The 2026-27 Teach Plus Policy Fellows Will Advocate for Early Childhood Attendance Solutions, Equitable Charter School Funding, and Robust CTE Systems to Boost Economic Mobility
QUICK FACTS:
Who: 16 kindergarten through 12th grade educators
Where: Northern, Central, Western, and Southern New Mexico
Focus Areas: Early childhood attendance, equitable charter school funding, and career and technical
education (CTE) systems
Track Record: Teach Plus New Mexico Fellows helped pass state math instruction reforms,
upgrade the state’s public data website, and strengthen school board training requirements
Mission: Expand economic mobility for students
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SANTA FE, NM, August 11, 2026—Teach Plus New Mexico has named 16 educators, kindergarten through 12th grade, to its 2026-27 Policy Fellowship. Over the next year this cohort, the ninth in the state, will work directly with the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED), state officials, and bipartisan lawmakers to help bring classroom-tested solutions to a state where the poverty rate is 16.4%.
Selection into the Fellowship’s ninth cohort was highly competitive. Fellows join a well-established network that includes three state Teachers of the Year and educators who have advocated for New Mexico’s students at the federal level. This year’s cohort includes several teachers on state-level committees and task forces and an educator who co-founded a new charter school.
Teach Plus trains Policy Fellows in policy analysis, research, advocacy, and communications, including storytelling and op-ed writing, so rigorous data and firsthand classroom experience from educators reach decision makers and the public directly.
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This year’s key policy focus areas directly connect to Teach Plus’s vision of growing economic mobility for students.
- Early Childhood Attendance: Students can only learn when they’re in the classroom, and New Mexico still hasn’t recovered its pre-pandemic attendance rates. Fellows, who see firsthand what happens when a child misses school, will turn that classroom experience into real solutions for getting students back in the classroom.
- Charter Facilities and Transit Equity: No school should have to choose between strong academic programs and safe facilities or reliable transportation, but too many charter schools are forced to do so. Fellows will push for funding equity so every student gets high-quality programs, safe facilities, and dependable transportation so that they can be in school ready to learn.
- Expanding CTE Capacity: Quality career and technical education doesn’t just help students graduate, it prepares them for life and careers. Fellows will examine New Mexico’s CTE landscape to make sure every student has access to that kind of preparation, including in the state’s smallest, most rural districts.
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Perspectives from Teach Plus leadership and educators:
“For New Mexico students to thrive, educators must be at the center of policy design. These 16 exceptional teacher leaders understand precisely how state investments land in the classroom. As our state looks to strengthen early literacy and prepare a 21st-century workforce, the evidence-based, bipartisan solutions this cohort brings forward will be vital to driving real economic mobility for all our kids.”—Hope Morales, Teach Plus New Mexico Executive Director
“I applied to the Teach Plus New Mexico Fellowship because I wanted to join the movement and put in the work to get New Mexico to first in the nation for education. I hope to listen to and understand the struggles families and students face, help identify real high-impact solutions, and work with policymakers to implement the changes that enable all kids to reach their full limitless potential.”—Samuel Webb, 2026-27 Teach Plus New Mexico Policy Fellow, who teaches 3rd and 4th grade math at Mission Achievement & Success Charter School in Albuquerque
“Every time I gave testimony related to the math bill that was passed, I thought of my kindergarteners playing math games on the carpet and how the policies I was advocating for would improve their educational journey. This year, I am thrilled to be working with a team of early educators to advocate for improving New Mexico’s chronic absenteeism rate. I am looking forward to using our expertise to communicate with lawmakers about what we see working to support young students.”—Lauren Scott, 2026-27 Teach Plus New Mexico Senior Policy Fellow, who was the Fellow of the Year in 2024-26 and teaches kindergarten at Mountain Mahogany Community School in Albuquerque
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Meet the Fellows:
Northern New Mexico
Mary Bissell, Senior Fellow, Penasco Middle and High School (Penasco)
Aja Currey, Executive Senior Fellow, Rio Gallinas Charter School (Las Vegas)
Randall Guarnieri, Penasco High School (Penasco)
Lanette Jacobs, Kiser Elementary School (Clayton)
Maren Wood, Rio Gallinas Charter School (Las Vegas)
Central New Mexico
Moses Allen, Cien Aguas International School (Albuquerque)
Margaret Bradney, Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School (Albuquerque)
Danae Feck, Explore Academy (Albuquerque)
Elizabeth Leung, Senior Fellow, Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School (Albuquerque)
Ericson Macapuna, Bernalillo High School (Bernalillo)
Zachary Ramsey, ACE Leadership High School (Albuquerque)
Lauren Scott, Senior Fellow, Mountain Mahogany Charter School (Albuquerque)
Samuel Webb, Mission Achievement & Success Charter School (Albuquerque)
Andy Young, Marie Hughes Elementary School (Albuquerque)
Western New Mexico
Alvin Rey Cana, Gallup High School (Gallup)
Southern New Mexico
Jessica Castro-Buelna, Senior Fellow, Inspira STEAM Academy (Las Cruces)
Statewide
Melanie Bussiere, Economic Mobility Coalition Agent, Pecos Cyber Academy
ABOUT TEACH PLUS
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. In pursuing our mission, Teach Plus is guided by our Student Opportunity Mandate: To act boldly and create the conditions where every student can imagine their future—and experience an education that delivers the opportunity to realize it. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. teachplus.org/nm/
