Elementary School Recommendation: 

The committee presented two options for public input.  The options were identical except for one area, bordered by Broadmoor Dr., Country Club Dr., and High Resort Blvd.  This area would have moved from Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary (MLK) to Rio Rancho Elementary in one proposal, and would remain as is in the other. 

The consensus of the committee was to recommend Option 15C for adoption by the school board.  Option 15C is very similar to Option 15B, which leaves the Broadmoor Dr./Country Club area at MLK.   It also includes one other adjustment to clarify a portion of the proposed boundary between Sandia Vista and Enchanted Hills Elementary Schools. 

Option 15C (view the map):

Option 15C creates attendance boundaries for the new Cielo Azul and Sandia Vista elementary schools.  To do so, it moves some students currently attending Vista Grande, Enchanted Hills, Colinas del Norte, and Ernest Stapleton elementary schools.  The committee also recommended an adjustment at the northern end of the  Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) boundary to provide limited relief to the high enrollment at MLK.  MLK should get additional relief when the future elementary school is built, and the recommended changes to the MLK boundary would not require any of the affected students to move again when the new school’s boundaries are established.  The boundaries of Puesta del Sol, Maggie Cordova, and Rio Rancho Elementary would not be affected by any of the proposed changes.  

Summary of Option15C:

• Creates an attendance area for Cielo Azul elementary school which includes:
  • All of Northern Meadows north of King Rd. west of 10th St., and north of 28th Ave. (Paseo del Volcan) east of 10th St. The remaining portion of Northern Meadows would remain at Colinas del Norte
  • The City Center area (with very few current homes) between Progress Blvd. and Paseo del Volcan, extending east to the 40th St. alignment (Terrene and Ilium Rd. NE)
• Creates an attendance area for Sandia Vista Elementary School which includes:
  • The Enchanted Hills subdivision east of the Paseo del Volcan alignment
  • Rivers Edge III
  • The area east of Ilium Rd. (41st St. alignment), south of Progress Blvd, and north of Paseo del Volcan and Idalia Rd., extending eastward to Lerma Rd., south down Lerma Rd. to Pasilla Rd. (students on Lerma would attend Enchanted Hills ES) southeastward down Pasilla Rd. to NM 528 (students on Pasilla Rd. would attend Sandia Vista), and eastward between Rivers Edge II and III to the district boundary.
• Downsizes Colinas del Norte by moving 688 students currently in the Colinas attendance area to Cielo Azul
• Downsizes Ernest Stapleton by moving all of North Hills to Colinas del Norte, and some other portions of the attendance area including High Range to Enchanted Hills
• Downsizes Enchanted Hills ES by moving the northern portion of its attendance area to Sandia Vista
• Downsizes Vista Grande by moving the eastern portion of its attendance area (east of Paseo del Volcan) to Sandia Vista
• Provides limited relief to Martin Luther King, Jr. elementary by moving the area bordered by Abrazo Rd. to the south, Chessman Rd. to the east, Idalia Rd. to the north, and Unser Blvd. to the west to Stapleton Elementary. The committee believes this neighborhood should be moved now and would not have to change schools again when boundaries are realigned to create an attendance area for the future west central elementary. MLK ’s enrollment will still be relatively high, but MLK will most likely receive relief when the next new elementary school opens.
• Maintains the current attendance boundaries for Puesta del Sol and Maggie Cordova: these two schools would receive relief when the next new elementary school opens

Advantages to Option 15C:

• Creates an attendance area for Cielo Azul that allows for some growth
• Creates an attendance area for Sandia Vista with ample allowance for growth
• Provides some, and in some cases significant enrollment relief to all of the district’s most crowded schools in a way that would not move students twice when the next elementary school is built (possibly as early as 2009, depending on when the state funds the project)
• Begins the process of establishing “pure feeder” alignments for elementary schools through middle school through the new high school by greatly reducing the amount of Stapleton’s attendance area that is north of Northern. To establish pure feeder alignment, the remaining areas in the Stapleton zone north of Northern will eventually have to be zoned to another elementary school north of Northern.
• Moves many students to a school closer to where they live. These adjustments in the long term will better serve students
• Will greatly help to improve school bus transportation routing and delivery of students by reducing loading times at overcrowded schools and shortening the distances buses will have to travel to deliver students

Disadvantages to Option 15C:

• Moves some neighborhoods with long-established relationships with a school, including portions of the Vista Grande zone, Rivers Edge III, most of Northern Meadows, and the portion of the MLK zone north of Abrazo Rd.
• Does not provide immediate enrollment relief to every Rio Rancho school
• Opens Cielo Azul with a larger enrollment than is customary for a new school

“Grandfathering” current students:

The committee discussed including a “grandfathering” provision in its recommendation to the board. Such a provision would automatically allow current 4th graders (incoming 5th graders) to stay at their current school provided parents provide transportation.   The committee did not include a recommendation on grandfathering because it believes that this issue falls under the provisions of the state’s open enrollment law and the mechanisms the district already has in place to address transfer requests and meet the provisions of the law.  The Open Enrollment Act permits parents to apply to have their children attend any school in the state.  Schools must accept students on a space-available basis. 

Parents who would like to have students remain at their current school may apply to the school under the Open Enrollment Act.  Traditionally when the district has gone through boundary changes, principals have tried to accommodate as many of these request as possible.

Transitioning of students

Principals across the district work together to welcome students affected by boundary changes and to help them adapt at their new schools.  Traditionally, principals from the new school visit transferring students at their current school and take along counselors, nurses, librarians, teachers, and even a busload of students to welcome their new schoolmates.  This way, students see familiar faces as they start at their new school.  Often, when possible, schools arrange for incoming students affected by boundary changes to visit the new school.

Principals from the old and new school often set up individual meetings with parents of special need students to help facilitate the transition from one school to another.  This often extends to other members of the child’s old and new IEP teams.  The goal is to assure that the child receives needed services and that the change is as easy as possible for the child and family.

School-by-school enrollment summary: Calculated using 40th day attendance numbers (pdf - Reader required)

• Read the complete Elementary school-by-school analysis of the exact boundaries and projected enrollments (or click a school name to jump to each school)
• Read the complete Middle School Analysis