Taos Municipal Schools reports mixed gains for Native American students, flags steep drop in 4-year graduation rate

At a Jan. 21 Taos Municipal Schools Board of Education meeting, Associate Superintendent Bruneda Modebon presented the district’s TESR report and outlined uneven outcomes for Native American students.

Modebon said reading proficiency for Native students in Taos Municipal Schools was 40%, compared with a 30% statewide figure for Native students, and that reading scores had increased about 5% from the previous year. Math proficiency for Taos students was reported at 17% (New Mexico’s comparable rate for Native students was 15%), while science showed a larger lead for the district at 34% versus 23% statewide.

But Modebon told the board the most worrisome figure was the four‑year graduation rate for the 2023–24 cohort, which fell to 51% after reaching 84% the year before. She said the drop is linked to a cohort that experienced high school during the COVID‑19 pandemic, student transfers to other districts and challenges in state tracking of transfer and alternate‑path graduates. “Our 5‑year graduation cohort is at 85 percent,” Modebon said, describing outreach and recovery work to re‑engage students who delayed or left traditional four‑year paths.

Modebon credited improvements in literacy to the district’s multi‑year CLSC literacy grant, district literacy coaches and a change in early‑learning curriculum. To address math outcomes she described a planned districtwide math adoption to replace multiple previous programs and deployment of math interventionists and a six‑year intervention cohort.

The presentation stressed the role of Indian education funding streams and local supports: Modebon listed formula grants, the state Indian Education Act grants and district operational funds dedicated to liaison and tutor positions. She also described outreach efforts—home visits, transportation assistance and internships—by liaison staff to reduce chronic absenteeism and re‑connect students to graduation pathways.

Board members pressed for school‑level absenteeism breakdowns and more historical, comparable data. Modebon said the state’s change in assessment and data reporting complicates direct year‑to‑year comparisons and that the district is developing its own tracking system to follow transfers and alternate graduation completions before reporting to the Public Education Department.

The board and tribal representatives discussed expanded collaboration: Gabriel Romero read a statement of tribal priorities including land and water protection, housing and youth opportunities, and Modebon said the district will continue biannual meetings with Taos Pueblo and hold joint events such as an end‑of‑year Native student celebration and coordinated IEC parent meetings to boost engagement.

The presentation ended with administrators committing to provide board members more disaggregated attendance and graduation tracking at the next campus report.

The board did not take a formal vote related to the TESR presentation; the session concluded with questions and follow‑up requests.