Application Details

Grant Application

If you are interested in submitting a grant application to implement the Tomorrow’s Leaders program in your school, please download the application form and submit to the Tomorrow’s Leaders Program Director at info@nmfirst.org

Tomorrow’s Leaders Grant Application 01-Jan-2011 (836 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Grant Requirements

The following lists the key responsibilities of the sponsoring organization and adult leader, as well as for New Mexico First.

Sponsoring School Responsibilities

Each sponsoring school accepts responsibility for the following:

Recruit a teacher to implement the program.
Allow the teacher to incorporate the Tomorrow’s Leaders curriculum into the regular course activities.
Allow the teacher to use the classroom and school equipment (e.g., computers, library reference tools, etc.) to support the curriculum.
Allow the teacher to showcase the program with the other teachers, staff, and students pre- and post-youth town hall event (e.g., at faculty meetings, school assemblies, school publications, etc.).
Allow the teacher and students to hold the youth town hall either 1) on two-three consecutives days during the regular classroom period schedule or 2) within a half-day as a special session during the classroom day.
Allow the teacher to recruit participants for the youth town hall from the other classes (e.g., post flyers, include a notice in the school bulletin, make a presentation regarding the program in the classrooms of other teachers, make a school announcement, etc.).
Provide a meeting space to convene the youth town hall, adequate to meet the needs of the group size which could be between 30-50 students (e.g., multiple classrooms, library, cafeteria, gymnasium, etc.).
Give permission for the teacher (or other responsible chaperone) and two youth delegates to attend the annual statewide town hall sponsored by New Mexico First, held in the spring. (NOTE: Expenses are paid by New Mexico First.)

Teacher (Adult Leader) Responsibilities

Each teacher (adult leader) accepts responsibility for the following:

Attend the Tomorrow’s Leaders training session, held in late July or early August.
Participate in regular teleconference sessions with the Tomorrow’s Leaders program director to review progress and share lessons learned throughout the school year.
Orient the students to the program and the curriculum within the first week of the semester.
Incorporate the Tomorrow’s Leaders curriculum into the regular course activities on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. Completion of the curriculum includes both planning/implementing a youth town hall and advancing the recommendations that result from it.
Report progress to New Mexico First using the report forms provided at the training session.
Be a chaperone (or identify a responsible chaperone) for two youth delegates to attend the annual statewide town hall, held in the spring. (NOTE: Expenses are paid by New Mexico First.)

New Mexico First Responsibilities

New Mexico First provides the following support to the sponsoring school, teacher (adult leader), and students:

Provides a total grant of $2,000 to be paid to the school in four installments. (NOTE: Installments are linked to acceptance of four reports plus attachments of student materials submitted by the teacher.)
The grant overs the expenses for the youth town hall and remaining funds can be used by the school where the need is greatest.
Provides a week-by-week curriculum and student materials so that teacher’s planning time is minimal.
Conducts a training session for the teacher.
Offers support – via email, phone, website, and site visits – throughout the program.
In addition to the grant, covers all travel, lodging, meal, and registration costs for the teacher (or other responsible chaperone) and two students to attend the New Mexico First annual statewide town hall, held in the spring.

Calendar

Program Phase	Key Activities	Time frame
Research	Build cohesive youth team Research community needs Develop community vision statement	August - September
Plan	Set date for youth town hall Select and research topic Set a budget Assign roles and responsibilities Practice facilitation skills Write media advisory Promote youth town hall	October - January
Implement	Conduct youth town hall Prioritize recommendations Write youth town hall report Write press release	February - March
Advocate	Develop public presentation Present recommendations to school and community groups Attend New Mexico First statewide town hall Celebrate a job well-done!	April - May

Communities

Rural Communities

The Tomorrow’s Leaders program is designed for youth in rural communities and small towns. The program is not currently offered in New Mexico’s larger cities (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe) because those youth have access to a wide range of youth leadership opportunities. Many young people in our state’s smaller towns do not.

In each community, the adult leader (teacher) takes the lead in recruiting youth members from a regularly scheduled class. The skills taught through the program easily match the objectives of most core school courses. The goal is to involve an academically and socially diverse group of young people.

Successful Community/School Programs

Española

The community of Espanola, in northern New Mexico, hosted a Tomorrow’s Leaders program in 2007 and 2008. New Mexico First has worked in partnership with ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education) and Espanola Valley High School to implement the program.

The ENLACE program received a federal grant to sponsor the S.A.D.D. program in the schools.

The Espanola Valley High School program was successful in gaining permission from the school and the Espanola School Board to allow eligible juniors and seniors to have more food choice by leaving campus during the lunch period.

2007 Española ENLACE Recommendations 01-May-2007 (24 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

2008 Española Valley High School Recommendations 01-May-2008 (24 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Hobbs

Hobbs is situated in the southeast corner of the state. Three schools in this community—Houston Junior High School, Hobbs High School, and King’s Gate Academy—hosted the Tomorrow’s Leaders program in 2008 and 2009. The students in the programs ranged from 7th grade to 12 grade.

The Houston Junior High School program was successful in gaining permission from the Hobbs School Board to establish a peer-mentoring program in the Hobbs Municipal Schools.

The Kings Gate Academy program worked with a City Commissioner to establish a student mentoring program involving parents and guardians in the community.

The Hobbs High School gained permission from school educators to allow the use of cell phones and other technology that can connect to the internet for research projects and sharing class notes with other students.

2008 Houston Junior High School Recommendations 01-May-2008 (24 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

2008 King's Gate Academy Recommendations 01-May-2008 (24 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

2009 Kings Gate Academy Recommendations 01-Feb-2009 (622 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

2009 Hobbs High School Recommendations 01-Feb-2009 (623 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Portales

The community of Portales and its city government, in eastern New Mexico, hosted the Tomorrow’s Leaders program in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Students from Eastern New Mexico University provided the youth leadership for the program, and high school students from the area also participated.

Students actively worked with community officials and civic groups on a range of recommendations that will help Portales improve its infrastructure, beautify the city, and promote more healthy lifestyles and entertainment choices.

2007 City of Portales Recommendations 01-May-2007 (33 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

2008 City of Portales Recommendations 01-May-2008 (32 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Bernalillo

The town of Bernalillo is situated in the central region of New Mexico. In 2009, New Mexico First worked with Bernalillo High School to implement the program. The school has a very diverse student population, representative of New Mexico’s multi-cultural heritage.

The students advocated for several recommendations that would help increase student involvement by expanding communications about school activities.

2009 Bernalillo High School Recommendations 01-Feb-2009 (624 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Belen

Belen is also located in central New Mexico and hosted the program in Belen High School in 2010. The student council chose the Tomorrow’s Leaders program as their key service activity.

The students developed several recommendations for ways to improve their school. They chose the creation of a Spirit Store to advocate with school leaders.

2010 Belen High School Recommendations 01-Feb-2010 (624 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Tularosa

The small community of Tularosa is located in southern part of New Mexico. The business education class in Tularosa High School hosted the program in 2010.

Given the recent renovation of the school, the students were very interested in eliciting student recommendations on how to keep the school environment beautiful. They were successful in gaining permission from school leaders to establish a service learning program in which students volunteered twice each month to pick up trash and care for landscaping around the school.

2010 Tularosa High School Recommendations 01-Feb-2010 (624 KB) Tomorrow's Leaders Program

Curriculum

Adult Leader and Youth Handbooks

New Mexico First provides a handbook to the adult leader and the youth participants to support the program. The handbooks are organized around the weekly or bi-monthly meeting plans that are implemented throughout the school year. Each meeting plan takes less than two hours and is easily adapted to fit a classroom schedule. The youth participants of the program build important academic and life skills:

Civic engagement
Team work
Communication
Critical thinking
Research
Reading
Report writing
Planning
Budgeting
Meeting facilitation
Public speaking
Technology
Advocacy
Media writing

For a more detailed review of the Tomorrow’s Leaders curriculum, download a copy of the handbook table of contents:

Tomorrow’s Leaders Curriculum: Table of Contents 01-Jan-2011 (125 KB) Get an overview of the Tomorrow’s Leaders curriculum.

Overview

Program Overview

New Mexico First’s Tomorrow’s Leaders program engages young people in local public policy and government. We use our proven town hall model to get youth involved in the democratic process and educate them about issues facing their communities. Participants in the Tomorrow’s Leaders program research, plan, and facilitate their own youth town halls, producing recommendations for local leaders.

The Tomorrow’s Leaders program is established in rural communities throughout New Mexico. Each group is comprised of 10-20 youth. Each is led by at least one adult leader and sometimes, a youth assistant. The adult leaders are usually local teachers, community leaders, or business members. Where possible, the youth assistant is an alumnus of the statewide Youth Alliance program. In locations where Youth Alliance alumni are not available, the youth assistant is often a student leader from a local college.

New Mexico First provides week-by-week lesson plans and activities, preparing the participants to convene their local youth town hall. This town hall is each group’s major community activity. The events are typically held in an afternoon, and they are attended by an additional 30-50 youth from the community. In the weeks following the youth town hall, participants in the Tomorrow’s Leaders program present the recommendations from the event to fellow students as well as local officials at school board meetings, city council meetings, or county commission meetings. The youth also develop their own media press releases on the results of their town hall.

Each community also sends two youth delegates (and an adult chaperone) to New Mexico First’s annual statewide town hall. Travel, lodging, meals, and registration expenses are covered by the program. The statewide town hall is held each year on an important topic facing New Mexico. The youth delegates from the Tomorrow’s Leaders program, who by this time have conducted their own local town halls, are well prepared to participate on equal footing with adults. Furthermore, they bring important youth perspectives to the deliberations.