Some Las Cruces charter schools struggling with low graduation rates, education dept. says

While graduation rates in New Mexico are at an all time high, some charter schools in Las Cruces are struggling.

According to data released by the New Mexico Public Education Department, 28% of 4-year students at Las Montanas Charter School graduated in 2016. 34% of students at The New America School graduated. 73% of students at Alma d’Arte graduated.

Data shows state-wide, 71 percent of students graduated in 2016, an 8 percent increase since 2011.

ABC-7 spoke with the principal of Las Montanas and The New America School. Both said the low numbers are in part because the students who come through their doors are already behind in credits, many of them have been to 3 or 4 different high schools, before settling with a charter school.

Almost half of the students who attend class at The New America School are over 18. If it’s been 8 years since a students started high school, the Public Education Department doesn’t count them in its annual report, even if they graduate, school principal Margarita Porter said. Porter said her school is often a last resort to make sure people get an education.

“A lot of times they’re failing in a big school so they’re looking for a smaller learning environment,” Porter said. “If New America were not here they have no were else to go except for a GED so we are opening up doors. We see successful students, we see that our students that are graduating from New America are going on to college.”

If a student transfers from a different school then graduates, Porter says the school only get partial points which also affects the its graduate rate.

Yisell Arias, a student at Las Montanas Charter School says she’s on track to graduate on time, but for some of her classmates, the school was a last resort and keeping them there can be difficult.

“I experience a lot of them drop out, maybe because they have kids now, got married,” she said.

Las Montana’s Principal Caz Martinez says they’re doing everything they can to improve the graduation rate.

“We’re doing multiple things and multiple strategies to raise that as far as the recruitment of the incoming freshman and not be a dumping ground so to speak for students who are desperate and in need of a different environment,” Martinez said.