[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHELLE ROSEN-HATCHER: In order to be successful in society,
you need to be able to read.
Right now in New Mexico, we have a big problem with kids
not reading at grade level proficiently by third grade.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
RYAN STEWART: For a long time in New Mexico,
we've seen too many children who haven't performed at the levels
that we know we need to.
We more so than almost any other state
have an abundance of students who
come to school facing circumstances of poverty.
So we have to design policies to really serve
those children well.
CHARLES SALLEE: Policymakers are bombarded with information
all the time.
They're overloaded with information.
And they rely on a team of nonpartisan staff
of the legislative finance committee
to advise them on their investment decisions
to get better results for the citizens of New Mexico.
The legislative finance committee
is made up of eight members of the House
and eight members from the Senate.
And its task is to develop a state budget
and make that recommendation to the full legislature.
We analyze all types of evidence, everything
from anecdotal information that people
bring to the committee saying this program
works to rigorous evaluations and analysis.
We've been fortunate to work with PEW Results First
Initiative since its inception.
It's been very beneficial in all areas
from criminal justice, education, behavioral health
care for both adults and kids.
This initiative has been very useful for us.
PATRICIA LUNDSTROM: Evidence for me is the continued, reliable
information that we can look to in terms of making decisions,
particularly when we're dealing with tax payers' money.
We have to understand specifically where it's going
and what those results are.
CHARLES SALLEE: One area that we've been focused
on as a state is legislating for results around early childhood.
We know that investing early can make big gains for kids
cognitively, behaviorally.
We were looking one year at our third grade reading outcomes
and found that, yes, kids that were participating
in New Mexico's pre-K program were showing up
more ready to learn than their low income peers that were not
getting the service.
TEACHER: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
CHARLES SALLEE: Just a couple of years
ago, New Mexico was spending about $150 million
on a suite of early childhood programs.
Through the research and recommendations
about what works in early childhood,
we're approaching over $500 million
with this budget in investments in things
that work to get better outcomes for our youth.
For example, today, almost 80% of 4-year-olds
have access to some form of publicly-funded preschool.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHELLE ROSEN-HATCHER: Kids Campus at Santa Fe Community College
is considered a Lab School and an early learning center.
We have 10 classrooms from two months to five years.
And that includes two pre-K classrooms.
Learning is relational.
It's not just you hold up a letter,
and this is the sound of that letter.
It has to be in relation to each other and a good teacher who's
a good facilitator.
Not all kids come to school the first day
with the same set of skills.
So the challenge for a teacher is
to be able to take all the different levels
that those kids come in with and develop a curriculum that's
going to really help them all get to the same level
so that when kids move on, they already
bring with them a great set of skills.
RYAN STEWART: As an educator, it's a beautiful thing
when you can look at the data on programs
that you really put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears
into getting up and running and see that it's really
making a difference because it's not just the end
goal that we increase reading and math scores or graduation
rates.
We're also trying to build the kinds of learning environments
that allow our children to think critically,
to collaborate, to have the kinds of 21st century skills
that will enable them to participate productively
in the workplace and in society.
CHARLES SALLEE: In some form or fashion,
state government is going to touch the lives
of individual New Mexicans.
And we have to make sure that it's functioning at a level
to get better results for them.
PATRICIA LUNDSTROM: We want to make sure that we're attaining something.
And with early childhood, parents
will come forward and say, gee, having
my son or daughter in this program
has really made a difference.
They've improved in their reading level,
in their math skills.
And parents know.
They can tell if a child is improving.
And we're proud of that.
We're proud to see that they're moving in the right direction.
MICHELLE ROSEN-HATCHER: This is our future.
This is the society we're all part of.
We know that early investment in childhood programs like this
will pay off in the long run because kids
are going to be productive citizens eventually if they
have a good start.
And we're at the forefront of that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]