Project Partners
The goal of The Expanding Opportunities Project is to recruit and retain school-based mental health (SBMH) providers to serve the needs of students across the state, with a focus on rural and frontier communities that have a high percentage of at-risk and vulnerable student populations.
New Mexico Schools
The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) is collaborating with selected NM schools to coordinate program activities that support SBMH provider recruitment and retention. Most schools across the state are included in the project, with criteria based on demographics, geographic location, lack of access to SBMH resources, poverty, and other identifiable factors that align with project goals.
Due to the urban makeup of the locations, the schools of Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe are excluded from the project.
Universities
To help channel school-based mental health provider trainees toward selected NM schools, to foster rural SBMH provider communities, and to support the overarching goals of the program, NMPED is partnering with the following five largest universities in the state:
- Eastern New Mexico University
- New Mexico Highlands University
- New Mexico State University
- University of New Mexico
- Western New Mexico University
Native American Communities
The Expanding Opportunities project collaborates with many Native American communities in the state to support their students and schools.
Other State Agencies
NMPED is also investing in the already strong and ongoing partnerships with other state agencies, with special focus given to the Office of School and Adolescent Health in the Public Health Division of the New Mexico Department of Health.
Professional Learning
As part of the collaboration between NMPED and participants, we will be designing regional professional learning communities to develop social connections and to discuss readings, current events, and other relevant topics. We will schedule these learning opportunities regularly and will provide materials as needed.