Rio Rancho Profile
Quality of Life
Rio Rancho Public Schools
New Mexico has 89 school districts and RRPS is one of the newest and largest based on enrollment. The district was founded in 1994 and comprises about 147 square miles. Total RRPS enrollment as of August 2007 was 15,670 students. The district’s annual growth rate is 6.5 percent. The average growth rate for the past two academic years was 8.5 percent. The district is comprised of the following schools:
Eight elementary schools (grade K-5) including Colinas del Norte Elementary, Enchanted Hills Elementary, E. Stapleton Elementary, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, M. Cordova Elementary, Puesta del Sol Elementary, Rio Rancho Elementary and Vista Grande Elementary. (RRPS expects two additional elementary schools to be built by fall 2008, one of which is contingent upon funding.)
The pupil teacher ratio for elementary schools is: 14.5 to 1
Three middle schools (grades 6 – 7): Eagle Ridge Middle, Lincoln Middle, and Mountain View Middle School.
The pupil teacher ratio for middle schools is 15.9 to 1
One mid-high school (grades 8 and 9), Rio Rancho Mid High.
The Pupil teacher ratio for mid-high school is 11.6 to 1
One high school (grades 10 – 12), Rio Rancho High. The district also has a Cyber Academy that offers core courses online such as Math and English, as well as college-level concurrent enrollment and advanced classes, and remedial/make-up classes. The district also has an alternative high school (grades 9 – 12), Independence High School, for special social and educational needs.
The pupil teacher ratio for high school is 16.1 to 1
RRPS recently acquired 140 acres of property from the New Mexico State Land Office for the construction of a new high school. The site will accommodate future expansions of district programs and is master planned. Estimated core facility cost is $96.8 million for design and construction for which there is current funding. V. Sue Cleveland High School will be designed for 2,350 students, encompass 352,000 square feet (Phase 1) and be located just northwest of the intersection at Idalia and Iris Roads. Once the second comprehensive high school is built, grade configurations will change so that middle schools become grades 6-8 and high schools become grades 9-12.
V. Sue Cleveland High School, as a project, seeks to improve on an existing model the district pioneered in New Mexico when it opened Rio Rancho High School. The model uses “academies” to focus students into a theme-based curriculum that directs their studies by providing depth of understanding within their area of choice, called “career pathways.” The academy orientation and Rio Rancho High School’s academic rigor were featured in TIME magazine’s 1997 special report “What Makes a Good School.” Classes are expected to begin in fall 2009.
V. Sue Cleveland High School Master Plan
V. Sue Cleveland High School Rendering
For more information on the RRPS see the district’s website at www.rrps.net and/or visit the New Mexico Department of Education website at www.ped.state.nm.
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