Innovation Zones Initiative

Grassroots Innovation, State-Wide Transformation

At Innovation Zone schools, local communities nurture students to become the problem-solvers and innovators we need at home.

In partnership with NMPED and the LANL Foundation, we are supporting school districts to transform education with home-grown solutions.

three students wearing construction vests and standing inside of a wooden structure, looking up.

What Are Innovation Zones?

The Innovation Zones Initiative brings together program initiatives and funding that are often siloed or disconnected. The model weaves together graduate profiles, capstones, work-based learning, and high-quality career and technical education (CTE)--through college and career pathways.

Two students wearing construction vests and helmets, working outside with measuring tools.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all system, Innovation Zones are co-creating solutions that build on what's already working in New Mexico.

Districts and charter schools apply to be a part of the Innovation Zone Initiative through the NM Public Education Department. Once approved, districts and charters are provided with funding and support to implement these innovative practices in their schools.

Read stories of the transformative power of Innovation Zone approaches.

Aztec, New Mexico: A Case Study in Innovation

Health Leadership High School: A Case Study in Innovation

What are the components of Innovation Zones?

A student standing in front of a screen presenting artwork

Graduate Profiles

A student with headphones on and recording equipment

Capstone Projects

X3 intern wearing scrubs and a stethoscope and taking notes.

Work-based Learning

A group of 5 students wearing vests standing outside listening to instructor

Career and Technical Education

Three students sitting down engaging in conversation

Social and Emotional Learning

Graduate profiles articulate the knowledge, skills, and attributes that the local community identifies as important for graduates to have when they exit high school. This includes competencies beyond traditional academics, such as employability and social-emotional skills that honor students’ cultural and linguistic identities. Graduate profiles are co-created with the local community through the use of focus groups, surveys, interviews, and town halls.

Capstone projects are months-long in-depth projects that enable students to prove that they have developed the skills contained in their graduate profiles—while applying that learning in the community. Students engage in active, self-directed, and community-based learning experiences to produce a body of work that teachers periodically assess for evidence of competence.

Capstones result in public exhibitions of learning to school, family, and community. Capstone projects prioritize student passions and measure academic competency and transferable skills that tomorrow’s economy demands—including teamwork, effective communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Capstone projects can look different for every school and every student.

Work-based learning provides students with opportunities to gain real-world work experience while still in school. WBL programs typically involve internships, apprenticeships, or other forms of on-the-job training at local businesses that provide concurrent school credit.

These pathways connect young people to employers and mentors, giving students the experience of being treated as assets in their professional setting and in the larger community. They also ensure that students leave high school with both workplace experience and social capital, making them better equipped for college or career.

Career and technical education focuses on providing students with the technical and vocational skills they need to succeed in specific careers. CTE programs are most often inside the school classroom, but some include hands-on training, apprenticeships, and certification programs off campus. The goal of CTE is to prepare students for careers in fields such as healthcare, engineering, or information technology.

Data shows that when we connect young people to paid internships and/or meaningful work-based learning and CTE programs with local employers, they have more access to important career connections and professional networks, as well as more engagement and higher attendance at school.