Think New Mexico has published a new resource guide to help teachers make the most of the extended learning time that was enacted during the 2023 legislative session.

Click here to access the resource guide.

House Bill 130, which was supported by Think New Mexico, raised the minimum number of instructional hours from 990 for elementary school students and 1,080 for middle and high school students to 1,140 instructional hours for all students. This is the equivalent of adding 27 extra days of learning for elementary school students and 10 extra days for middle and high school students.

Think New Mexico recommended increasing the minimum instructional time for students in our Roadmap for Rethinking Public Education in New Mexico, based on the research showing that expanding learning time is one of the most effective strategies for improving student proficiency, closing achievement gaps, and helping students recover from the loss of instructional time during the pandemic.

After legislation supported by Think New Mexico is enacted, we work to ensure the law’s successful implementation. Our research indicated that, in order to achieve the most benefit from the extra hours, teachers need access to resources and ideas for engaging students in rich learning experiences. Therefore, Think New Mexico produced this resource guide to assist teachers in making the most of the additional hours with students.