Tara Hughes is a 2023-2024 Teach Plus New Mexico Change Agent and is an early childhood special education teacher at Nye Early Childhood Center in Santa Fe. Tara is the lead teacher at Nye Early Childhood Center facilitating school-wide PLCs and supporting colleagues on inquiry-based learning, positive behavior supports, evidence-based strategies, and social-emotional curricula. In 2021, she was featured in an Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center documentary series by the University of North Carolina on how the fields of early education and early childhood special education could successfully support preschoolers and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic through the use of technology. Tara was named Santa Fe Teacher of the Year (2023), New Mexico Teacher of the Year (2023), and Golden Apple Excellence in Teaching Winner (2023). She is currently a State Ambassador with the NM Public Education Department and a member of the Teacher Leader Network. She earned a BA in technical theater and studio art from Southern Connecticut State University, an MEd in special education from New Mexico Highlands University, and her early childhood teacher certification from Santa Fe Community College.
