Rio Rancho parents raise concerns over converting part of elementary school to pre-K

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Part of Rio Rancho elementary school will be converted to Pre-K

The Rio Rancho Public Schools board voted to convert a wing of Puesta del Sol Elementary to Pre-K.

RIO RANCHO, N.M. —  Changes are coming for parents at Puesta del Sol Elementary School after the Rio Rancho Public Schools board voted to convert a wing of the school to pre-K.

The change won’t take effect until the 2026-2027 school year but some families are still upset because it’s unclear what will happen to students and teachers when the pre-K conversion begins.

Last spring, families protested when the RRPS board considered converting the entire elementary school to pre-K. The board assumed the state was going to require full-day pre-K programs – but that hasn’t happened yet.

However, lawmakers and district officials believe it could be coming.

Right now, Rio Rancho’s preschool and pre-K facility, Shining Stars, only offers half-day options and isn’t equipped to handle full day programs. That is mostly because it doesn’t have a cafeteria and is overcapacity, according to district leaders.

A Rio Rancho Public Schools pre-K committee looked at different options. Its number one recommendation was to create a new center similar to Shining Stars but with capabilities to have a full-day program.

The other recommendation was to completely convert Puesta Del Sol Elementary, citing the school’s declining enrollment. The committee made it clear, though – repurposing only one of the buildings or wings at Puesta would only work in the short-term to meet the demand.

“If we do a wing, we’ll just be able to meet the grant, depending on how many families want full day. If we still offer half-day, we can probably serve some more students, but it really depends on what the family’s needs are going to be,” said Janna Chenault, the elementary school improvement officer at RRPS.

Puesta Del Sol parents weren’t happy with that option either. Before the RRPS board approved of it Monday, parents spoke up. As one parent explained, she has no issue bringing students into Puesta Del Sol but converting just one wing would push those groups of students and teachers out.

“Every single one of us to welcome these kids into our school, but displacing every single one of them between two schools three schools is not going to work. You’re going to see numbers plummet, and the disability is going to be even worse than before,” she said.

Dr. Sue Cleveland, the superintendent of RRPS, says they’re seeing more students fall behind and need pre-K in their district more than ever before. Superintendent Cleveland pointed to the pandemic for one of the reasons kids are struggling more.

Ultimately, the board voted to convert a wing of Puesta Del Sol Elementary with the goal of eventually getting a new preschool. Board member Jessica Tyler noted this will require much more funding.

“Hopefully one day, our state will get their… I won’t use a bad word, because I caught myself… their stuff together and actually allocate correct funding for pre-K and allow us to build a new, second Shining Stars-like facility,” Tyler said.

Tyler acknowledged the board wasn’t very happy with this decision and it needs to keep working on options as this will displace students and teachers and fill up other schools.

Right now, we don’t know exactly how many students and teachers this will impact. KOB 4 reached out to Rio Rancho Public Schools. A spokesperson says they’ll have more information soon.