New Mexico
New high school graduation requirements go into effect this fall
New Mexico state leaders know the best way to get more kids to graduate is to get more of them to go to school every day, and that means giving students a reason to show up.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico state leaders know the best way to get more kids to graduate is to get more of them to go to school every day, and that means giving students a reason to show up.
State lawmakers are hoping to do just that with a new, modernized set of high school graduation requirements focused on teaching kids the skills they need to thrive in the real world.
“I think it could have a huge impact, and I hope that it will,” said Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gabriella Blakey.
Blakey says the state’s new high school graduation requirements are not a one-size-fits all approach, and that’s the point.
“It’s really connecting students to like why they go to school, and really finding what their own passions and interests are, and not making every student’s career path in high school look the same,” said Blakey.
Students will still be required to earn 24 total credits, including four units of English, and four units of math. Although, Algebra 2 will no longer be required to graduate.
“We have opened up opportunities for students to make wise choices about their career and make wise choices about their interests and strengths in order to support a really strong mathematics pathway through their four years of high school,” said Amanda Debell, deputy secretary of the Public Education Department.
Students will still need three units of science, and four units of social studies, which must include some type of financial literacy coursework.
“So students are learning when it’s appropriate time about money and their financial lives, post and during high school, because many of them are earning money now,” said Debell.
There are still PE and health class requirements, but the biggest change is coming to the electives. Individual school districts will get to decide on two credit requirements for their students based on local input.
“For example, we see districts offering more agricultural type electives because they are in an agricultural area, or we see additional language courses being added as a requirement,” Debell said.
Giving New Mexico’s students more power over their future.
“By being able to open up these credits in this way, we’re really able to tailor a more personalized environment for our students. And our students really tell us that that’s what they want,” said Blakey.
The incoming freshman class, the Class of 2029, will be the first class to graduate under these new requirements.
PED leaders say districts will have to decide on those extra two credits in the next few weeks.
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A New Mexico woman is facing charges after she allegedly gave birth in a portable toilet and then killed the newborn by drowning them in the holding tank.
Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 38, arrived at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces at around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, when staff said she appeared as if she had just given birth, but she had no baby with her, Las Cruces Police said in a press release.
Hospital staff then notified police about the unusual encounter.
Jimenez’s boyfriend said they had been at Burn Lake, which is located about six miles away, and that his girlfriend had used a portable toilet.
NEWBORN FOUND WITH UMBILICAL CORD ATTACHED IN PENN STATION, POLICE HUNT FOR PARENTS
Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 38, is accused of drowning her newborn in a portable toilet. (Las Cruces Police)
Officers rushed to the deserted area and discovered the infant girl dead in the portable toilet’s holding tank.
Investigators suspect that Jimenez gave birth, cut the umbilical cord and left the child in the holding tank, where she drowned.
The woman’s boyfriend said they had been at Burn Lake and that his girlfriend had used a portable toilet. (Las Cruces Police)
An autopsy showed the baby inhaled and swallowed the sanitation liquid used in the portable toilet, according to investigators. The blue chemical was found in the baby’s trachea, lungs and stomach, which investigators said confirms that she breathed and swallowed the liquid while she was still alive.
Jimenez was arrested on Wednesday and charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death, a first-degree felony. She was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center and is being held without bond.
AUTOPSY RESULTS DEEPEN MYSTERY OF INFANT ALLEGEDLY FOUND DEAD IN UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETE’S CLOSET
Police found the infant girl dead in the portable toilet’s holding tank. (iStock)
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Police said they do not expect to charge her boyfriend, as they do not believe he was aware she had given birth.
“This is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing cases I have encountered in my career,” Las Cruces police Chief Jeremy Story told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
A New Mexico woman gave birth in a portable toilet and then drowned the infant in the device’s holding tank, police said.
Sonia Cristal Jimenez walked into Memorial Medical Center around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 appearing as if she’d just given birth, but had no baby with her, Las Cruces police said.
Alarmed hospital staff contacted authorities.
Jimenez’s boyfriend told them he thought she was having a miscarriage, and mentioned to staff the couple had been at Burn Lake about six miles away, where Jimenez had used a port-a-potty.
Las Cruces police raced to the scene and found the newborn girl’s body in the toilet’s holding tank.
Jimenez was arrested Wednesday charged with one felony count of intentional child abuse resulting in death, police said.
“This is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing cases I have encountered in my career,” Las Cruces police Chief Jeremy Story told the Sante Fe New Mexican.
An autopsy on Jimenez’s baby showed she was alive at birth.
“The blue chemical was found in the baby’s trachea, lungs and stomach confirming that she breathed and swallowed the liquid while alive,” police said.
Jimenez was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is being held without bond.
“We will work closely with the district attorney’s office to pursue justice for this baby,” Story added.
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