Growing Our Own: Building New Mexico’s Future Educators

As Daniel Madrid stepped into his role at this year’s Educators Rising New Mexico conference, he wasn’t just competing alongside his fellow aspiring educators – he was helping lead them. A junior at Santa Rosa High School and the state vice president of Educators Rising New Mexico, Daniel has grown up around educators, raised by parents who dedicated their own careers to teaching the next generation. He has watched firsthand the quiet but lasting impact they’ve had on generations of students, and now, through his internship at an elementary school, he is beginning to see that impact reflected in his own work.

“Just in the couple of months that I have been there, I have seen the changes I have made and the impact I have made on students, especially being a male educator,” Daniel said of his internship.

For Daniel and many other high schoolers just like him, becoming a teacher isn’t just a career path; it is a continuation of a legacy. While his story is deeply personal, it is not unique.

Across New Mexico, schools have faced ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining teachers, particularly in rural and high-need communities. Staffing shortages in recent years have made strengthening the educator workforce a central focus for education leaders across the state. In response, the New Mexico Public Education Department has focused on expanding early educator preparation pathways that introduce students to the profession while they are still in high school.

While policy conversations often center on vacancies and hiring numbers, the future of the profession is also being shaped much earlier through high school career technical education pathways.

This is where programs like Educators Rising come in. Gathered this year in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico, students from across the state participated in the annual Educators Rising New Mexico conference, a statewide event that brings aspiring educators together to compete, collaborate, and build the skills needed for future classrooms. Throughout the conference, students take part in competitive events, leadership sessions, and professional development activities designed to introduce them to the real expectations of the teaching profession.

For many, this early exposure is the foundation on which their long-term career will stand. The work mirrors what future teachers will be expected to do in college education programs and, eventually, in classrooms of their own.

Educators Rising operates directly within the PED’s Career Technical Education framework, meaning it is not a simple after-school club or activity. It is a defined career pathway. Students enroll in education-focused coursework, participate in internships, and gain early exposure to the professional standards of teaching.

Educators Rising operates directly within the PED’s Career Technical Education framework, meaning it is not a simple after-school club or activity. It is a defined career pathway. Students enroll in education-focused coursework, participate in internships, and gain early exposure to the professional standards of teaching.

For many students at the conference, becoming a teacher is not just about entering the profession; it’s about returning to serve their own communities. In a state as culturally and linguistically diverse as New Mexico, that matters deeply. The PED has prioritized strengthening bilingual education and ensuring classrooms are led by educators who understand the language and lived experiences of their students.

For Ruidoso High School sophomore Mia Magaña, that vision was clear as she competed in the children’s literature competition – in Spanish.

“It means a lot to me allowing others to know and recognize my culture and where I come from,” Mia said when asked what it means to her to be on the pathway to becoming a bilingual educator. “My family obviously means a lot to me, and it makes me very grateful knowing that I can come out and tell people about where I came from and how it was growing up in a bilingual program.”

Meeting students’ linguistic and cultural needs is just one part of building strong classrooms, but it is not the only one. Today’s students are growing up in a different world from the generations before them, shaped by new technologies, social pressures, and evolving family dynamics.

For Educators Rising New Mexico state president and senior at Hatch Valley High School, Marfyll Alcala Cisneros, understands that those generational changes are just as important as understanding language and culture. She believes effective teaching requires adapting to the unique challenges and realities students face today and being ready to meet them where they are.

“I went into Educators Rising because of everything going on within the teaching world. With these generations, things change, times change,” Marfyll said. “You should want to actually find the way your students learn the best, the way they comprehend everything.”

Together, these students reflect a broader effort led by the PED to strengthen New Mexico’s educator workforce from within. By investing in structured CTE pathways and leadership development programs, the state is cultivating future teachers who understand their communities and the evolving needs of today’s classrooms.

“It is a long-term strategy rooted in preparation and sustainability – building a generation of educators who are not only qualified, but deeply connected to the students they will one day serve,” said PED Secretary Mariana D. Padilla.

Through the state’s long-term vision, some of New Mexico’s future classrooms may be just miles from where these students began their teaching journey. Led by educators who understand their students’ language, culture, and generation because they once shared it.

Through intentional investments in career technical education pathways, early classroom experience, and leadership development opportunities like Educators Rising, the New Mexico Public Education Department is working to strengthen the state’s educator workforce for the long term. By introducing students to the profession while they are still in high school, the PED is helping build a pipeline of future teachers who understand the communities they come from and the students they hope to one day serve.