Passing the Baton: Cultivating New Mexico’s Future Teachers and Coaches
In the dry heat of a Hobbs, N.M., summer, Sage Baeza built strength and precision while training for his high school track team. He loved athletics and planned to pursue a career in Kinesiology — until a group of passionate teachers changed his mind with a pressing message.
New Mexico, they said, desperately needed teachers.
For Sage, the message carried weight. Now a secondary education major at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, Sage is laser-focused on becoming the best educator he can, and he’s determined to use his skills to benefit his home state.
“I’m making it a personal goal of mine to teach in New Mexico for as long as possible,” Sage says. “I want to do my part for where I grew up.”
Recruiting and retaining qualified teachers is a continuing challenge facing school districts across New Mexico. According to the New Mexico State University Educator Vacancy Report, the state reported 737 teacher vacancies in 2024. The need is especially pronounced for special education, math, and music teachers.
The report also found that New Mexico communities like Hobbs face the greatest uphill climb in retaining teachers. Hobbs is a part of the report’s southeast region, which accounted for just over 20% of the state’s teacher vacancies.
The Golden Apple Scholar Program in New Mexico is helping make Sage’s dream possible. The nonprofit is dedicated to preparing knowledgeable, well-trained teachers to teach in New Mexico’s public schools. Founded in 1985 and launched in New Mexico in 2022, the program connects college students with hands-on classroom experience, summer training sessions, and professional mentorship, setting them up for success on day one.
When he joined the program, Sage says he immediately felt connected with and welcomed by Golden Apple’s leaders and mentors.
“Golden Apple really knows their scholars,” he says, reflecting on the offers for support and informal check-ins from staff before he had even finished his application.
The summer after he joined the program, Sage attended the Scholar Institute, a three-week leadership and professional development event for Scholars across the state. Surrounded by enthusiastic educators and peers, Sage left feeling grateful for the experience of community, inspired by veteran and aspiring teachers alike.
“It was great to walk into a room full of future teachers committed to bettering their craft,” he says.
Sage credits Golden Apple not just with providing him with opportunities for growth and experience but also with clarifying his mission and purpose: to stay in New Mexico and serve his community, like his track coach, role model and mentor, Coach Taylor.
“Coach Taylor was like a father to me,” Sage says. “He understands what it’s like to be from Hobbs. He went off to college and then came back here. He remembered where he’s from.”
Sage has never forgotten his Coach’s example. “I want to be someone’s Coach Taylor,” he says with a smile.
Sage’s connection with Coach Taylor underscores the vital importance of a broader strategy for investing in New Mexico’s educational future: support local talent, invest in teachers with deep connections to their communities, then provide them top-notch teacher preparation and mentorship.
It’s a crucial endeavor. According to the University of New Mexico, 67 % of its teacher‑prep graduates remain teaching in New Mexico, meaning nearly one-third go elsewhere—either out‑of‑state or out of public K–12 education. However, the state has increased its investment in K-12 education by 62% since 2016, with a total of $4.2 billion allocated in 2024. Ensuring that this investment translates to robust teaching across the state means supporting effective programs and hard-working students.
Golden Apple and students like Sage are part of that solution, leading us toward a brighter educational future in the Land of Enchantment.
“If we really want to shape our future for the better,” Sage says, “we have to do our best as teachers.”