Good news abounds at recent RRPS Board meeting

RIO RANCHO — The atmosphere was exuberant at the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education meeting on Feb. 10, as students and teachers alike packed the room for what promised to be a very positive event.

As usual, the Board’s agenda was packed with items, and they had their work cut out for them, but unlike most meeting agendas, this one was almost exclusively awards, recognitions, nominations and good grades.

Board members Beth Miller and Gary Tripp, along with Board Secretary Jessica Tyler were present, as was Board President Amanda Galbraith and RRPS Superintendent Sue Cleveland. Board member Jeffrey Morgan was absent due to flight delays.

The beginning of the meeting involved a presentation of the RRPS Accountability Report.

There were no public comments, online or in-person, signed up for this Board meeting.

RAMP presentation

While the night was filled with good cheer, the real celebration came with the presentation of Vista Grande’s RAMP approval.

Former New Mexico Counselors of the Year Katie Doss (2017) and Angel Brown (2015) were in attendance to present to the Board.

RAMP is an acronym with another acronym inside of it. “RAMP” stands for “Recognized by the ASCA as a Model Program”. ASCA stands for American School Counselor’s Association. The program recognizes schools that provide data-informed school counseling programs.

“Since its inception in 2004, RAMP has recognized 1,300 schools nationwide,” said Christine Prescott, principal of Vista Grande Elementary School. “Now, we have it. We are the fifth school in New Mexico, and the first in Rio Rancho Public Schools, so we are excited about that.”

Kudos and \

nominations

The Board also had some students to recognize, some kudos to give and some nominations to approve.

First, they took a moment to recognize the four student-artists who just received awards from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

The Board took time to recognize Guadalupe Gallegos, an assistant principal at Rio Rancho Middle School. Gallegos was just named the 2025 Assistant Principal of the Year by the New Mexico Association of Secondary School Principals (NMASSP).

“If you know [Gallegos], you know she’s tenacious,” said RRMS principal Andrew Pierce as he addressed the Board. “She leads with her heart and her mind at the same time. And she’s really remarkable. She just sees people.”

And the good feelings just kept going, as the Board took two nominations for this year’s New Mexico School Board Association Excellence (NMSBA) in Student Achievement Award.

This year Janna Chenault, Elementary School Improvement Officer, nominated NM State Senator Craig Brandt.

“[Brandt] understands the needs of our students firsthand and works tirelessly to improve their opportunities,” said Chenault.

Board member Gary Tripp agreed with the nomination but did put a second name forward.

“[Brandt] is certainly a very worthy nominee,” Tripp said. “I do want to bring up one more name, Julian Garza.”

Garza is a local business owner who volunteers time, assistance and donations to RRPS.

“He has been a proponent of grants and donations, and hiring our children,” said Tripp. “Really [he does] anything that pushes education forward in our community.

The Board voted unanimously to approve both nominations.

Back to business

As the meeting neared its conclusion, the Board heard Second Readings for five RRPS policies that are in the process of being revised, updated, or even eliminated altogether.

Policy 707 – Labor Management Relations

Policy 709 – Staff Personal Security and Safety

Policy 715 – Reporting Acts of Violence and Vandalism

Policy 750 – COVID-19 Pandemic Policy

Policy 1027 – Drug-Free Schools/Students

All five policy changes were voted on as a group and passed unanimously, 4-0.

Full versions of these policies are available for review at rrps.diligent.community.

UP NEXT...

Feb. 12 — Bus Rider Count Day

Feb. 13-15 — Board Institute, Santa Fe, NM

Feb. 17 — Presidents’ Day, No School

Feb. 24 — Regular Board Meeting, RRPS Board Room

Mar. 10 — Regular Board Meeting, RRPS Board Room