Incoming RRPS superintendent unveils 100-day plan

RIO RANCHO — If there was at least one take-home message Thursday for Dr. Robert “Robby” Dodd, the incoming superintendent of Rio Rancho Public Schools, it might have been: Choose carefully when it comes to where to order New Mexico chChiles.

That was what some industry leaders suggested during the Sandoval Economic Alliance monthly breakfast meeting, where Dodd, who hails from Maryland, confessed that he once ordered a side of green Chile with his meal at Denny’s.

Dodd’s justification for choosing the national restaurant chain was that he was tired and considers himself a “man of very simple tastes.” But he told attendees he would heed their suggestion in choosing where to eat next time.

The exchange marked a lighter moment for Dodd during SEA’s meeting dubbed, “A Milestone Morning: The RRPS Leadership Transition,” featuring himself and his predecessor, Dr. Sue Cleveland. While Cleveland spoke first about the history of the district she has led since 1994, the spotlight was on Dodd, who unveiled his “100-Day Entry Plan” for how he plans to approach RRPS in his first few months on the job. Dodd is shadowing Cleveland for the month of March before taking the reins April 1.

“This is a special day, a special opportunity,” to have both Dodd and Cleveland together, said Fred Shepherd, president and CEO of Sandoval Economic Alliance. 

Dodd left time after his presentation for questions, but mostly, his remarks focused on delivering a condensed version of his 10-page plan.

One of the three planks of Dodd’s plan is called “building the present,” which means finessing the performance metrics RRPS is honing. Rio Rancho’s 21 schools boasted a 53.9% literacy proficiency, 34.5% math proficiency and an 89.4% graduation rate in 2025. While Rio Rancho outpaces other school districts like Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the state’s largest, it trails behind Los Alamos, according to information provided by Dodd.

“Los Alamos is up there, but we’re going to catch up,” he said. 

Along those lines, Dodd wants to work on “inventing the future” — a third plank of his plan — by closing the gap with Los Alamos in reading by 19.6%, math by 24.5% and graduation by 8%.

“I’m very competitive. Outcomes are really very important to me,” Dodd said. “Confronting the brutal facts — we want to be the best. Those are the gaps that we have to make up, but we can do it.”

If school performance increases, RRPS will be able to address other issues, including economic development, he said.

“We can’t afford to have kids leave us after they walk across our stage. We need them to stay and be a part of our community and do what you all are doing to build the economy and the social fabric of Rio Rancho,” Dodd said. “Education development is economic development.”

The last — but not least — part of his plan is “honoring the past,” a nod to Cleveland and not only her accomplishments, but starting the school district in the first place.

“Dr. Cleveland did something almost unprecedented in American public education,” said Dodd, who added that once he learned of the length of her tenure, he thought “Ooh, do I want to do that?” before applying for the job in November.

As part of “honoring the past,” Dodd said is engaging in a listening tour of the RRPS community, including visiting all 21 schools before spring break, he said. Dodd also asked industry leaders who attended Thursday’s event to reach out to provide him with advice.

“You won’t hurt my feelings; I want feedback,” Dodd said.

Cleveland told the story of how RRPS grew from a school district with with just seven schools and over 5,000 students to 21 schools with more than 16,000 pupils — and how an ad in the newspaper prompted her to apply to become RRPS’s first superintendent.

“It has been an amazing journey,” she said. “Someone asked me about starting a school district. I meant this from the bottom of my heart: It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you don’t want to do more than once in your lifetime.”

Cleveland concluded her remarks by saying RRPS has “wonderful new leadership coming in.”

Frank Gallegos, Intel’s director of public affairs for New Mexico, said following the event that he met with Dodd previously and was impressed.

“I think he’s a personable person and … truly interested in helping the educational program here,” Gallegos said. 

Dodd also used his presentation to talk about his family, including his wife, Jenny, who flew in from Maryland Thursday. His children include a son, Johnny, who is attending college out of state and his daughter Nora, a senior at Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools, where Dodd spent 32 years.

Dodd hopes to go fly fishing on the San Juan River using his San Juan Worm, a fly that he tied when he was growing up in the Washington, D.C., area.