Estevan was behind his peers socially and academically, and was struggling in school. Isolation was beginning to set in when he was connected with Turquoise Trail Charter School, a program supported by the Daniels Fund and Excellent Schools New Mexico. Early in the pandemic, the school developed a highly targeted virtual program — Academy of Extraordinary Circumstances — to address the unique challenges facing students. School administrators learned about Estevan and worked together to secure him a place in the program, as well as a safe place on campus to get started online, reducing anxiety from being so far behind his peers.

After only a week adjusting to his new environment, Estevan was thriving. Able to focus on schoolwork rather than worrying about food, shelter, and internet access, he was on track to achieve a year of academic progress by the winter break, and set to rejoin his classmates by the end of the school year. The Daniels Fund is proud our support allows the school financial flexibility to create localized, individual programming that makes progress like this possible.

According to Turquoise Trail’s Christopher Eide Azevedo, “This is changing lives.”