New Mexico Public Education Secretary Dr. Kurt Steinhaus

NMPBS News:

This week’s guest on Report From Santa Fe is New Mexico Public Education Secretary Dr. Kurt Steinhaus, of Los Alamos, discussing current issues in education in New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Education and Secretary Steinhaus have been facing two huge developments and challenges – the vast amounts of paperwork required of teachers and administrators, and the corona virus pandemic.

Dr. Steinhaus and the Education Department reduced paperwork for teachers by 41 percent and reduced administrative paperwork by 34 percent. Also, the department has risen to the challenge of the pandemic by analyzing pandemic-specific impacts on learning, and creating “Extended Learning Time Programs”, and offering more mental health and anxiety treatment programs for schools, students, and staff.

Dr. Steinhaus has formulated an “Entry and Learning Plan” for the pandemic circumstances New Mexico education faces. Steinhaus asserts, “This transition presents an opportunity for positive enhancements in our schools; (as well as) for the state’s instructional leader and chief executive officer to work closely with school leaders and community toward success for all.”

One of the long-term effects of the pandemic to in-person learning, was to increase the number of students partaking in home schooling, which doubled from 8,800 students pre-pandemic to16,000 students in 2021 as the pandemic was in full swing.

Steinhaus was born in Los Alamos and has dedicated his career to education and advocating for the diverse population of New Mexico students, most recently as superintendent of Los Alamos Public Schools. His Bachelor’s degree is in music education. Steinhaus holds master’s degrees from the University of Oregon, in science, and Eastern New Mexico University, in music, as well as a Doctor of Education from the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he produced a dissertation on “Educational Leadership and Organizational Training”.

Hosted by veteran journalist and interviewer, Lorene Mills, Report From Santa Fe brings the very best of the esteemed, beloved, controversial, famous and emergent minds and voices of the day to a weekly audience that spans the state of New Mexico and has served as a window on what makes Santa Fe and the State of New Mexico truly unique. 

During nearly 40 years on the air, Mills and Report From Santa Fe have given viewers a unique opportunity to become part of a series of remarkable conversations – always thoughtful and engaging, often surprising – held in a warm and civil atmosphere. 

Gifted with a quiet intelligence and genuine grace, Mills draws guests as diverse as Jane Goodall, Margaret Atwood, Alan Arkin, Gore Vidal, Isabel Allende and Stewart Udall, along with a who’s who in New Mexico politics, into easy and open exchange, with plenty of room and welcome for wit, authenticity, and candor. Mills’ ability to elicit the true thoughts and nature of her guests is legendary. She and Report From Santa Fe is committed to offering New Mexico viewers – and listeners – yet another decade of wonderfully unique voices and viewpoints.

Report From Santa Fe airs on all three PBS stations across New Mexico:

• KNME New Mexico PBS – Santa Fe/Albuquerque – Northern & Central New Mexico
  8 a.m. Sundays on Ch.5.1 (excepting Pledge Drives) & 4:30 p.m. on Ch.5.4
  ***Streams Free On Demand – on The PBS Video App;

• KENW/Channel 3 – Portales – Eastern New Mexico
  6 p.m. Saturday;

• KRWG/Channel 22 – Las Cruces – Southern New Mexico
  8 a.m. Sunday; 

• Streaming on-demand on the PBS Video App; and 

• Report From Santa Fe also airs on the radio 9:30 a.m. every Monday on Albuquerque radio station KANW-FM, 89.1, and 6 p.m. Mondays on Santa Fe radio station KSFR-FM 101.1 FM.

More information about future show lineups – and a sampling of past shows – can be found online.