ABOUT SANTA FE

Education

Santa Fe’s population is an educated one, and Santa Fe citizens care deeply about the education of children, adolescents and adults of all ages. Santa Fe offers a full spectrum of educational opportunities and experiences: From conveniently located neighborhood public schools and a wide selection of private schools, to well-regarded colleges and accredited healing arts schools, to home schooling support and an enormous selection of personal and community learning activities.

And Santa Fe has NINETEEN libraries, with branches throughout town! These include public libraries, State archives, research-rich museum collections and more.

Finally, literacy matters. We have one of the most dedicated and successful Literacy Volunteer Programs in the country, with many of its members being well-known writers and educators.

Santa Fe Public Schools
“Our Mission: The Santa Fe Public Schools exist to ensure that every student graduates prepared to be a productive citizen of our local and global communit.”*

“Our Vision: Our vision is to provide every student with a high quality education in a system devoted to equality, diversity and social justice. Every student will have multiple learning opportunities to meet challenging standards in a safe, caring, and respectful environment. Every student is expected to graduate prepared to take advantage of lifelong learning opportunities.”*

* Taken from the Santa Fe Public Schools homepage.

College of Santa Fe
Founded in 1859, the enrollment of the College of Santa Fe is approximately 1900 students, of which around 1200 are enrolled in weekend or evening programs. In their own words “We seek to help students understand the world and find ways of making it better. For us, that includes students of every demographic. We are diligent in offering flexible programs so that all are welcome and able to study here. We emphasize thoughtful academic advising, and pay specific attention to ethical values, both in and out of class.” * Taken from the College of Santa Fe website.

St. John's College
“There is no other college quite like St. John's. Through sustained engagement with the works of great thinkers and through genuine discussion with peers, students at St. John's College cultivate habits of mind that will last a lifetime: a deepened capacity for reflective thought, an appreciation of the persisting questions of human existence, an abiding love of serious conversation, and a lasting love of inquiry.” * Taken from the St. John’s College homepage.

Santa Fe Community College  - includes a branch of UNM and NM Highlands
Santa Fe Community College was established in 1983, and now has an enrollment of approximately 8,000 students in any given semester.

SFCC Mission Statement: “Santa Fe Community College is a learning community that helps students succeed and serves the community. As a public institution, SFCC offers a wide range of educational programs and services to meet the needs of business, government, and a diverse population. SFCC contributes to the economic, technological, and cultural development of the region by providing quality academic, career and personal-enrichment programs.”  *Taken from SFCC website.

New Mexico Highlands University
“Student academic success is the goal of Highlands University. Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in the arts and sciences, business, education, and social work. Through offering diverse student-support services and activities, NMHU helps to ensure student academic success.” *Taken from NMHU website

NMHU features a College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, and School of Social Work at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

University of New Mexico
Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico is New Mexico’s largest higher education institution, with over 26,000 students enrolled at the graduate and undergraduate levels. UNM offers 210 certificate and degree programs, with 93 bachelor’s degrees, 68 master’s degrees and 37 doctoral programs.

With branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos, and Valencia County, UNM counts a Nobel Laureate, two MacArthur Fellows and several members of the National Academies among its exceptional faculty.

UNM is also host to New Mexico’s beloved Lobos sports programs. Lobo athletics draw fans from all-over, and the University Arena or "The Pit" was ranked 13th by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 20 sports venues of the century.

*Information gathered from the UNM website.

Southwestern College
Originally conceived as a library starting in 1945 focused upon Metaphysical studies, Southwestern College offers a unique curriculum, based upon the spirit of Transformational character development.

According to the Southwestern College website,

Teaching at Southwestern College rests on four fundamental ideas:

• The purpose of learning is the development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that provide a foundation for the helping professions.
• Learning is a process of acquiring self-awareness and theoretical knowledge and clinical skills.
• The faculty guides students in the practical application of knowledge in helping relationships.
• Transformational education combines the wisdom of the heart, the knowledge of the mind, the universality of the soul and the warmth of the human encounter.”

List of Public and Private Schools

Institute of American Indian Arts
From IAIA’s Mission Statement:
The Institute of American Indian Arts (congressionally chartered as the Institute of American Indian & Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development) was established by Executive Order under President John F. Kennedy in 1962, and opened in August of that same year on the campus of the Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Under the directorship of its co-creators, Dr. George Boyce and Lloyd Kiva New, Cherokee, the Institute embodied a bold and innovative approach to arts education, and has since played a leadership role in contemporary Indian art education.

The Institute offers four-year degrees in Studio Arts, Visual Communication, Creative Writing and Museum Studies, and is singularly qualified to offer students an environment and foundation from which they can create new forms of artistic expression and accomplishment. Our unique learning environment promotes Indian leadership and an atmosphere that allows students to explore their cultural and artistic heritage. It is a place where the spirit and vision of American Indian and Alaska Native people is the first priority. It is a place where traditions are rediscovered and reaffirmed, where it’s possible for American Indian and Alaska Native students to celebrate their art and cultural identity.

Northern New Mexico College, Espanola
In the early 1900's the New Mexico Territorial Legislature decided that a facility was needed as a "normal school" to train teachers for the State's Spanish-speaking population. The Spanish American Normal School was established in rural El Rito in September 1909. The school took on a life of its own, expanding with the times, offering both secondary and post-secondary educational programs, and eventually becoming the seed for Northern New Mexico College.

Ecoversity
Ecoversity’s 11-acre campus serves as a demonstration site and a community building center for the promotion of "hands-on" learning and sustainable living. Offering certification programs in Earth-based Vocations, Permaculture design, and Natural TopBar Beekeeping, and community classes and workshops.

United World College of the American West
Located in historic Montezuma Castle near Las Vegas, “The United World College-USA was founded in 1982 through the philanthropy of the late Dr. Armand Hammer and is part of an international movement that now includes nine two-year pre-university residential schools worldwide offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma curriculum plus a three-year tertiary college of rural development and agriculture in Venezuela.”