Children and students in New Mexico who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing will become lifelong learners and contributing, well-rounded successful individuals in an increasingly global society.
The mission of the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD), New Mexico’s first public school, is to provide for the unique needs of children and students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, their families and professional partners by providing a comprehensive array of school and statewide programs.
Dear NMSD Community and Friends,
During 2023-2024, NMSD was blessed with the installation of a beautiful sculpture by Rollie Granbois funded by Arts in Public Places. “Prayers for the Future” stands majestically facing the sunrise every morning and can be seen from Cerrillos Road. As families come onto our campus, they are given hope for the future of their child. This is what our school encompasses: hope made into reality.
Why does the state need a School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH)? For thousands of years, D/HH people have been isolated, denied education, and discouraged from interacting with each other. That is the outdated model. It has only been within the past couple of hundred years that Deaf people have had true access to language and education.
With modern technology, increasing numbers of D/HH children use spoken language. NMSD students are no longer predominantly signing-only. However, these children still want to attend NMSD, and their reasons vary: technology does not provide 100% access, to learn a second language, to be around others like them, to develop a variety of skills, and to participate in sports and extracurricular programs. NMSD provides support in a space where everyone feels they belong. Access becomes a non-issue, and they are no longer “deaf/ hard of hearing” but are their own person.
It is my dream that all programs in New Mexico work together to support the whole child, regardless of the program the child attends. As a statewide agency, NMSD will always provide high quality support for all D/HH children across the state.
Your continued support makes this “Prayer for the Future” a reality.
Thank you,
Dr. Jennifer Herbold, Superintendent
Dear NMSD Community and Friends,
As we look back on 2024, we celebrate a year of growth, resilience, and forward momentum. With the dedication of our entire community—families, students, staff, and alumni—we have navigated challenges and embraced opportunities that set the stage for continued success. Our collaborative efforts have led to a strategic plan that reflects our shared vision and commitment to excellence.
We are proud of the progress made in fostering open communication through community meetings, enhancing our digital presence with a new website and app, and expanding the ways we connect with families. These efforts are helping to strengthen our sense of community and ensure everyone feels included in our journey forward.
As you explore this year’s annual report, you will see the many ways we continue to honor and build upon our proud legacy. Our commitment to providing high-quality education and opportunities for all students remains at the forefront of our mission. Despite challenges in recruitment and ongoing capital projects, we are encouraged by the talented staff joining our team and the continued support from our partners and legislators.
Board of Regents 2023-2024
The NMSD Board of Regents is honored to work alongside Dr. Herbold and her team, providing oversight and guidance as we strive to uphold the values that define NMSD. We remain focused on our mission, dedicated to supporting our school, and excited about the year ahead.
With pride in our path forward and the successes to come,
Kristin Mora, Board of Regents President
Our nationally-recognized early intervention program provides families in-home services with information on topics such as: evaluation and assessment, early language and cognitive development, and community resources. With NMSD, success starts early!
2023-2024
258 children
The Outreach team engages with families directly and in collaboration with their child’s school programs. Educational Consultants attend IEP meetings and provide learning and social events, as well as ASL services in local school districts or charter schools.
2023-2024 - Programming and supports were available to all families of children who attend their local school district or charter school.
Preschool Locations: Albuquerque, Farmington, Las Cruces and Santa Fe K-12: Santa Fe
Accredited Academic Instruction is provided along with a wide range of Support Services.
Instruction follows standards, guidelines and requirements put forth by the New Mexico Public Education Department with the addition of classes specifically geared for Deaf/Hard of Hearing children.
On the Santa Fe campus, this also includes:
• Residential Services
• Student Organizations
• After-school Activities
• Athletics
2023-2024
140 children
Customized services for students attending public and charter schools provided. The services include but are not limited to the following:
• ASL Interpreter training and mentoring
• Spoken language supports, training and consultation for SLPs
• IEP attendance and consultation on the addendum for D/HH children
• Instructional guidance, student observations, ASL instruction and professional development for teachers
• Student evaluations as appropriate
2023-2024 250 children
• Provided follow-up support for Children’s Medical Services to ensure that timely services are delivered for the 21,000 newborns screened in New Mexico each year
• Provided hearing screening trainings to ECECD FIT agencies enabling them to screen over 16,000 IDEA Part C children per year
• Provided direct services to 258 families, longterm consultation to 123 families, and short-term consultation to 119 families or agencies
• Developed New Mexico’s first, and so far only, Tele-audiology Diagnostic program that enables the diagnosis of babies where rural location and lack of resources makes diagnosis difficult
We provide additional consultation and supports to nationwide and statewide agencies on topics relevant to Deaf/Hard of Hearing children and adults.
NMSD serves as the only comprehensive and directly accessible hub in the state for the New Mexico Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to participate in or attend activities and events such as performing arts, athletic programs and academic competitions.
NMSD is also the largest employer of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals including those with additional disabilities in the state.
Instruction 2023 – 2024: 140
Santa Fe: Preschool to 12th Grade; Preschools: Albuquerque, Farmington & Las Cruces
Outreach 2023 – 2024: 250
Support to school districts and families
Early Intervention 2023 – 2024: 258
Home visiting services for children ages birth - six
Total Served 2023 – 2024: 648 *
*670 services provided. 22 students served by both Early Intervention and our Preschools
Did you know that a newborn’s brain creates more than a million neural connections each second and reaches 80% of its adult growth by age three?
NMSD is committed to supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing children (ages birth to 6) and their families through this most critical period of a young child’s life by providing individualized, home-based, early intervention services. These services support a family’s ability to create positive listening and visual learning environments, introduce literacy to their baby and, most importantly, communicate with their child.
Some of the many ways NMSD Early Intervention has served families in New Mexico during the 2023-2024 fiscal year included:
• Direct services to 258 families through 4,223 home visits
• Traveled over 262,800 miles to provide services
• Consistent family-to-family events within regions
• Ongoing, consultative support to 123 children
• Short-term consultation to 119 agencies and/or families
• Multilingual, highly trained staff
• Assistance to the Department of Health with follow-up to any of the state’s 21,000 newborns referring on their hearing screening
• Trainings to ECECD’s Part C and Head Start providers enabling them to screen over 16,000 children
• Establishment of New Mexico’s first Teleaudiology Diagnostic Program
• Partnering with higher education institutions for research and education
Of the families served this year: 18% do not use English as their primary language 36% live in “highly rural” or “isolated” areas
Statewide Educational Outreach provided ongoing consultation and training during the 2023-2024 school year.
Our multidisciplinary team is comprised of highly experienced staff. Merging our respective expertise offers a wide range of support for families and school district staff. Consultants tap into each other’s knowledge, sometimes traveling together and maximizing their collective expertise, benefiting Deaf/Hard of Hearing students and their educational teams.
Our team served statewide educational administrators, school staff and families in a variety of ways:
• 3685 school staff contacts/consultations
• 1002 family contacts /engagement
• ASL Mentors provided 483 school visits in 10 school districts and 29 family home visits
• 58 participants attended the summer 2023 Virtual ASL Immersion
• 214 participants attended ASL Classes in the fall and spring
• 5 workshops were offered to districts on request; 2 statewide workshops provided interpreters CEUs
• 120 mentoring meetings occurred with 7 interpreters from 3 school districts
• 174 hours of mentoring supports through observations, benchmarking progress, researching supports and homework
• 26 hours of mentoring and consultation for two signing aides from two school districts
• Visits to 7 districts for interpreting support and to evaluate students’ readiness to use interpreting services
• 162 consultations regarding 74 students in 19 districts
• 16 SLPs participated in the workshop “The Implications of Language Deprivation in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children”
• 29 supports/consultations for diagnosticians
At NMSD, communication is our focus. We strive to give students optimal access to language and learning using Bilingual (ASL and English) and Bimodal (Signed and Spoken) approach.
Our staff include a variety of specialists; audiologists, speech language pathologists (SLPs), licensed, trained teachers of the Deaf, educational assistants, fluent users of ASL and Deaf professionals.
• Preschools continued to operate at our Albuquerque, Farmington and Santa Fe locations.
• Inspired by Reggio Emilia principles for authentic handson learning, created an environment for language-rich communication opportunities.
• Spoken language and listening were supported by various models responsive to each child, such as Spoken Language classes and groups, individual speech language therapy, aural habilitation, and reading and writing.
• Students continued to use Handwriting without Tears, typing and letter recognition practice.
• ECE Programs hosted Family Days during the school day, giving parents a glimpse into their child’s educational life and opportunities to learn about topics that interest them (literacy, ASL, etc.). Family nights were also hosted providing families with time to socialize with each other and to interact with staff.
• Curricular programming adhered to New Mexico State Standards.
• Teachers implemented new Social Emotion Learning curriculum, Harmony, integrated in their instruction.
• Bilingual Grammar Curriculum (BGC) was purchased and implemented by our ASL and ELA teachers. BGC offers a new comprehensive way to address grammar instruction through printed English and American Sign Language.
• Kiwanis' K-Kids Club was established with the 4th/5th grade class. All students had the chance to develop leadership skills and come up with ways to improve their community through service.
61 students were enrolled in 3 ECE programs across 12 districts
87% of ECE students used hearing devices
80% of Elementary students were day students while 20% were residents
32 students were enrolled in our elementary department across districts
SEL happened during homeroom Monday through Thursday for middle school. The middle school department used the Caring School Community curriculum under the Collaborative Classroom organization. The high school department provided SEL lessons two days a week. They used Every Monday Matters as a resource to guide their lessons.
We have a new robotics class, and students did well in local and national competitions.
The middle school department went on an educational trip through New Mexico. Our students had the opportunity to learn New Mexico’s history, culture, and environment. They took a New Mexico history class and were able to apply what they learned on this trip.
Our high school drama club was part of the 4th annual National Deaf Theatre Festival (NDTF) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Students learned various theatre skills and activities, became more polished actors by using ASL as their medium for acting, and performed their written play on a national stage at Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB).
Writing and ASL
hosted by Gallaudet University
Congratulations to Adrien Ercolino, Alex GonzalezLopez, Kimora Vollmar and Tori Melendez for earning recognition in different categories!
NMSD’s Whole Child Support Team (WCST) aided our students in participating fully in their educational environment by their addressing academic, social and personal growth. WCST included speech-language pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists, a physical therapist, a school psychologist and a behavior specialist, as well as the Student Support Team (SST) counselors, art therapist and social worker. The Health Center was staffed by a pediatric nurse practitioner and registered nurses.
WCST provided therapy services both in-person and virtually. Students were evaluated in all academic areas. Staff trained to improve support for spoken language acquisition, language deprivation and self-regulation. SST provided team building, suicide prevention, support for marginalized students and yoga-mindfulness training.
Our audiologists provided comprehensive hearing evaluations and services for students, such as device checks, new earmolds and consultation. Audiologists represented NMSD in outreach initiatives.
Health Center
Health Center staff provided medications, treatments, sports physicals and screenings. Staff educated students on hygiene and dental health. Nursing and SST collaborated on a social emotional learning group for students.
85% of NMSD students received at least one related service
73% of students across all campuses used hearing devices
180+ student evaluations completed
32+ students have an IHP to provide support for a medical condition
6000+ hours of related services
Our residential program offered plentiful opportunities for students to develop leisure skills, independent living skills, and to broaden their recreational interests. Between our 5 cottages, 351 recreational and independent living skills activities were planned last year.
We stopped using the Rail Runner to transport our day students this year to increase safety for our students. Our transportation team provided 11 daily routes and 13 weekend routes throughout the state.
We offered breakfasts and lunches for students at no cost to families. Dinner was also served to residential students and day students who participated in after-school activities.
Last year a survey was conducted to gather preferences from students to improve the quality and appeal of meals. The survey responses allowed us to build a meal cycle that students enjoy more.
This summer we held our annual New Mexico Challenge summer camp. Activities for students who are 18 months old through 2nd grade included swimming in the lake, rock climbing, creative arts, friendship bonding, language enhancement, and much more. Students in 3rd - 8th grade based their camp at Aspen, Colorado. Activities for this group of students included exploring nature, swimming, hiking, white water rafting, archery, fishing, paddleboarding, panning for gold, campfire stories, leadership development, team building and much more. The campers returned with lifelong memories.
We also offered housing and transportation for High School students who want to continue pursuing career options during the summer.
42 residential students
30 day students served
77% of students received transportation services
24 bus and suburban routes
8,168 breakfasts served
12,693 lunches served
2 major community events: Mini Zozobra Roadrunner Celebration Day
4 NMSD students had summer employment through Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.
During the 23-24 academic year, our school engaged in eight different sports, fielding a total of 14 teams for grades 6-12. Community involvement in athletics is highly valuable; our achievements would not be possible without the dedication of our staff who stepped up to take on the role of coaching. Our coaches are teachers, interpreters, Student Life Educators, and more.
Participating in sports teaches our students important life lessons such as teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship. These values are essential for their continued growth and development.
Volleyball: Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Conference Champions back-to-back
Boys Basketball: Roadrunner Classic Champions and Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Conference runner up
Cheerleading: Brought home the National Deaf Cheerleading Championship trophy. Qualified to compete at the NM State Spirit Competition by the New Mexico Athletic Association
Rochester Institute of Technology Middle School Math Competition: Our math team was invited to take part in the finals at Rochester, NY
Academic Bowl: Great Plains Schools for the Deaf Champions. Placed second at the West Regionals. Finished in the top 8 at the Nationals at Washington D.C.
Track and Field: Three athletes placed 2nd and 3rd place in their events at the National Deaf Berg-Seeger Classic. NMSD also had 4 athletes qualify for the State Championships. Two medaled in their events
2023-2024 Expenditures
2023-2024 Income Sources
$15,890,562 Land Grant Permanent Fund & Land Maintenance Fund
$ 340,546 Capital Outlay Funds
$5,584,581 State Appropriations
$ 1,721,600 Restricted Funds / Other Revenues (Medicaid/Navajo Nation/IDEA B/DOH/JPAs)
“New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD) provides my deaf children with valuable learning experiences, encompassing academic education, language growth, and socialemotional assistance. Additionally, NMSD emphasizes American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture, which can greatly enhance my deaf children’s development and sense of identity.” ~ Lee Family
NMSD holds Certificates of Accreditation from:
• Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD)
• Cognia, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI)
Rate of transition to postsecondary education, vocational-technical training school, junior colleges, work training or employment for graduates based on a three-year rolling average
Percent of LEA (Local Education Agency) staff satisfied with educational services from the Center for Educational Consultation and Training (Statewide Outreach)
Percent of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings that address special factors of language and communication
Percent of students from grades K-12 with IEP goals in reading and/or math demonstrating progress as documented by quarterly IEP progress reports
Percent of first year signers who demonstrate improvement in American Sign Language based on Fall/Spring assessments
Percent of parents indicating that programs from the Center for Educational Consultation and Training (Statewide Outreach) have increased their ability to understand their child’s language and communication access needs
For NMSD’s Early Intervention Program, percentage of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C Early Intervention Performance Indicators that are met. (Performance indicators are outlined by the Office of Special Education Programs.)
Precious: Exploring work options
Jesus: Groundskeeper at NMSD
Jose: Gallaudet University
Adrien: Rochester Institute of Technology (Engineering)
Alex: Gallaudet University (Education)
DeAngelo: Working on family farm in Dulce, NM
Zachary: Santa Fe Community College
Tori: University of New Mexico (Engineering)
Emily: College of New Mexico
