Most Bernalillo, pueblo students head back to school

BERNALILLO — If the phrase “the early bird gets the worm” applies to any public school system, one might not have to look any further than Bernalillo Public Schools.

On the first day of school Aug. 11, Bernalillo High School students began checking in at the front desk as hot and cold breakfast items awaited them. Tiana Chino, a junior, stood in the atrium looking out over the campus courtyard as she waited for her science class to start.

She expected her junior year to feel “new and different,” particularly in terms of “the rigor” of coursework.

“I think it will be a good thing to be challenged,” Chino said. “And a little bit scary.”

To counter what this rigor might bring, Chino plans to not only “try my best” but to make new friends and learn to lean on them.

Chino’s story was just a snapshot of what many Bernalillo students may have been feeling at the start of the 2025-26 school year. While grades 1-12 started Aug. 11, kindergarteners won’t begin instruction until Aug. 18, and pre-kindergarten will follow Aug. 19, according to the school district’s online calendar.

The students came into their classes as BPS announced a slew of changes, from new school leadership to security measures. The latter includes outfitting all schools with a digital check-in system for visitors, clear backpacks for grades 4-12, and additional armed security guards that will operate similarly to school resource officers.

BPS Superintendent Matt Montaño marked the new school year in the August 2025 newsletter to families.

“As we embark on a new school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible progress we’re making together,” he wrote. “Student outcomes across Bernalillo Public Schools continue to grow — and that’s a direct result of the focus, energy and heart our educators and families bring every day.”

That feeling of embarking on something new, energy and heart was something several educators said they had on the first day of school.

Emily Avila, a first-year math teacher and alumna of BHS, said Monday’s class was not about numbers but students getting to know her expectations. It was also a chance for her to get to know them by reviewing letters they wrote to her.

“I know they’re all feeling a level of nervousness because there is a social phenomenon of math phobia,” Avila said. “So, today my job is, ‘Can I help you feel comfortable in this room?’ If I do that right, then, “Can I help you feel comfortable with math?’”

Across town at W.D. Carroll Elementary School, the perimeter was packed with parked cars and crossing guards guiding the flow of traffic in the 8 a.m. hour. Principal Sarah Armstrong, returning for her fourth year leading the school, greeted, smiled and hugged students on their way in the front door.

“I always want to set the tone that they’re home, that this is a place where they’re safe, wanted and welcome,” Armstrong said.

She likened the first day of school to being introduced to family.

“So, it’s crucial that students are able to be part of that initial introduction, but also that first opportunity to create bonds with the teacher (and) their classmates,” Armstrong said.

Carroll Elementary’s biggest priority not only on the first day of school, but the entire week, is students learning behavior expectations, from using the bathroom to recess. The students will later be asked to role-play different types of behaviors to make sure they understand expectations.

Armstrong added she likes to “pop in” to a class, like she did Monday with first-grade teacher Tesa Hays

“I don’t want to interfere with the teachers’ instruction, but I really want to be part of the classroom,” Armstrong said. “I want the kids to know that I’m not just going to go in there when it’s time for an evaluation.”

Students at Cochiti Elementary and Middle Schools in Peña Blanca attended class, crammed hallways, and raced to their lockers during the first day of school. Principal Genevieve Sosa marked her first school year leading the school Monday.

“It was exciting,” she said. “Truly, I missed the kids. It was so good to hear our hallways bustling and hear the voices of our students again.”

The combined school, boasting 66 middle schoolers and 156 elementary schoolers, is “hitting the ground running” not with assemblies, but with more time for teachers to get to know their students — and free backpacks for all, Sosa said.

While some students may have “first-day jitters,” Sosa said the school offers consistent support to them.

“They know the people in this building care deeply about them and are here to help them with anything,” Sosa said.