Our Focus Areas

Goal 1: The career of teaching is well-respected and attractive to prospective teachers

Decades of research make clear that high-quality teachers are the single most important in-school factor influencing student outcomes. Building on the Foundation’s successes advancing high-quality clinical teacher preparation, the Foundation is expanding its lens to strengthen the broader educator ecosystem. This includes supporting system-wide strategies to recruit talented educators, prepare them through rigorous training with opportunities for applied practice, and retain them through meaningful career pathways that recognize leadership, expertise, and professional mastery.

Strategies:

 

  • Highly competitive educator salaries. In leading education systems worldwide, teaching is a respected, well-compensated career that attracts top talent. The Foundation will partner with organizations to explore how competitive salaries—coupled with high expectations—can elevate the respect New Mexico affords its teachers and strengthen the pipeline of exceptional educators.

 

  • High-quality apprenticeship and residency programs. Research demonstrates teachers who undertake a clinical preparation program with strong mentorship and induction supports are more prepared for classroom instruction, stay in the classroom for longer, and contribute to stronger academic gains. The Foundation will continue its support for teacher and school leader residencies with the goal of supporting universal residencies for all incoming teachers.

 

  • Innovative staffing models and educator career ladder. The number one reason educators leave the profession is dissatisfaction with working conditions. Emerging innovations in school staffing structures demonstrate teachers crave autonomy, collaboration, and teamwork. The Thornburg Foundation will partner with organizations helping schools transition to innovative, team-based staffing strategies that provide teachers with dedicated time to collaborate and practice teacher leadership skills.

Goal 2. Students find meaning, value, and relevance in their education

Teacher in preschool classroom

The Foundation supports meaningful student experiences that connect strong academic instruction with real-world learning. The Foundations prioritizes rigorous core instruction through personalized, experiential, and project-based learning; expanding access to high-quality career and technical education; and investing in out-of-school learning opportunities that extend and enrich learning beyond the classroom.

  • Academically rigorous project-based, experiential learning.  Research demonstrates project-based, experiential learning programs accelerate academic gains by making rigorous academic curriculum more relevant and engaging to students’ interests and lived experiences. The Foundation makes grants to organizations to enhance the relevance of curriculum through project-based learning experiences, particularly in the elementary and middle school grades.

 

  • High-quality career and technical education (CTE). Career and technical education is delivering results in New Mexico; data has shown New Mexico students who participate in CTE graduate at higher rates than their peers. The Foundation will build on this success by partnering with organizations to improve program quality statewide, ensuring all students have access to high-quality, industry-aligned CTE programs that prepare students for in-demand careers.

 

  • Out-of-school time (OST) and summer learning programs. Too often viewed as optional, out-of-school time programs play a critical role in building students’ social, emotional, and academic skills. The Foundation makes grants to organizations well-positioned to elevate and expand system-wide access to high-quality, evidence-based OST, helping integrate OST learning as a core element of education in New Mexico.