Cleveland announces retirement from RRPS

RIO RANCHO — It’s the end of an era for Rio Rancho Public Schools. In fact, it’s the end of the only era the district has known.

On Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Sue Cleveland and the Rio Rancho Board of Education announced that Cleveland will retire later this year.

Cleveland led the district for more than 30 years — being hired in February 1994 to lead the upstart district when it officially began July 1 of that year — making her the longest currently serving superintendent in the state, according to a release from RRPS.

“We started with absolutely nothing. We were in an old building the city of Rio Rancho had condemned to build Unser Boulevard; they told us that we could work out of that building until the time they would tear it down for Unser,” she said ahead of the district’s 30th anniversary in 2024. “When we were created — a lot of people don’t know this or don’t remember it — we were only an K-8 district, and that was because there was no hope of having a high school,” due to all of the current bond money being tied to relieve crowding at existing buildings.

However, an industrial revenue bond with Intel, which came at the suggestion of Sandoval County Commissioner Joe Lang, led to construction of Rio Rancho High School. Cleveland High School came sooner than anyone expected, Cleveland said during that 2024 interview, opening in 2009.

Under her tenure, the district has grown from 5,900 students in seven schools to more than 16,000 students on more than 20 campuses it oversees currently, including Shining Stars Preschool, 11 elementaries, four middle schools, four high schools and the just-opened RioTECH, the district’s CTE campus.

Cleveland attributes the successes of RRPS to the community: teachers, staff, parents, students, school board members, union representatives, community partners, local and state leaders, higher education institutions, and colleagues around New Mexico and the nation, RRPS said in its release.

“Education is a team effort, dedicated to helping each child achieve their full potential to become an ethical, productive citizen,” Cleveland said. “Student success begins with caring parents, talented teachers supported by dedicated professionals, and a strong, engaged community. Our district has been blessed with stable, child-centered leadership, outstanding principals and district leaders, and amazing teachers and staff who make a difference every day in our classrooms and schools.”

RRPS said the Board of Education will begin the search for Cleveland’s successor in the coming weeks.

“Dr. Cleveland’s vision and dedication have shaped Rio Rancho Public Schools from the very beginning. Her leadership, stability, and unwavering commitment to students have created a strong foundation that will serve our community for generations. On behalf of the Board of Education, we thank her for her extraordinary service and wish her the very best in retirement,” said Amanda Galbraith, board president.

According to the release, Cleveland is a graduate of Sandia High School in Albuquerque and has a B.A. from the University of New Mexico, an M.A. from New Mexico State University and a doctorate from the University of Houston. She began her teaching career at Mayfield High in Las Cruces, later taking on teaching and administrative roles in the Deer Park Independent School District near Houston. Before returning to New Mexico, Cleveland also served as superintendent in Cherokee County, South Carolina.

During her career, Cleveland has also served as past president of the New Mexico Superintendents’ Association and the New Mexico Activities Association. She also recently chaired the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors and serves on the Presbyterian Central New Mexico Community Board. She has represented New Mexico on the AASA Governing Board and the national Superintendent Advisory Council of the College Board.

Cleveland has also been recognized as an AASA National Superintendent of the Year finalist, is a recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women and was inducted into the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders Hall of Fame in 2020, according to the release.

One thing she prides herself on, according to the 2024 interview, is attending all the high school graduation ceremonies in the district and seeing every RRPS graduate walk across the stage to receive their diploma.

“Every one of those students is a symbol of our success and the success of that student, and so it means that we were able to get that student through to an important milestone in their life,” she said.

In retirement, RRPS said, Cleveland “looks forward to spending time with family and traveling.”