Rio Rancho Public Schools E-Expressions

RRPS E-Expressions (September 28, 2009) – Your New E-Newsletter! (Click here to subscribe and get this sent to you automagically!)

Welcome to the new Rio Rancho Public Schools E-Expressions, an electronic newsletter designed to provide information about our schools and district to Rio Rancho parents and the community!  We hope you find it informative and useful.  If you'd like to register to receive this newsletter automatically, complete this simple form.
 
We are anticipating publication of this e-newsletter at least every other month and may publish more frequently as events warrant.  You will receive an e-mail notification when each newsletter is published.  As funding permits, Rio Rancho Public Schools will also continue to publish its twice-yearly community newsletter, Inside our Schools, which is distributed to all households in Rio Rancho and via this web site.

Both Inside our Schools and the E-Expressions are publications of Rio Rancho Public Schools and do not accept advertising.   E-mail addresses and information will not be provided or sold to any third party.  Distribution of the newsletter is managed by Bravenet, a company with whom RRPS contracts to provide this service. 

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Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy E-Expressions!

A new school year begins!

Students Settle Into New School Year

In a whirlwind week which saw the opening of a new high school and new middle school, Rio Rancho students headed back to the books in August.

Even for a district accustomed to growth and change, teachers and students in Rio Rancho were in for a lot of changes as the doors opened.  The most obvious was the opening of Cleveland High School (see next story).  But perhaps the most far-reaching changes took place in that age range where students transition from middle to high school. 

The building of the new high school made it possible for Rio Rancho to open its comprehensive high schools to ninth graders for the first time since 2002.  Rio Rancho freshmen are now truly high-schoolers.  Rio Rancho High is now a four-year high school.   Cleveland High serves students in grades 9-11 and will become a four-year high school next year. 

There were big changes for incoming eighth graders, too – Rio Rancho’s middle school are now grade 6-8 schools after seven years of serving just sixth and seventh graders. 

And Rio Rancho Mid-High, the 8th and 9th grade school?  It’s history.  Most of the space in the former Mid-High building is now home to the new Rio Rancho Middle School.  RRMS (home of the Phoenix!) occupies the former Mid-High central core, Eighth Grade Academy, and gymnasium building, and the district is replacing the Mid-High sign with the building’s new identity. 

Movement of students also means movement of supplies, equipment, and textbooks – more than 46,000 textbooks in the district’s inventory that moved from one school to another.  In addition, the district has purchased an additional 43,000 textbooks.   Enrollment growth at some schools (see “Do You Know?”) and all that moving around of books led to temporary shortages of books at some schools.  Almost all the new books are now here and most are in students’ hands. 

The district’s Curriculum and Instruction staff and the new Career Tech/Early College Center occupy the building’s separate 9th grade wing.

 

 

Cleveland High Celebrates Grand Opening (top of page)

After years of planning and construction and talking about “August 2009,” Rio Rancho’s newest high school is finally a reality.  The community celebrated the opening of Cleveland High School on August 15.  Students reported for classes at the new school two days later, on Monday August 17. 

The grand opening gala included tours of the new building, speeches by local officials and Cleveland student body president Ileana Jaramillo, a “candlelighting” ceremony (done with glow sticks), fireworks, and of course a formal ribbon-cutting facilitated by the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber Redcoats.  The celebration, much like the one held for the opening of Rio Rancho High School, was funded entirely by donations; no taxpayer dollars were used. (See a list of donors here)  

Then, on August 17, more than 1,600 ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders filed into the school’s classrooms for the first time.  Since then, days at Rio Rancho’s newest high school have been full of firsts: the first and very spirited pep rally, the first football game (against Santa Fe’s Capital High), the first football victory (the Storm won big, 59-6), the first home volleyball, soccer, and football games, and that’s just the beginning!

Cleveland’s classrooms, cafeteria and kitchen, gymnasium, media center, and administration building constituted Phase I of the campus and were completed and opened on schedule and on budget.  Construction of Phase II, which could not be funded until passage of the 2007 bond issue, began several months after Phase I and these facilities are still being completed.  The Concert Hall, fine arts building, and main sports stadium should open in October, with completion of the remaining physical education and athletic fields scheduled over the next several months.

The campus includes many energy-saving and environmentally-friendly features, including a closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling system, water-saving plumbing fixtures, motion sensors on light fixtures, and positioning of the building to make maximum use of natural light.  The main classroom includes student shared project work areas and a lecture hall which can be used by both school and community groups.  What it does not include: escalators, lighted shower floors, or a swimming pool under the gym floor (we can always dream . . . )

Route Adjustments Continue as Buses Roll (top of page)

When the big yellow buses rolled on the first day of school, they still said “Rio Rancho Public Schools”, but were under new ownership — the school district’s.  The majority of routes ran smoothly, and the transportation staff is continuing to adjust routes with bus overloads or delays.

Most of the remaining late bus issues are related to traffic getting into and out of Cleveland High – we are working with the city on traffic control issues there – with athletic practices being held off site (those should go away as the fields are completed), and with delays due to road construction in various parts of town.

RRPS brought the student transportation function in house in July in an effort to provide a more efficient, cost-effective, and customer-responsive service.  Previously, the district had outsourced transportation to outside contractors.

Executive Director of Student Transportation Jeff Bronstein stated, “Safety is our number one priority.  Our goal is to get students to and from school safely and on time and we will work very hard to make sure that occurs.”

Parents with questions about bus transportation should call 338-0078.  Issues with timely response to parents due to high call volumes at the beginning of the school year have largely been alleviated except during peak call times.  The transportation department thanks parents for their patience and is responding to inquiries as quickly as possible.

RRPS Graduation Rate Exceeds State and National Averages; AYP Results Released (top of page)

For the first time, the state has released student graduation data based on the number of entering 9th graders who earn a diploma four years later.  The data was part of the annual report releasing school ratings and progress under No Child Left Behind.

The state reports Rio Rancho Public Schools’ overall graduation rate for the 2008 school year as 77.1%, compared to a state average of 54% and the national average of about 70%.  Rio Rancho High School’s graduation rate was 86.3%; however, this is for grades 10-12 only.  When the 9th grade is factored in, the graduation rate is most likely close to the district-wide 77% rate.

Independence High graduated 30.5% of its students in 2008.  However, since Independence is a school that helps students graduate who might otherwise not be able to earn a diploma, this indicates success in turning some potential dropouts into graduates.  Rio Rancho Cyber Academy’s graduation rate in 2008 was 57.1%.

The state also released its annual report on schools meeting state targets (Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP) for the percentages of students demonstrating proficiency in the core subjects of reading and math.  In order for a school to “Make AYP”, schools must achieve 100% of targets (up to 37) for the percentage of students in each of nine subgroups demonstrating proficiency, for the percentage of students completing the test, and for attendance (elementary and middle schools) and graduation rate (high schools).

Four schools – Enchanted Hills, Ernest Stapleton, and Maggie Cordova Elementary Schools and the Cyber Academy – made AYP this year.  Stapleton and the Cyber Academy both made AYP after not doing so the previous year.  Several subgroups at Puesta del Sol Elementary and Rio Rancho High achieved the state’s achievement targets this year after not doing so last year.  Most schools throughout the district posted gains – some of them significant – in the percentage of students demonstrating proficiency.

Detailed AYP and other student achievement data for all Rio Rancho schools may be found on the district Web site, www.rrps.net.  Parents with questions are strongly encouraged to discuss the data with their child’s teacher or principal.

School Supply Donations Support Students (top of page)

With the tough economic times, more families than ever are in need of help with providing school supplies for their children.  And once again, our citizens came through.  Some major donors of supplies include Intel employees, the annual Channel 7 school supply drive, the local balloon club, and Feed the Children, through the Public Education Department’s annual initiative for homeless students.  Several private individuals also made significant donations of school supplies.  The supplies are distributed among Rio Rancho’s schools and then to families who need them.  RRPS thanks all of the donors for their support of our children.

Education Secretary Veronica Garcia with some of the Rio Rancho students who helped process and distribute backpacks for the homeless donated through the nonprofit Feed the Children Foundation.

 

Did you know?  Enrollment is up! (top of page)

Rio Rancho’s growth has slowed from the breakneck pace of a few years ago – but even with a down economy, Rio Rancho, and its school district, are still growing.  Preliminary enrollment numbers put Rio Rancho’s enrollment at 16,806, an increase of about 450 students (2.7%) above the start of the last school year.

Much of the increase is concentrated in schools in growing areas of town, such as Maggie Cordova Elementary and Cielo Azul Elementary.  Enrollment numbers at the new Rio Rancho Middle School also came in higher than expected.

To cope with the growth, 24 additional teachers and 9 educational assistants are being hired for these and other schools (most are already on board).  More than 43,000 additional textbooks have been purchased and the process of balancing class sizes within schools is largely complete.

Because of falling state revenues and the possibility of mid-year cuts, the district had to move very cautiously with budgeting and staffing schools.  The district budgeted conservatively on a “zero growth” basis because it did not want to hire teachers and then have to lay them off if the state cuts funding during the upcoming special and regular legislative sessions.  The enrollment growth should generate additional revenue, which enabled the district to hire extra teachers to reduce class sizes. 

The district’s budget is in better shape than it was last year, but mid-year cuts could still create some real challenges for Rio Rancho and for districts around the state.  A 3% cut to RRPS’s budget would amount to about $3.5 million.  Those who would like to contact their state legislators about school funding and potential budget cuts may find contact information on the New Mexico Legislature Web site, www.nmlegis.gov.

Cold and Flu Season is Here! (top of page)

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now says influenza-like illnesses (which may include H1N1, seasonal flu, and other upper respiratory ailments) are “widespread” in New Mexico.  Rio Rancho schools are seeing an increase in upper respiratory illnesses in classrooms district-wide.  Since most cases are not tested to determine the type of flu unless they are unusually severe, we generally will not know what kind of flu or illness it is.  However, given the presence of H1N1 in the state, we have to assume that some of the cases are H1N1. 

The best defense is good hygiene: frequent hand washing and use of alcohol-based sanitizers and wipes, practicing cough etiquette (coughing into your elbow or into a tissue), not sharing utensils or drinks, and staying at least three feet away from someone who is sick.  School closings are not anticipated, since last spring in other jurisdictions this proved to be of very limited effectiveness in limiting spread of the flu (kids congregate all kinds of places, not just schools). 

For further information and updates about the situation in Rio Rancho schools, please visit our information page here.

New Secondary E-Gradebook on the Way (top of page)

Middle and high school parents who want to monitor their children’s progress online will be able to sign up for PowerSchool, the district’s new reporting system, starting the week of September 28th.  This system will replace ParentConnect, the old software platform which allowed parents to sign up for e-mail alerts on their children’s grades, progress in class, and any disciplinary issues.

The change was necessary because the district’s former student records database platform, called SASI, had to be replaced.  For the past year, RRPS has been converting to a new platform called PowerSchool.  The conversion is nearly complete, but the Information Technology staff was not able to test the grade book portion of the system until teachers were back in school and reporting grades.  As soon as the testing is complete and the staff is confident that the system is reporting data accurately, parents will be able to sign up for the new service (we’ll let you know!).

The elementary grade book and parent monitoring system and the district’s phone notification system are on different software platforms.  The phone notification system integration with PowerSchool is complete and the technology staff is in the process of integrating the elementary grade book system.

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