Rio Rancho Public Schools Make the Grade

In today's challenging economic climate, an increasing number of families are finding themselves making hard decisions as they struggle to make ends meet. Occasionally those decisions include drastic measures, such as moving to another neighborhood, or sometimes to another state to find employment. For families with children at home and in school, decisions concerning quality education and where to find it usually rank high on their list of priorities.

Because Rio Rancho New Mexico is home to Intel Corporation's largest fabrication facility and several other high tech companies like Hewlett Packard and Sprint PCS, job transfers and applications for employment from out of state residents moving into the area are common. For those with school aged children who find themselves moving to Rio Rancho, information on the local schools and their performance records is crucial. While it's true that overall the state of New Mexico has posted dismal numbers with regard to school graduation statistics over the past several years, the Rio Rancho school system has not joined the trend, and there are several schools in the area that stand out as being desirable for those seeking quality education.

The federal government's No Child Left Behind Act signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001, set academic standards across the nation that all schools must meet in order to realize good marks in an annual "AYP" or Adequate Yearly Progress Report. The AYP is essentially a report card for each state and their schools designed to hold them accountable for the academic achievement of their students. Each year the performance of all students in the various schools and school districts across the country, including the performance of student subgroups made up of Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific, English-language learners, Native Americans, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students is evaluated and compared against annual performance targets. The goal of the program is to have all students meet rigorous academic standards by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Schools either achieve a rating of "Meets AYP", or "AYP Not Met" based on individual performance indicators.

If one takes into consideration the Rio Rancho Public Schools AYP results alone, thirteen of seventeen schools in the district failed according to the no child left behind guidelines. Colinas del Norte, Puesta del Sol, Martin Luther King Jr., Rio Rancho Elementary, and Vista Grande did not meet AYP. However, the RRPS district wide graduation rate has remained significantly higher than the state and national averages coming it at 77.1% for students finishing four years of high school. This is compared to the overall state rating of 56% (2006 school year), and the national average of 69.2%. Rio Rancho High School's graduation rate comes in at 86.3% without the 9th grade factored in - one of the highest in the state (Rio Rancho Public Schools).

For elementary aged school children the academic picture gets even better with some schools achieving a proficiency rating of 100% (21 out of 21 indicators), and thereby meeting AYP's progress requirements. The district showed growth from two schools in last year's report, to four this year. Schools meeting AYP were Enchanted Hills Elementary, E. Stapleton Elementary, and Maggie Cordova Elementary. Rio Rancho Cyber Academy also achieved a 100% rating. Not all Rio Rancho schools met AYP in the 2009 report, but the gains for almost all of the schools were positive, and continue to surpass New Mexico's state averages (Rio Rancho Public Schools).

It's important to note however that the AYP rating is not a complete picture of school performance. Many other factors should be considered when choosing a school in Rio Rancho, or anywhere else. Issues such as school location, learning environment, your child's learning style, and transportation challenges all need to be taken into account. Still, the AYP offers parents a good starting point by giving them an idea of how a particular school ranks in relation to other schools in the area they're considering moving to. For a complete breakdown of how all Rio Rancho schools performed on the AYP, visit http://www.rrps.net/achievement/instruction/09schoolaypreports.htm?tab=g.