Many adults remember the day a fire truck pulled up outside their school classroom: they met firefighters, got a close-up look at a fire truck and maybe even got a coloring book.

Gallup Fire Department has been busy with a new approach to fire education, developing grade-specific lessons designed to fit into students’ regular school programs.

Younger children will still get a coloring book, but the way firefighters interact with them is different. In a kindergarten class, presenters may sit on the floor and read to a class or color with them.  A visit from Sparky the fire education dog is always a hit.

“Kids at that age, it’s hard to keep their attention for 30 minutes,” ...

Middle school students in the Pueblo Pintado area have a new option for school this year with the addition of grades 6-8 at Tse Yi Gai school.

Gallup McKinley County Schools decided to expand enrollment after a community survey indicated support. The school has space for 891 students, much larger than the high school population it has recently served. As a high school only, it ended the last term with 67 students. To date, 14 middle schoolers have enrolled for this term.

Adding younger grades will fill some of the excess capacity while making attendance easier for some students and their parents.

“Adding grades 6-8 will allow students to attend school with their siblings,”...

New Mexico offers free college tuition for Graduating, returning  students

If a college education sounds out of reach because of the cost, the state can bring that dream a big step closer to reality with programs that pay tuition for students transitioning from high school, and older students who’ve been out of the education system for a while.

“We’re going to be able to cover free college for every New Mexican,” Stephanie Montoya, New Mexico Department of Higher Education’s public information officer, said.

The programs, known as Lottery scholarships for new high school grads and Opportunity scholarships for returning students, cover the cost of tuition for community...

Gallup-McKinley County Schools is cracking down on drugs. During the previous school year, the school district started a partnership with the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office and its K-9 division.

The partnership formed after the school district approached the sheriff’s office and expressed a concern about finding vapes and marijuana products inside some of the middle schools and high schools in the district.

“The idea of working with the district was to keep the kids and the schools safe, to keep a safe, drug-free school environment. I think the school administration and administrators do a pretty good job, they’ve found more product than we have with the dogs, so clearly...