NM Connections Academy graduates largest class, finds new ceremony venue

RIO RANCHO — New Mexico Connections Academy, a tuition-free online charter school serving the entire state, recently graduated its largest class ever in a commencement ceremony at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

Connections Academy saw 274 seniors, including 37 from Rio Rancho, graduate with the Class of 2025, according to a news release and NMCA Executive Director Sandy Beery. The number of seniors who graduated this year was a significant increase from the 216 seniors who graduated in 2024, Beery said.

“I was very excited,” Beery said in an interview. “It’s always exciting to see those kids who have come to us, who may have struggled in high school before, get themselves back on track and graduate on time.”

The graduation milestone comes following The ASK Academy’s graduation, held May 16 in Albuquerque, in which officials there said they graduated their largest class ever, with 50 students.

The Connections Academy graduation numbers may have been good news for administrators, but so too was the choice of holding the May 22 commencement ceremony at the events center — the first time the institution held the ceremony there in its 11-year history, Beery said.

Connections Academy had outgrown the Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center, so it made the switch, she said. The event center’s staff was helpful by making suggestions to school administrators about how to run the ceremony, Beery said. The events center, a 7,000-seat capacity arena, also did not feel too big for families or school staff, she said.

Connections Academy works hard to make sure the ceremony is about students, not adults, Beery said. Guss Hernandez, a high school social studies teacher with the school, was this year’s commencement speaker. Hernandez’s speech, while inspirational, included jokes about the students’ instructional experience, Beery said.

“He created an atmosphere where the kids knew this is really all about them,” Beery said.

She said she hoped graduates would go on to be confident adults, put “your best self forward,” and live life “so you have really good stories to tell.”