'We need this': students and staff celebrate a successful end of the Governor's Summer Challenge 2024

Jul. 19—When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham approached the New Mexico National Guard's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, in March with an idea to combine the state's summer reading program with a physical education program run by the National Guard, Aguilar knew it would take a team effort to bring the idea to life.

He quickly enlisted the help of Lt. Col. Angela Romero and began looking for a partner school for this program. They settled on Jimmy Carter Middle School and began advertising the program to its students and families.

"We centered around the literacy program, but we knew we wanted to do things that challenged the kids, because I think that helps build resilience and self-esteem," Aguilar said.

With the pieces in place and roughly 30 students enrolled, the Governor's Summer ChalleNGe 2024 pilot program — the capitalized 'NG' a nod to the National Guard — was off and running. Over the course of six weeks, students met five days a week at the school, where they worked on their literacy skills with instructors. Students also participated in daily fitness exercises run by the National Guard.

At the end of each week, National Guard and program personnel took the students on field trips around Albuquerque. From navigating the University of New Mexico's challenge course to climbing rock walls, each field trip was scheduled specifically to challenge the resolve of these kids.

For their final field trip, the students received lifeguard training from staff at the West Mesa Aquatics Center, in order to become certified junior lifeguards. Starting in a center classroom, the students worked with three lifeguard staff members on how to properly give CPR to both an adult and an infant. Each student took a turn delivering CPR on training dummies. Once they had the fundamentals down, it was time to move out to the pool and learn how to save a drowning person.

Breaking off into three groups, students practiced using a rescue buoy as a floaty to help carry a drowning person to safety. Each student took a turn, got out of the pool, dried off and then headed outside to refuel on pizza and water. While they were all eating, Aguilar, joined by Romero, organized several awards to give the students.

The awards were named after the same qualities Jimmy Carter Middle School strives to represent: respect, caring, citizenship, trustworthiness, responsibility and fairness. Each award went to the student who best demonstrated that quality during the weekslong program.

"This has been a really transformative experience for these kiddos," Romero said. "From day one to the last day here today, I've seen a transformation in several of them. They did some hard stuff together, and stressful situations make you a good team."

But it's not just the physical challenges that transformed the kids. The time they've spent working with the literacy instructors also has paid off, according to Jennifer LeMarie-Theus, a teacher at Jimmy Carter who has been overseeing the program.

"I took a peek at the data and we had a young lady who came (into the program) 17 points lower than she ended this week. That's a big difference," she said.

LeMarie-Theus continued by saying students who were once afraid to read out loud in front of others during the school year are now doing so proudly and confidently. This iteration of the state's summer reading program was a pilot program, but Aguilar, Romero and LeMarie-Theus are hopeful they can work with the Governor's Office and the Legislature to secure the necessary funding to not only return this program to Jimmy Carter Middle School, but expand it to other schools.

"We need this. These kids have progressed, these kids are happy, and it's been so good for them," LeMarie-Theus said. "I beg people to talk to our governor, talk to your legislator, call up your district people and say, 'We need this for our kids. Let's provide for them.'"