Each month, we feature an early childhood educator nominated by a colleague for their dedication and skills. This month’s Inspiring Bright Futures Spotlight Rael Rodríguez at Bumble Bee Learning Center in Santa Teresa. He was nominated by Valeria Gomez.  

“I would like to nominate Mr. Rael because he inspires me through his leadership, dedication, and the way he encourages others to grow. He leads by example and motivates those around him to continue learning, improving, and believing in themselves.

What inspires me most is his commitment to creating a positive environment where people feel supported and valued. He challenges me to become a better professional and reminds me that strong leadership is not only about managing others, but also about helping them reach their full potential.

For these reasons, I believe Mr. Rael deserves recognition. His dedication, encouragement, and positive influence have made a meaningful impact on me and others around him.”

“Me gustaría nominar al Sr. Rael porque me inspira con su liderazgo, su dedicación y la forma en que anima a los demás a crecer. Predica con el ejemplo y motiva a quienes le rodean a seguir aprendiendo, mejorando y creyendo en sí mismos.

Lo que más me inspira es su compromiso de crear un entorno positivo en el que las personas se sientan apoyadas y valoradas. Él me desafía a ser un mejor profesional y me recuerda que un liderazgo sólido no consiste solo en dirigir a los demás, sino también en ayudarles a alcanzar su máximo potencial.

Por estas razones, creo que el Sr. Rael merece ser reconocido. Su dedicación, su apoyo y su influencia positiva han tenido un impacto significativo en mí y en quienes le rodean.”

Nominate an Outstanding Educator.

It happens fast. One second, two children are building together, and the next, someone’s crying. 

1. Remove Your Static: Being upset when a child hits is normal. Take one breath before you step in. Your calm helps them find theirs.
2. Keep everyone safe first: Move in calmly and stop the hitting. Keep it short: “I won’t let you hit. Hitting hurts.” Then check on the child who got hurt.
3. Say what you see: Kneel down and name the feeling: “You’re mad. You wanted the blocks.” Feeling understood helps a child calm down.
4. Teach another way, later: Children can’t learn new skills while they’re upset. Once things settle, show them what to do next time, like saying “Stop!” or coming to get you. Practice it during calm moments too, not only right after a conflict.
5. Reflect: When does hitting happen most in your classroom? Look for patterns, like a certain time of day, activity, or group of children.

Source: “Powerful Interactions” by Amy Laura Dombro, Judy Jablon, and Charlotte Stetson (NAEYC, 2011).

Here’s your calendar for events happening across the state this season.

Date	Event	City
April through Nov	Downtown Growers’ Market	Albuquerque
Oct 23	Gallup Municipal Court Compliance Trunk or Treat	Gallup
Through Oct 23	Mesilla Valley Maze	Las Cruces
October 23, 24, 25, 31	Halloween Bash	Los Lunas
Oct 17–18	Peanut Valley Festival	Portales
Oct 18	Family Halloween Fest	Santa Fe
Oct 24–25	Taos Mountain Balloon Rally	Taos
Oct 24	Boo at the Zoo	Albuquerque
Oct 24	Zoo Boo at Alameda Park Zoo	Alamogordo
Oct 24	Rio Rancho Fall Festival	Rio Rancho
Oct 24–25	Nichols Ranch Pumpkin Patch	La Luz
Oct 30–Nov 1	Halloweekend	Los Alamos
Oct 30–Nov 8	Día de los Muertos in Old Town	Albuquerque
Oct 30	Halloween Cake Walk & Trunk-or-Treat	Farmington
Oct 30	Scarytime Halloween Storytime	Albuquerque
Oct 30	Halloween Extravaganza	Albuquerque
Oct 30	Taylor Ranch Library Boo Fest	Albuquerque
Through Oct 31	River Edge Pumpkin Patch	La Plata
Through Oct 31	Heirloom AcresCorn Maze & Pumpkin Patch	Artesia
Through Oct 31	McCall’s Farm | Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze	Moriarty
Oct 31	Boo-Palooza	Farmington
Oct 31	Trunk or Treat	Roswell
Oct 31	Corrales Trunk or Treat	Corrales
Nov 1	Muertos y Marigolds Dia de Los Muertos Parade	Albuquerque
Through Nov 7	La Union Maze	Anthony
Nov 29–Dec 30	River of Lights	Albuquerque
Nov 27–Dec 31	Christmas on the Pecos	Carlsbad
December 5	Twinkle Light Parade	Albuquerque

Answers: 1. Parents 2. Childcare 3. Campus 4. Housing 5. Generation

1. Student _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (7): balancing coursework, kids, and household costs
2. On-campus _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (9): care provided right where students take classes
3. Family-friendly _ _ _ _ _ _ (6) spaces: where support meets school
4. Food and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8) resources: essential support for the family’s home
5. Two- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (10)  approach: supporting both parent and child together

Respuestas: Estudiantes, En el campus, Amigables, Vivienda, Multigeneracional 

1. Padres y madres _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (11): equilibrando las clases, los hijos y los gastos del hogar
2. Cuidado infantil _ _  _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ (10): cuidado disponible justo donde los estudiantes toman sus clases
3. Espacios _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8) para familias: donde el apoyo se encuentra con la escuela
4. Recursos de alimentación y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8): mantener un techo sobre la cabeza
5. Enfoque _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (17): apoyando tanto a los padres como a los hijos

Supporting Student Parents in New Mexico 

Parenting students juggle coursework, child care, and household costs all at once. Campus-based support is often the difference between finishing a degree and dropping out. The New Mexico Student Parent Alliance (NMSPA) supports both the parent and the child because when a parent succeeds in college, the whole family moves forward.

NMSPA began as a pilot at Santa Fe Community College and has now launched statewide, with representation from every higher education institution in New Mexico. NMSPA uses a two-generation approach, connecting parenting students to on-campus child care, family-friendly campus spaces, and food and housing resources.

Located within the Early Childhood Center of Excellence (ECCOE) at Santa Fe Community College, NMSPA is a network of student parents, educators, and advocates committed to promoting the success and well-being of student parents and their families.

Learn more about the New Mexico Student Parent Alliance.

Apoyando a padres y madres estudiantes en Nuevo México

Los estudiantes que también son padres o madres equilibran al mismo tiempo las clases, el cuidado de sus hijos y los gastos del hogar. El apoyo en el campus muchas veces marca la diferencia entre terminar una carrera y abandonarla. La Alianza de Padres y Madres Estudiantes de Nuevo México (NMSPA, por sus siglas en inglés) apoya tanto al padre o a la madre como al hijo, porque cuando un padre o una madre tiene éxito en la universidad, toda la familia avanza.

NMSPA comenzó como un proyecto piloto en Santa Fe Community College y ahora se ha expandido a nivel estatal, con la representación de todas las instituciones de educación superior de Nuevo México. NMSPA utiliza un enfoque multigeneracional, conectando a los estudiantes que son padres o madres con cuidado infantil en el campus, espacios universitarios amigables para las familias, y recursos de alimentación y vivienda.

Ubicada dentro del Centro de Excelencia en la Primera Infancia (ECCOE, por sus siglas en inglés) en Santa Fe Community College, NMSPA es una red de padres y madres estudiantes, educadores y defensores comprometidos con promover el éxito y el bienestar de los estudiantes que son padres y madres, y sus familias.

Obtenga más información sobre la Alianza de Padres y Madres Estudiantes de Nuevo México.

There’s a phrase Dr. Therese Baca-Radler keeps coming back to this year: “Keep going.” It’s the tagline behind Central New Mexico Community College’s (CNM) new marketing campaign, and it also carries her up tough climbs as a competitive mountain biker.

Her own story starts at 19, working at All Seasons Day School in Albuquerque’s International District with no clear sense of where the path would lead. The school invested in her before she’d earned anything: they gave her a hot lunch, a bike, and a reason to ride it to CNM.

Decades and a Ph.D. later, she sees CNM helping students bring their education and hands-on experience together:

“You don’t always put the books and the degrees with the work until later. And sometimes, once those things come together, you get this beautiful thing that’s early childhood education in the state of New Mexico.”

CNM’s Early Childhood Multicultural Education (ECME) program is built around people who are already doing the work, giving them a way to formalize it into a degree or certificate without stepping away from the kids and families relying on them.

Students can earn a Child Development Certificate or an associate degree, with a fully Spanish-language track that lets bilingual educators complete nearly all their coursework in Spanish. Specialized cohorts including a fast-track pre-K pipeline and partnerships with Albuquerque Public Schools and Los Alamos National Laboratory apply that same foundation to the needs of different communities. A three-phase field experience model moves students from an initial job shadow through capstone practicum hours, with their progress tracked in CNM’s “Field Experience Passport.”

Support runs alongside all of it: evening and online classes, Thursday-night Spanish-speaking tutoring, and CNM’s Wellness Center, which offers free counseling, a food pantry, and basic-needs support.

Dr. Baca-Radler describes the field less as a career ladder than as a network of mentors, classmates, and colleagues who hold each other accountable and don’t let anyone fall behind. Her advice to anyone considering the field or thinking about going back to school: “Do it. We are a community, and there are people who are going to help you all along the way. Keep going.”

Word Scramble Answers:

1. LNEROL_____________
2. LSDANECTIER _____________
3. GNIAINTR_____________
4. SEWAG_____________
5. ISDP _____________

1. ENROLL
2. CREDENTIALS
3. TRAINING
4. WAGES
5. Professional Development Information System (PDIS)

The Professional Development Information System (PDIS) is a free online platform that lets early childhood professionals track their education, credentials, required training, and wages in one place.

Who needs to enroll? Everyone working in Child Care, NM PreK, Home Visiting, and FIT programs, including directors, administrators, and staff members.

Create your profile here to link your background check and begin tracking your professional goals.

For support, email [email protected] or visit the FAQ page for more details.

Great teaching is never static. Educators pay attention to what is working, make adjustments, and try new approaches to better support learning. The same is true of professional development.

This year, the Mentor Network is adding one-on-one meetings to provide mentors with more direct support. Mentors will meet individually with their cohort leads each month from September through November and again from February through April.

The meetings will give mentors space to ask questions, talk through challenges, and discuss how things are going with their mentees.

“We want mentors to feel comfortable opening up about what is happening, what they need, and how we can better support them,” said Yadira Lorenzoni, senior program manager. “The leads can then bring the common themes they hear into the professional learning community (PLC) meetings so everyone can learn from them.”

For example, if mentors are struggling with difficult conversations or similar classroom situations, cohort leads can bring resources and discussion questions to the larger group without sharing anyone’s personal experiences.

The one-on-one conversations will also help cohort leads plan PLC meetings around what mentors are experiencing in real time. The change is designed to strengthen relationships and make the support mentors receive more useful.

Interested in joining? Learn more about the Mentor Network here.

Krystel Sanchez has worn two hats: she’s APRENDE Program Director and Early Childhood Networks Regional Connector, working directly with educators who move between the two programs. Santa Fe Community College’s APRENDE Early Childhood Teacher Apprenticeship Program and the Early Childhood Networks Mentor Network are working together to support early childhood educators across the state, and Sanchez describes career growth less like a ladder and more like a staircase, one educators can climb, pause on, or step back down without losing their footing.

APRENDE supports the state’s incumbent early childhood workforce, pairing apprentices and pre-apprentices with seasoned “journey worker” mentors. According to Sanchez, the mentors are there to “explain the why behind behaviors” and support newer educators “through anything they get stuck with.” In APRENDE’s model, the journey workers are the mentors, and in the past, the program has run largely on its own. The Mentor Network has added another layer of support, giving mentors training “in understanding adult learning theory” and helping them “articulate what they have internalized as best practices.”

The partnership follows a progression: pre-apprentices earn a Child Development Certificate, then move into a registered apprenticeship toward an associate degree and lead teacher roles, and eventually into the Mentor Network itself, often while pursuing licensure or a bachelor’s degree. But the path isn’t always a straight line. There are, Sanchez says, “all kinds of on and off ramps,” and educators may take a detour into a different role entirely before returning to the stairs.

Sanchez sees that back-and-forth as a strength, not a detour from the plan. “Whether someone is drawn to an infant-toddler classroom, home-based care, or a director’s role, ‘there’s a place for them,’ she says. For her, it’s about more than collecting credentials. “It’s important to come back to the why we’re here — for children and families,” she says. “Being able to grow your own skills, grow your network, all has a net positive for children and families in New Mexico.”