Homeschooling offers escape from New Mexico’s ‘failing public schools,’ former NASA aerospace engineer argues

Parents in the “Land of Enchantment” are increasingly disenchanted with dismal educational outcomes statewide, says one New Mexico mom.

“When I ask parents why they pulled their kids out of school, common reasons include poor academics, classroom behavior issues, bullying, sexualization and indoctrination of kids,” writes Sarah Smith in an opinion piece for Las Cruces Sun News.

Smith, a natural healthcare practitioner and former NASA aerospace engineer, cited US News statistics as one reason why she believes her local district’s enrollment has dropped by more than 1,000 students.

“The 2024 test results for Mayfield High School (where my two teens would attend if we weren’t homeschooling) show that only 9% of kids are proficient in math and 23% are proficient in reading. If kids can’t read or do math, how can they be successful as adults?” 

‘Alternative pathway’ to public education 

In contrast, homeschooled students outperform their public-school peers on standardized tests nationwide and “tend to be happier, more responsible, and better-adjusted,” according to Smith. 

“Homeschooling provides an alternative pathway away from our failing public schools and into a supportive, vibrant community,” she writes, noting she has seen “big growth” in her local homeschool group since 2020. 

One of the benefits of this approach involves its ability to tailor curriculum each year to children’s needs and interests, Smith argues. 

“It’s been engaging to holistically study science, inventions, math, and history chronologically all together while we also explore foods, music, and folk tales from different regions. Now that my kids are in high school, they take a big part in setting their own learning goals and developing their own curriculum semester by semester.” 

Smith also tackles the homeschool socialization question, contrasting it to problems she finds within the public-school system. 

“There are many negative lessons and aspects of socialization at school, including bullying; age-segregation, which only gives kids the chance to interact with kids their own age; age hierarchy, where older kids are ‘too cool’ to play with younger children; and undesirable lessons in pop-culture, such as early sexualization, sassy attitudes, and crass language.” 

Such challenges tend to disappear within homeschool settings where parents are more available to monitor social interactions, Smith notes. 

“Homeschooling socialization provides great benefits, including the opportunity for kids to form strong, loving relationships with their siblings; all ages socialization including pre-K through adults; a high ratio of parents to kids in social settings, such that any bullying or aggression can be quickly handled; and developmentally-appropriate exposure to sensitive topics including sexuality, drugs, language, etc.” 

As previously reported by The Lion, a New Mexico judge recently demanded the state address its “continuing violation of at-risk students’ constitutional rights” to receive an adequate public education. 

Despite a record $4.4 billion allocated to schools in the 2025 fiscal year, the state still ranks last in the nation for its educational outcomes. 

“For decades we were told that New Mexico is a ‘poor’ state and that if only we poured more money into government pre-K, K-12, and numerous other taxpayer-funded programs that improvement would come,” Paul Gessing, president of Rio Grande Foundation, wrote in an op-ed last year. 

“But, for the last decade the money to improve New Mexico has been available thanks to record-setting growth in oil and gas production. Despite massive spending growth in education and the creation of taxpayer-funded universal pre-K, our kids still face the worst outcomes nationwide.”