The high school graduation rate in Doña County increased more than 50 percent during a 15-year span, climbing from 55 percent in 2007 to 83 percent – among the highest in the state – in 2021, The Bridge of Southern New Mexico President and CEO Tracey Bryan said in a November interview.
And while progress was slowed by COVID, the conversation that started 15 years ago “to build the awareness and the importance of high school graduation” and better connect it with workforce development and economic prosperity is continuing, Bryan said.
The Future of Work summit, which The Bridge and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce (GLCCC) jointly sponsored in Las Cruces in October, “was somewhat of a report card on the work … we have all been doing together,” said Bryan, who became The Bridge CEO in 2010.
The summit showed “We are strengthening Doña Ana County and we are seeing its impact in the data over time,” said Bryan, who plans to step down when The Bridge selects a new president, likely in 2023.
In 2007, GLCCC’s Education Committee brought business and education leaders and other partners together to address the dropout rate in the county’s three school districts. Its research revealed the need for a “shared vision of success” among Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District and Hatch Valley Public Schools, New Mexico State University and Doña Ana Community College, the business community and the community as a whole, according to https://thebridgeofsnm.org.
The chamber committee evolved into the Regional Education Initiative and, in 2009, became The Bridge.
A defining moment came July 2010, when LCPS opened the state’s first ever early college high school on the NMSU campus, creating a unique partnership with both the university and DACC.
Opening Arrowhead Park Early College High School (APECHS) was one of many firsts for Las Cruces and helped in “creating a platform and consistent dialogue where change could take form and build coalitions,” Bryan said.
“The Bridge was the place where that conversation was sparked,” she said. “It’s a great story. It’s our community story.”
With APECHS leading the way, “We did what we set out to do – increase the high school graduation rate,” Bryan said. “More students graduating from high school means more college and university students earning associates and bachelor’s degrees. That drives economic development.”
Increasing the graduation rate “brought up everything,” Bryan said.
“Focus on increasing high school completion is a long-term strategy for economic wellbeing,” she said. The data shows, “that’s exactly what’s happened to us.”
As schools reengage students post-pandemic, The Bridge, GLCCC, LCPS and other partners are continuing to target career connectedness, Bryan said.
“I really applaud Ralph Ramos,” she said. The LCPS superintendent is focused on “the relevance of education – Why do I need to learn this?” Bryan said.
“Career relevance” is “the number one thing” to keep students in school, she said.
Workforce development has been part of The Bridge-led conversations since 2016, Bryan said. Implementation began in 2017 and has resulted in more than $50 million in funding to support local student success and economic development.
“There’s a great story about the power of working together as a county, as a community … when we harness our collective resources and point it at what we want to see changed,” Bryan said.
Many people deserve credit for the success of The Bridge, beginning with late Patsy Duran, who was chair of the GLCCC Education Committee in 2007, Bryan, and continuing up through current Bridge Board of Directors President Debbi Moore, who is also president and CEO OF GLCC.
“It’s important to credit the wisdom of The Bridges founders to create a space (for) the conversation and the commitment that continues,” she said.
Visit https://thebridgeofsnm.org/.
