New Mexico to Send 750,000 Books Home With 75,000 K-3 Students: A Family Reading Plan for Every Child
The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) announced on October 28 that more than 75,000 kindergarten through third-grade students across the state will receive more than 750,000 books in multiple languages during the 2026-27 school year, with school districts beginning distribution in November. Santa Fe, the state capital, is in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
Teachers will use student assessment and progress information to prepare an individualized family literacy plan for each K-3 student. Four times during the school year, teachers will send families an updated plan, a report on their child's reading progress, and a Take-Everywhere Literacy Pack containing structured literacy activities, extending reading practice from the classroom into the home.
Families want to know how their children are doing and what they can do to help, said Public Education Secretary Mariana D. Padilla, adding that the family literacy plans connect the information teachers share with books and activities families can use together, and that reading at home should feel welcoming and possible for every family.
The packs were developed by Just Right Reader and include books selected to match students' developing reading skills, writing activities, and video phonics lessons families can access by QR code, available in English, Spanish, and more than a dozen additional languages. Founded in 2019, Just Right Reader develops literacy resources aligned with the Science of Reading.
The initiative is part of New Mexico's implementation of the 2026 High-Quality Literacy Instruction Act (Senate Bill 37), which strengthens evidence-based literacy instruction, student assessment, family engagement, and targeted support for students learning to read.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：孩子们在图书馆的双语故事会上听老师读绘本（资料图）。Monterey Public Library 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Children listen during a bilingual storytime at a public library (file photo). Photo by Monterey Public Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
