Las Montañas Charter High School Vision Shows a Brighter Future for Students

At Las Montañas Charter High School (LMCHS), students feel like they finally belong. It is a 9-12 public charter school in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for students who don’t fit into the traditional school system. Maybe they’re being bullied. Maybe they are experiencing trauma at home. Maybe they’re struggling with social-emotional learning. Maybe they felt lost in a bigger school. But no matter what their background is, the students know their teachers and administrators are in their corner. 

“Many of our students have experienced adverse childhood experiences in their young life,” says Caz Martinez, Superintendent and Principal at LMCHS. “We recognize this and focus on more than the academics and the graduation requirements. Our goal is to break generational cycles.” 

LMCHS developed a program called the Student Learning Community that is designed to improve students’ social-emotional health. They focus on communication strategies and how to build relationships with their peers, teachers, families and employers. 

Martinez, who started as a teacher at the school in 2009, says the low teacher turnover rate helps their educators build relationships with students: “The teachers know the students. They know their demographics. They know their culture.” 

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is central to LMCHS’s student success strategy. Two years ago, they launched the Construction and Education pathways. With strong ties to the local community, LMCHS leadership knew that construction was booming and in need of talent. 

“CTE gives students a light at the end of the tunnel. A diploma isn’t enough anymore. We are giving them prospects and opportunities for future advancement,” says Martinez. 

After a few months LMCHS also saw that students in the CTE pathway were not just succeeding in the construction courses, but also doing better in their other courses as well. 

“Students are really motivated by learning to create things. They take their projects home and hang them up on their wall. They're proud of what they’re doing,” says Martinez. “They understand that they are working towards a goal. They have something to look forward to.” 

LMCHS has since expanded to offer five CTE pathways: Audio/Video, Transportation, Architecture & Construction, Business and Education. They’ve also hired a CTE Director, Antionette Cisneros, who is well-rounded in many different areas of education, like special education, and has strong ties to the community.  

“We’re evolving into a CTE-focused school. Along with that, Antionette’s role is evolving into a case manager, helping students find the career pathway that is best for them,” says Martinez. “Starting this July, we gave all our students an exploratory semester to more about what those different jobs would look like and what the salaries are so they can make an informed decision. In January 2024, then they can select which pathway they want to focus on.” 

When seeking a curriculum to support the expanded CTE programs, a community partner, the local home builder’s association, recommended the iCEV program. The industry certifications hosted on iCEV are developed and issued by industry leaders, reflect the needs of real-world career expectations and distinguish individuals from their peers when applying for jobs. Withmore than 100 courses covering 11 subject areas and 16 Career Clusters, iCEV offers the largest online library of CTE courses available. By purchasing a site license, LMCHS has access to all the courses. LMCHS started using iCEV for the Audio/Video, Transportation, Architecture & Construction and Business pathways in summer 2023.

“Our teachers are finding the benefits, and we’re seeing buy-in among the teachers,” says Cisneros. “I probably use it the most. I love that the curriculum is there, and I can just use it as-is. The content is solid.”  

iCEV's curriculum features everything teachers need to start teaching right away. Each presentation is accompanied by a detailed lesson plan, projects and activities, handouts, assessments and more. Because iCEV allows for blended learning and customization, teachers have a lot of flexibility in how to use it. Right now, LMCHS teachers are using the lessons in their face-to-face instruction.

LMCHS funded this transformation through a braided funding approach, using the federally supported New Mexico Innovation Zones Initiative, federal Carl Perkins Grant funding and the state-funded NextGen program. Martinez works closely with the New Mexico College and Career Readiness Bureau to look for funding opportunities. LMCHS also has close relationships with local employers in government, transportation, construction and audio/visual so that their students can get real-world experience. The Las Cruces community has rallied around the LMCHS students.

“We're investing in them. We’re letting them explore new things and eventually, it'll turn into something that they can do after high school,” says Cisneros. “I think that they feel that we've done our part and so they need to come in and do their part. They know they need the academics and to stay on track to graduate to see that future.”