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Our Programs

EQ2 Initiative

EQ2 Initiative

X3 Internships

X3 Internships

Innovation Zones

Innovation Zones

Instituto del Puente

Instituto del Puente

Youth Civic
Infrastructure Fund

Youth Civic
Infrastructure Fund

EdUprising Conference

EdUprising Conference

EQ2 Initiative

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Equipped for equity

The EQ2 Initiative is a statewide movement building thriving communities through educational innovation designed to increase equity and student engagement.

We are committed to transforming teaching, learning, and assessment through student-led, culturally and linguistically-responsive practices including graduate profiles, capstones, assessment literacy, and work-based learning.

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How to get involved

As a retired teacher, I know we need to make learning more applicable and culturally relevant. As a parent, I want all students to have access to internships. As a mom of biracial children, I want them to access mentorship from people they identify with.

—Cheryl Carreon,
Education Consultant

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It’s not our children failing these tests, it’s the tests failing our children. We need to start measuring what truly matters, the development of our children through their cultural backgrounds first.

—Wilhelmina Yazzie,
plaintiff in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit; USA Today’s 2022 Woman of the Year

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    Read more about EQ2

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    X3 Internships

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    X3 intern wearing scrubs and a stethoscope and taking notes.

    Outside the classroom, inside the workforce

    X3 Internship programs are the leader in paid, work-based learning opportunities in New Mexico. X3 connects students with caring mentors in professional fields, offering real-world experience, school credit, and wraparound support. X3 is setting a new standard for homegrown professional development for youth.
    Learn more about X3
    Get involved
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    X3 Videos

    • A Day in the life of X3:
      Construction/
      Engineering

      X3 intern Marcos, a student at CNM, worked with local construction firm Bradbury Stamm, and got new insights into what that career path looks like, gaining professional skills and new network connections along the way.

    • A Day in the life of X3:
      City Government/
      Administration

      Take a day-in-the-life tour with Amarisa Barboa, an X3 intern at the City of Albuquerque Office of Equity Inclusion.

    • A Day in the life of X3:
      Outdoor Recreation/
      Conservation

      Follow along as Sarah Joy Randall gives us a day-in-the-life tour of her outdoor recreation internship with the Friends of the Organ Mountains.

    • "First Steps"

      Liset never imagined a future outside of fast food. Through her X3 internship, she now has the work experience she needed to create a new career path for herself and her family.

    • X3 Testimonials: Cheyeanne Frazier

      How does the X3 experience affect a student's future? X3 internships helped show Cheyeanne her areas of passion.

    • X3 Testimonials: Marcus Arellano

      Being an X3 intern can radically change a student’s confidence and career path. Listen to Marcus’s testimonial.

    • X3 Testimonials: Mariana Grajeda

      X3 internships can change the trajectory of a student’s life. Listen to Mariana Grajeda’s story—a young mother and X3 intern with an incredible journey.

    • A Day in the Life of X3: Healthcare

      Cesiah Gonzales, a senior at Health Leadership High School, became an X3 intern at the University of New Mexico Hospital as a medical assistant. She fell in love with the profession and is now pursing a career in nursing thanks to her exposure and experience via X3.

    Read more about X3

    Innovation Zone Initiative

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    Grassroots innovation, state-wide transformation

    The Innovation Zone Initiative transforms the school experience by prioritizing real-world learning, local identity, and student agency.

    In partnership with the New Mexico Public Education Department and the LANL Foundation, we help schools incorporate graduate profiles, capstones, career and technical education (CTE), and work-based learning (WBL).

    Learn more about Innovation Zones
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    Read more about Innovation Zones

    Instituto del Puente

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    A bridge to innovation and insight

    The Instituto del Puente is the research and development arm of Future Focused. The Instituto serves as a convener and catalyst dedicated to incubating, supporting, and guiding policy for groundbreaking educational innovations.

    We foster progress as a policy influencer and a nurturer of new ideas and approaches. The name Instituto del Puente, symbolizing a bridge ("el puente"), captures our mission to facilitate meaningful educational transitions and transformations to drive positive change.

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      Youth Civic Infrastructure Fund

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      a group of high school students posing at the front of a classroom.

      The Youth Civic Infrastructure Fund is a three-year grant to nonprofit organizations who work in partnership with a local school to create a project-based capstone curriculum.

      Each nonprofit grantee leverages the Future Focused X3 program to bring young people into their organizations for 13-week internships.

      Students, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and funders work collaboratively to build curriculum, internships, and capstone projects that actively work to improve the communities in which the students live.

      Learn More About YCIF
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      Are you a high school interested in learning more about capstone projects and how they can connect to the Youth Civic Infrastructure Fund?
      Contact Us

      EdUprising Conference

      EdUp 2024 March 1-2, 2024
      Albuquerque Convention Center
      SOLD OUT

      See full schedule here
      More details about the 2025 conference coming soon
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      Photo of a crowded conference room with smiling participants seated around tables talking to each other.

      Join the Movement

      The EdUprising Conference unites thought leaders, educators, and students from across the state in a vibrant exchange of ideas and strategies.

      Renowned for fostering groundbreaking discussions and collaborative initiatives, our annual conference is a hub for inspiration and transformative action.

      Learn more
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      Read more about EdUp

      The work that we’re doing with Future Focused is a game-changer. There has been a lack of imagination about how to get beyond standardized testing. Our partnership is going to impact the education sector as a whole, and hopefully serve as a model as we re-imagine things statewide in Minnesota

      —Samantha Diaz,
      Former Director of Public Charter Schools, Pillsbury United Communities

      Read more from Samantha
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      Once you have a curriculum the student can connect to, that engages them, that empowers them...then they have value. And I think that's the pivotal piece, because if they're not invested in what they're learning, that graduate profile isn't going to mean anything. But if they're invested in what they're learning, then they can make the connection.
      —Bonavita Quinto-MacCallum, Ph.D. District SEL Coordinator, Taos Municipal Schools
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      Integrating social and emotional skills can help us assure that all students in our state have the skills to thrive cognitively, emotionally, socially, culturally, linguistically and academically, in school and in life.

      —Dr. Amy McConell Franklin,
      Founding Co-Chair SEL4NM

      Read more from Amy
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