New Mexico

Financial literacy coursework added as high school graduation requirement in New Mexico

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2024

Financial literacy coursework added as high school graduation requirement in New Mexico

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 171 into law earlier this month. It adds personal financial literacy as a social studies coursework requirement and lets schools mandate it as a math requirement.

SANTA FE, N.M. — You may remember taking high school algebra, biology, maybe an elective like building trades or culinary arts.

Students these days even take classes on personal financial literacy. Legislation stipulates high schools must have it as an elective.

Now, it’s a high school graduation requirement.

Charlie Bergman teaches personal financial literacy at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. He launched the course after teaching it to students at Albuquerque Academy.

“They’re psychologically ready for it. They do well, at it, they’re interested,” Bergman said.

The coursework he teaches in a college setting would translate to a high school classroom, with questions like:

“If I’m paying a 25% APR interest rate on a credit card, and I have a carryover debt that I haven’t paid off of $1,000. And I carry that for two years because I’m just not paying it off, how much do I owe?”

Bergman says he likes the new requirements but believes this is just the beginning.

St. John’s College offers $500 in an investment account for anyone who passes the final test in Bergman’s course.

Bergman believes legislators could implement something like that for high school students.

“Take part of the state budget and make an allocation to students who complete a really good financial literacy course as a reward. Then, that money could be managed for them by a trustee for the state for a while, but at some point in adulthood, they get control,” he offered.

Bergman is working with the New Mexico Public Education Department and financial institutions, like Nusenda Credit Union, to offer teacher workshops in the fall.

Read HB 171 below.

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New Mexico

Landlord AC ordinance, Rio Grande water levels, Spotty rain, New legislative office, New Mexico Motorfest

Published

11 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

Landlord AC ordinance, Rio Grande water levels, Spotty rain, New legislative office, New Mexico Motorfest

Monday’s Top Stories

Monday’s Five Facts

[1] ABQ City Councilor aims to bolster protections for renters amid unseasonable warmth – Albuquerque city councilor is looking to make sure city landlords are not only providing cooling systems, but also ensuring they actually work when they’re needed. City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn spearheaded an ordinance in December of 2024, requiring all Albuquerque rental properties to have a cooling system. Now, Fiebelkorn is taking it a step further, hoping to establish cooling system performance requirements. The ordinance is expected to be voted on in final action at Monday’s city council meeting.

[2] Rio Grande showing dry spots in Valencia County amid record-low snowpack – Portions of the Rio Grande are now seeing dry spots earlier than expected. Officials say the timing is not normal. In Valencia County, parts of the river are already running dry. Near the river crossing in Los Lunas, the river has open pockets. Further south, it is being reported as dry as well. There is a slight positive outlook for the monsoon season, with forecasters and officials predicting a strong season in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.

[3] Very spotty rainfall, warmer, & mostly calm week – Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground. Temperatures will continue to increase through the middle of the week.

[4] NM representatives celebrate grand opening of new office with open house – A new state legislative office made its debut for representatives Eleanor Chavez and Yanira Gurrola. The new location is just one of the handful of new legislative offices now open across the state. They hosted a grand opening for the building that was open to the public. Representative Gurrola says it’s just one step towards modernizing the state’s legislature. The new office will allow residents to stay more connected to each representative.

[5] New Mexico Motorfest 2026 takes place in celebration of Route 66 Centennial – Another Route 66 celebration took place over the weekend and this one was all about cars. The New Mexico Motorfest happened at the Expo New Mexico racetrack. Over 300 vehicles from classic hot rods to lifted trucks were featured at the event. Some of the proceeds went to New Mexico veterans.

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New Mexico

Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair

Published

23 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair

Students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School, and Los Alamos High School at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Photo CourtesyLAPS

LAHS junior Tate Plohr and freshman Linus Plohr qualified to attend the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Courtesy LAPS

Los Alamos Middle School student Branden Keller was awarded the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS NEWS RELEASE

Twenty students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) and Los Alamos High School (LAHS) competed, with several garnering awards at the 2026 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.

LAHS junior Tate Plohr qualified to attend the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) next month in Phoenix, Ariz. He was awarded the 3rd-place Grand Award. Freshman Linus Plohr qualified as an alternate and will also be attending the Regeneron ISEF.

Students who participated in the state competition include, from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Sydney Chen, Mary Beth Kelsey, Lily Neale, Aurora Roberts Voss and Henry Rodarte; and Glyn Lo and Ernest Maupin, Mountain Elementary.

Students from LAMS who competed include Evelyn Fobes, Mason Garcia, Andrew Gilbertson, James Junghans, Sequoya Ke, Brandon Keller, Nejan Liyanage and Daniel Yampolsky.

LAHS students Julia Neale, Linus Plohr, Tate Plohr, Lilia Veteva, Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch competed at the senior level.

2026 Award winners:

Category Awards – Junior Division

Animal Science, Cellular & Molecular
Biomedical & Health Science
- Honorable Mention: Sequoya Ke
Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software & Technology
- 2nd place: Nejan Liyanage
Physics & Astronomy
- 1st place: Sydney Chen
- 2nd place: Mason Garcia
- Honorable Mention: Marybeth Kelsey
Plant Science

Category Awards – Senior Division

Behavioral & Social Science:
- Honorable Mention: Linus Plohr
Earth & Environmental
- Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva
Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, & System Software
- 3rd Place: Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch
Physics & Astronomy

Grand Awards

ISEF finalist 3rd place: Tate Plohr
Brandon Keller received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. James Jungans and Marybeth Kelsey garnered Thermo Fisher Awards.

Other special award winners include:

CO2 & Greenhouse Reduction Awards (Junior Division)
- Daniel Yampolsky, 2nd place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Sequoya Ke, 1st place, Biomedical & Health Science
- Brandon Keller, 1st place, Energy & Materials Science
- Andrew Gilbertson, 1st place, Physics & Astronomy
CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (Senior Division)
- Lilia Viteva, 1st place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
Office of Naval Research Award
David Shortess Award
New Mexico AVS Award
Citadel Award
Naval Research Award
NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
Yale Science & Engineering Award
Rose Baca Rivet Award

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New Mexico

ASU baseball to host New Mexico State, Baylor

Published

1 day ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

ASU baseball to host New Mexico State, Baylor

Arizona State baseball will host a four-game homestand, beginning with New Mexico State on Wednesday, April 22.

The Sun Devils and Aggies faced each other in late March, with ASU winning 10-4. The two teams will meet for the final time at 6:35 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

ASU will then welcome Baylor on Friday, April 24, for a three-game series. The Sun Devils have yet to face the Bears this season, but ASU has been doing well so far and has been in the top 25 for four weeks.

Sophomore center fielder Landon Hairston earned Big 12 player of the week honors on April 13, after delivering five home runs in five games. His 10 runs in that stretch were tied for the second-most nationally and his 14 runs batted in were tied for third-most nationally. All nine of his hits went for extra bases, three more than any other player.

ASU’s series against Baylor will start at 6:35 p.m. for the first two games, followed by a 1:05 p.m. start on Sunday, April 26.

April 19

Softball at Houston, Cougar Softball Stadium, noon.

April 22

Baseball vs New Mexico State, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.

April 23

Women’s golf at Big 12 Championship, Dallas Athletic Club, TBA.

Track and field at Penn Relays, Franklin Field, 1:22 p.m.

Beach volleyball at Big 12 Championship, Bear Down Beach, all day.

April 24

Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.

Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 7 p.m.

April 25

Lacrosse at Colorado, Prentup Field, 11 a.m.

Softball vs Texas Tech, Farrington Stadium, 3 p.m.

Baseball vs Baylor, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, 6:35 p.m.

Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.

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