Advanced Technologies Regional Network (ATRN)

Project Summary

              To compete in the New Economy, workers must be skilled, creative, and productive.  Yet as businesses are requiring an increasing educated and agile labor force, the United States is slipping behind scores of other nations in the knowledge and abilities of its citizens, particularly in crucial math and science disciplines that will drive industry and intellectual innovation in the coming decades.  Economists forecast a potentially devastating future gap between the skills American employers require and those workers possess.  But in New Mexico, which has among the lowest per capita income and educational levels in the country, conditions are already dire:  The majority of New Mexico workers do not have the skills or experience to succeed in 21st century jobs.  The University of New Mexico at Gallup, which has the highest enrollment of Native Americans of any two-year university in the United States and serves one of the country’s poorest, most isolated and most under-educated rural areas, has introduced the innovative Advanced Technologies Regional Network (ATRN) to begin to address the achievement gap that exists in its region.  ATRN is a community college-based, grades 9-14 educational program for advanced technicians and professionals.

              The unemployment rate nationwide for those sixteen years or older and not in high school is 5.8%; for New Mexico it is 7.3%; but in McKinley County it is 17.1%, and for the Navajo Nation it is 25%.  According to 2000 U.S. Census Bureau information, 34.8% of the McKinley County population lack a high school diploma (compared to 19.6% nationwide); only 5.8% of McKinley County residents have received an associate’s degree and only 6.6% possess a baccalaureate degree.  Students from this demographic will not be prepared for 21st century careers if they do not master math and science at a young age and continue in a rigorous academic curriculum throughout high school.

              The college’s service district is vast and remote, including the Navajo Nation, which covers an area larger than the state of Connecticut, and its population is 75% Native American.  The reservations do not have accessible modern public transportation, and participating in college programs located at far distances from their home is difficult and sometimes impossible for Native Americans.  To mitigate the burdens of long-distance travel for both Native American and non-Native American students, UNM Gallup already delivers programs in locations throughout the greater Gallup, Pueblo of Zuni and Navajo Nation region and will continue to do so in ATRN.  It will recruit students from throughout these areas, with an emphasis on providing opportunities for underrepresented female Hispanic and Native American students to pursue careers in business, science and technology.

              The Advanced Technologies Regional Network is a next-generation career and technical education program.  In its first phase, it will include 5 primary career clusters and be comprised of CTE and related associate’s degree programs in:

 

• Health Sciences
• Manufacturing Technology
• Energy and Environmental Technology
• Construction and Development
• Retail and Business Services

 

Academic programs will emphasize fundamental advanced math, science, language, technology and reasoning skills and follow articulated career pathways from high school to the community college and between 2-year and 4-year college degree programs.  The college will form an Industry Advisory Committee to advise each new program about economic and workforce needs, program structure and curriculum, and equipment and funding resources.  ATRN administrators will work with industry partners to identify critical skills for career pathways, develop supporting curriculum, and provide internship and employment opportunities for successful students.

ATRN will design and implement necessary retention strategies to ensure that students complete high school and achieve associate’s degrees.  To assist with retention of students through high school graduation, the college will hire a full-time advisor to work with all regional secondary schools.  Retention measures will focus on including family members in the educational dialogue and designing interventions that account for cultural and familial issues.  For example the college will recruit 8th grade students to participate in FIRST STEP—Females Interested in Reading, Science and Technology Summer Teaching Program—a 10 day summer learning camp designed to help high school students achieve the advanced STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) skills to succeed in advanced college-level technical education.  Students will participate in the camp for three summers prior to the start of their technical education programs in 11th grade.  The campus will also select up to 8 parents each year to participate in the summer program as chaperones.

              The Gallup proposal brings together an engaged college CEO and a strong team of community college faculty to lead the effort, including several faculty who have taught both secondary and college students and who have special experience working with girls, and is supported by enthusiastic and committed university faculty, industry advisors, and outside experts.  This team has been orchestrating meetings with business and industry leaders, public school partners, and other stakeholders for nearly two years to consider how best to respond to the community’s growing demand to create economic development solutions that join the interests of the Native American nations that surround Gallup with those of the city and its environs, and this group has come to consensus that to stimulate strategic, sustainable and beneficial economic growth the region must first invest in strengthening its educational resources.

ATRN will have impacts beyond the local community.  It will test a unique grades 9-14 approach to technical education in New Mexico and ambitious educator and student development strategies that the Legislature, the Governor, and the Public and Higher Education Departments will be able to model in additional pilot projects.  Second, ATRN will not only enhance learning opportunities of Native American and Hispanic female students, but will provide new learning experiences for public school teachers, community college faculty, parents, and non-female, non-Native American students in a region that is economically depressed but culturally rich and in which improved education will significantly improve the quality of life for area residents.  Third, ATRN provides a blueprint for sustainable regional economic development partnerships.  Finally, the project demonstrates the opportunity to better leverage education funding to improve academic achievement by increasing research and collaboration among public school and community college and university and community college faculties and institutions.