of the Workforce.
Pathway2Careers Career Explorer and Math (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, Geometry, and the new Math Bridge intervention curricula) are available to all NM educators at no cost. Explore online math lessons for core secondary math courses with integrated career-connected learning, customized labor market data, and career exploration tools. Request your free account by filling out the Get Started form. For more information or to set up complimentary professional development, contact tiffany.walker@ped.nm.gov or charles.santistevan@ped.nm.gov.
As part of the recently awarded Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Grant, the NM PED and P2C are developing career story videos that showcase the journeys of individuals with disabilities. We are looking for volunteers to share their career stories! Click here to learn more about volunteering.
2026–27 FAFSA® Form Now Available!
Federal student financial aid is the best place to start seeking money for college or career training. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the most important application for federal assistance and the only way to get access to federal student loans, grants, and work-study programs. Submit your FAFSA application as early as possible; some aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
