Positive Impact on Children
In late 2020, NDI New Mexico announced the findings of an academic evaluation report conducted with The University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center and designed to understand the relationship between children’s participation in NDI New Mexico’s Advanced Training programs and school-related outcomes, including school attendance, academic performance, and disciplinary behavior. The results, which reflected the 2015-2019 academic years, were impressive:
- Students who participated in NDI New Mexico’s Advanced Training programs were more likely to be proficient in math, reading and science standardized testing compared to children who did not participate. Even after accounting for demographic factors such as grade level, gender, and participation in the free and reduced lunch program, NDI New Mexico’s Advanced Training participants had 1.5-2.5 times higher odds of being proficient on standardized tests in those subjects.
- Students involved in the Advanced Training program were also less likely to be chronically absent from school compared to students who did not participate. After adjusting for demographic factors, students participating in Advanced Training programs had about 1.5-2 times the odds of having ten or fewer absences during an academic year.
- The odds of having disciplinary infractions at school were also lower among children in NDI New Mexico’s Advanced Training programs compared with non-participants. After adjusting for demographic factors, students who participated in the Advanced Training programs had 2.7 times statistically lower odds of having disciplinary infractions on record compared with students who did not participate.
NDI New Mexico provides a framework for linking health, education and the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.”
– Dr. John Moore, New Mexico Public Education Department
Diversity and Need
By looking at the Federal Free or Reduced Cost Meal Program we are able to determine schools with the greatest need.
