Puesta Del Sol Elementary School parents prevail in keeping school open
RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Following rallies and petitions, the tight-knit community at Puesta Del Sol Elementary says their hard work has paid off.
“I want to thank everyone in the community that has come out, rallied, supported us, in keeping the school,” said Tawni, a Puesta Del Sol parent.
The Rio Rancho School Board voted Monday night to keep the school open. The district will convert a wing of Puesta to full-day pre-K in 2026.
“We are excited, I think everyone is more than happy to welcome preschool children at the school, and we are just happy that our community is able to stay together,” said Andrea Grider, a Puesta Del Sol parent.
At first, parents worried if the move would displace any students or staff. A spokesperson for Rio Rancho Public Schools say they don’t anticipate this conversion displacing any teachers, and they will be hiring early education teachers closer to opening the preschool.
“The teachers are what make the school, you know, it is the bottom line. They are the backbone to the school. So yes, I am happy they are going to stay,” said Jennifer Griego, another Puesta Del Sol parent.
The district also says there is more than enough room on campus to move existing classrooms without overcrowding students.
The biggest change for students is they won’t have access to the pre-K part of the campus.
“The kids are finally stress-free, finally, that is big for us because they were worried for a long time which is really emotional for us as mothers to see them so upset about what was going on and how it was going to affect them,” said Joselyn Rueda, a Puesta Del Sol parent.
The district says more changes could come down the road, depending on future growth and how many RRPS parents prefer full-day pre-K versus half day.
For now, parents are grateful for the positive outcome.
“I think it is a concern that things may change, of course this is a fluid situation, but for right now we are happy with the solution,” said Andrea Grider, a Puesta Del Sol parent.
RRPS sent the following statement to KOB 4:
“Yesterday evening, the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education voted to convert an existing wing of Puesta Del Sol Elementary School (PDS) into a preschool facility, in an effort to better support the underserved pre-k population in Rio Rancho. We do not anticipate that the conversion of a wing at PDS for pre-k expansion will affect any teachers currently employed at the school. The district will be looking to hire early education teachers as the opening of the new preschool draws nearer. No students will be required to transfer schools as a result of the pre-k conversion. The biggest change students may experience will be having to condense their access of the school to the unconverted areas. That being said, there is more than enough room within the rest of the campus to move existing classrooms without overcrowding the student population. At this time, we are only planning on converting one area within Puesta Del Sol Elementary to meet the needs of the pre-k population within Rio Rancho. The district will evaluate the effectiveness of this new preschool and determine next steps in the future. Thankfully, the approval of this plan means that no teachers will be displaced. The only teachers who might change positions are those who are already licensed in early education and who want to voluntarily transfer to pre-k once the new preschool opens.”