NMiF revisits New Mexico’s classrooms

This week, New Mexico in Focus explores problems in the classroom which the state's new public education secretary will face.

Correspondent Russell Contreras sits down with Karen Sanchez-Griego, a former superintendent of the Cuba Independent School District. Sanchez-Griego speaks on the state's graduation rates and how public education can improve.

COVID, remote learning, returning to school and concerns about safety are all major challenges that have snowballed for students in recent years. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor speaks with two school counselors about the unique hurdles students are confronting and how they've impacted their mental health and coursework. Correspondent Gwyneth Doland interviews three St. John's College-affiliated authors about the value of a liberal arts education.

This fall, the Rio Grande corridor will be planted with thousands of milkweed plants, thanks in part to students from Sandia High School who put aside their textbooks for pots of soil and seeds. The "River for Monarchs" project is meant to help restore the Rio Grande's habitat and make the land more hospitable for the monarch butterfly.

NMiF airs on NMPBS 5.1 (KNME HD) on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 15 at 7 a.m., and streaming on the PBS video app.

NMiF Segments
Former Superintendent on Improving NM Public Education
Correspondent
Russell Contreras

Guest
Karen Sanchez-Griego, former superintendent, Cuba Independent School District

School Counselors Assess the Student Experience in 2023
Correspondent
Jeff Proctor

Guests
Bryan Gabaldon, school counselor, Highland High School
Devon Shelton, school counselor, Alameda Elementary School

St. John's College Authors on the Value of a Liberal Arts Education
Correspondent
Gwyneth Doland

Guests
John Agresto, author, former president, St. John's College
Patricia Sauthoff, author, St. John's College alum
Salvatore Scibona, author, St. John's College alum

River for Monarchs: Sandia High School Seed Workshop
Correspondents
Tara Walch & Michael Kamins

Guests
Tyler Turk
Erika Kent
Alexandra Blind
Joy Gbara
Jason Roback

Host
Jeff Proctor

New Mexico in Focus is the New Mexico PBS prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues, and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. NMiF takes a multi-layered look at social, political, economic health, education, and art issues and explores them in-depth with a critical eye to give them context beyond the "news of the moment."

NMPBS Executive Producer, Public Affairs, is Jeff Proctor. New Mexico in Focus's senior producer for public affairs is Lou DiVizio. "Our Land" Senior Producer is Laura Paskus. The producer of New Mexico in Focus is Antonio Sanchez, and co-producer is Kathy Wimmer.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by the McCune Charitable Foundation and Viewers Like You.

Funding for the Your New Mexico Government Project comes from the Thornburg Foundation and New Mexico Local News Fund.

The Neeper Natural History Programming Fund for KNME-TV provides funding for Our Land: New Mexico's Environmental Past, Present & Future.

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