Janai Campos, a school counselor at Albuquerque International High School, welcomes students into a sunlit Wellness Room where a group is finishing yoga. For Janai, known affectionately as “Miss J”, this space is a sanctuary for students to decompress and connect.
“My hope is to see them do everything they want, and more,” Janai says. “I want them to learn to navigate this world without fear, but with strength, knowing they have the tools they need.”
Albuquerque International High School serves newcomer students: refugees, immigrants, and English language learners who arrive carrying both enormous potential and enormous weight.
“Everything about this country was jaw-dropping,” says sophomore Iradukunda “Ira” Sebanani, who moved from Rwanda in 2024. “But I was tired because I was leaving people I’d known my whole life.”
Now she’s found a community of peers with similar backgrounds and is thinking seriously about her education and future.
Janai supports students, like Ira, in more ways than one. Somedays she lends a listening ear, others, she is guiding them toward futures they may not yet have envisioned for themselves.
Valeria Durón-Barrón, a freshman who moved from Mexico, has also found her footing. “When I’m sad, Miss J helps me,” she says. Encouraged by Janai, she dreams of becoming a pediatrician.
Janai is the only counselor at Albuquerque International High School, which can be isolating. But, twice a month, she connects virtually with other counselors, advisors, and educators from across New Mexico through Project ECHO’s Future Ready in NM: Preparing Our Youth for College and Career Program, an ongoing professional learning community that brings educators and experts together to share experiences, exchange resources, and learn from each other in a way that goes beyond the usual professional development opportunities.
Social and Emotional Support: Foundations of College and Career Readiness
Miss J has found vital support through other counselors and educators who are working with similar student populations—who are all learning from and supporting each other.
“Sometimes it can be lonely, right? Like, you go through tough situations, new crises, new situations,” says Janai. “ECHO’s Future Ready New Mexico has really opened my knowledge to things that I didn’t know were available for students, as well as just learning the basics of some of the programs that have been offered in New Mexico for a long time.”
Project ECHO’s Future Ready program is invaluable to education professionals, and, by extension, the young people they work with across the state. Future Ready offers connection, resource sharing, culturally responsive trouble shooting, timely and relevant support. It provides hope to students, like Ira and Valeria, alongside pathways to success, and future happy, healthy lives.
Lorraine Chavez, a College and Career Readiness Resource Counselor at Albuquerque Public Schools, champions the ECHO Program. As a first-generation college graduate who grew up in Albuquerque, she understands the barriers students face.
“If programs like Future Ready didn’t exist for educators, I wouldn’t be here,” she says. “I would probably be working three jobs with a high school diploma.”
Now, as a Hub team member for Project ECHO’s Future Ready program, Lorraine leads virtual “communities of practice,” including the one Janai attends. Educators learn together and then bring what they learn, like College and Career Readiness opportunities, to students who need it most.
Addressing Barriers to Success
Lorraine notes that many students in Albuquerque and across New Mexico graduate without a plan, often navigating trauma and poverty. “There are a lot of things that our students are going through,” she says.
Among the challenges, New Mexico has:
- the lowest high school graduation rate in the United States
- one of the highest rates of disengaged youth: more than 10% of 16- to 24-year-olds are not in school or working
- High poverty rates: 21.8% of children live below the poverty line
For students at Albuquerque International High School, these challenges are compounded by the need to learn a new language and culture.
“There are so many barriers,” Janai explains. “It comes down to security: feeling safe, knowing they have food, and knowing their home is consistent.” Many students come from mixed-status families, fearing deportation or feeling unsafe speaking their native languages. But Janai and others at her school are making a difference, one student at a time.
“I have so much peace when I work with her,” says Valeria about Miss J.
“Miss J thinks highly of me,” adds Ira. “She knows I’m going to do great. And that gives me confidence.”
A Ripple Effect for New Mexico
Through shared knowledge and support, Project ECHO’s Future Ready in New Mexico: Preparing our Youth for College and Career is transforming the educational landscape in New Mexico, ensuring students like Ira and Valeria thrive. By fostering collaboration among educators like Janai and Lorraine, it creates a sustainable network that empowers education professionals to guide students toward secure, successful futures.
“We have been able to change countless lives for the better, especially in rural New Mexico,” Lorraine says. “We need to share this for students across the state so they could take advantage of this. And as a whole, we will all benefit from their success. We will see better educators in our system, better health care workers in our hospitals. It will be a ripple effect that’s positive for all of us.”
*For more information about the Future Ready in NM: Preparing our Youth for College and Career ECHO Program, visit the iECHO program page or email the program team. Related story: Finding Their Path: Project ECHO’s Future Ready Program Across New Mexico.
