New Mexico has consistently been linked with lower rates of educational attainment compared to the rest of the United States. In fact, in 2024, New Mexico was rated the 42nd most educated state in the country, according to a study by WalletHub. Recent data from the New Mexico Public Education Department shows that only 38% of New Mexico students are proficient in reading, one of the lowest percentages in the nation.
It wasn’t until my mom, a fourth grade teacher at Eldorado Community School, expressed her sadness and concern with New Mexico’s consistently low ranking that I realized the size and scope of the reading problem in New Mexico.
This low number is partly due to the relationship between poverty and literacy. As of 2023, New Mexico’s poverty rate is 16.8%, which is higher than the national rate of 11%, according to a report from the New Mexico Legislature. Factors of poverty like coming to school hungry, no access to reading materials at home and the absence of a role model who prioritizes reading, contributes to lower literacy rates, according to an initiative of the World Literacy Foundation called USA Reads. However, there are resources that can be found right here in Santa Fe that prioritize boosting student proficiency in reading. One of those organizations is Reading Quest.
Reading Quest is a nonprofit organization, started in 2012, that provides free structured literacy tutoring. The organization believes “every child has a right to read” and that closing the education gap between low- and high-income students is important in fighting inequity and poverty, according to its website. Reading Quest’s staff not only includes adult tutors but teenage tutors as well. There is a belief that kids feel motivated when teenagers are reading with them.
In fact, some of my summer days consist of driving up to Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences, where Reading Quest’s summer program takes place, and walking into a room filled with inspiring young readers who are eager to start the day. My school has an intern program where they offer jobs to high schoolers at the program’s various business partners. One of the business partners was Reading Quest. I was in search of my first job and loved reading, so I became interested in working there.
I have been working with Reading Quest for about a year, and it is such a rewarding experience. Seeing the faces of students — who range from first grade to eighth grade — light up when they grasp a new concept or finally understand what they’ve been struggling with is priceless. It’s almost like watching a light bulb go off in their heads. Of course, there are challenges that each student faces. It can be difficult to find the right approach to help them break through those barriers. But the Reading Quest staff has been helpful in finding different approaches to these barriers.
Early on, I was able to directly see the teaching process behind each tutoring session and apply it to my students. Additionally, the staff is made of countless amazing people who express so much kindness and compassion for everyone around them. Working with Reading Quest has given me the opportunity to give back to my community in a gratifying and enjoyable way.
Another tutor at Reading Quest, soon-to-be Mandela International Magnet School sophomore Sonya Mendez, was offered a job after helping her little brother in reading. Her brother, Lorenzo Mendez, had been attending tutoring sessions with Reading Quest, and Mendez was willing to do anything to help him improve. Eventually she started to incorporate the words he practiced into games at home.
“It was a little silly, considering I knew absolutely nothing about teaching reading,” Mendez said in a recent interview. “But Lorenzo and I would play these games, and I would hope that at least something from them would work.”
Eventually, Rayna Dineen, the founder of Reading Quest, had heard of Mendez’s games and invited her to come work for Reading Quest. Mendez has been working there ever since — October 2022. Today, the games are a part of the tutoring sessions for each student.
A newer tutor, Brian Ennis, has only been working with Reading Quest for a few weeks but says he has already learned so much.
“It cannot be understated how life-changing it is for these kids to have the help they need to succeed in reading,” said Ennis, who is about to begin his senior year of high school.
One of the ways the newer staff members at Reading Quest learn to tutor is through shadowing more experienced tutors, which is how I started the program. I remember being able to understand the methods and teachings of Reading Quest quickly and thoroughly because I had a direct source to learn from.
Shadowing is so important to the learning process because individuals are able to gain insight into the roles of the job, according to the University of Cambridge. This way, individuals are able to learn what they are supposed to do in a more effective and efficient manner.
According to the Reading Quest website, the organization has served 700 students through its Reading is Magic summer camps and has served over 1,600 students from the Santa Fe, Las Vegas and Bernalillo areas in the past three years.
Personally, working with Reading Quest has been such a life-changing experience. We’re not just tutoring students to read; we’re empowering them with a skill that will last a lifetime. Every day, I get to witness unlocking the world of literature for young minds.
Abby Frey is a rising senior at Santa Fe High. Contact her at abbyafrey@gmail.com.
The Santa Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
