Broadband boost and arts programs expand for Hidalgo County youth

Officials announced Jan. 5 that a cluster of education and arts investments will expand opportunities for youth across Grant and Hidalgo counties, combining broadband access, public art jobs and school-based arts instruction. A Jan. 7 ribbon-cutting at Silver High School’s Little Theater marked the start of fixed wireless service that will deliver high-speed internet to nearly 500 students in the Silver Consolidated Schools District, funded by a $1.5 million Student Connect grant administered by the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion and built by TWN Communications.

Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales and state dignitaries joined representatives from TWN Communications, Silver Consolidated Schools and the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion for the ceremony. The new connections aim to reduce the digital divide faced by rural students, enabling remote learning, homework access and participation in statewide digital education programs that were previously difficult to reach in dispersed communities.

At the same time, cultural investments will create paid opportunities and classroom enrichment for local children. With funding support from New Mexico Growth and Opportunity (NM GRO) and the Town of Silver City, the Youth Murals Program will expand by hiring additional local youth to work on ongoing restorations and several new projects planned for the coming year. New murals are slated for Lordsburg, the Farmers Market, Kelly Street and the Big Ditch, extending a program that has been actively revitalizing public spaces throughout Grant County while offering skill-building, pride and visibility for young artists.

Regional arts education is also moving into Hidalgo County schools. The Southwest Regional Museum of Art and Art Center will launch an Outreach Program during the Spring 2026 semester for students in the Animas School District. Led by Claude Smith III, a SWRMA founding board member, the program will bring a series of clay-focused, demonstration-based sessions to second- and third-grade students at Animas Elementary School. The curriculum will weave hands-on art-making with related studies in geology, history and sociology, reflecting a place-based approach to arts education across Grant, Hidalgo, Catron and Luna counties.

Economically, these initiatives blend immediate job and service delivery with longer-term human capital formation. The broadband deployment, backed by $1.5 million in state grant dollars, targets an essential infrastructure gap that can improve educational outcomes and, over time, labor-market readiness for rural students. The mural hires and SWRMA sessions inject modest wages and arts training into local youth economies while enhancing public spaces that can attract visitors and support small business activity in town centers.

The takeaway? Investing in both pipes and paint matters for Hidalgo County: faster internet removes a barrier to education, while paid public art and school outreach build skills, confidence and community pride. Families should check with Silver Consolidated Schools and local town offices about new broadband enrollments and youth hiring opportunities when they become available. Our two cents? If you want to see the effects firsthand, take a walk down Kelly Street or the Big Ditch this spring and notice which neighborhoods are getting connected and painted next.