Pre-K program considered for Puesta del Sol Elementary School

RIO RANCHO — A southern Rio Rancho elementary school anticipates starting a preschool program next school year that would become the first full-day instructional offering for 4-year-old students who attend Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Puesta Del Sol Elementary School was selected by district officials to offer the program, adding to Shining Stars Preschool, which offers half-day pre-kindergarten. 

Puesta Del Sol officials outlined their plans during an RRPS Board of Education work session on Monday. The officials indicated that while remodeling on an existing school wing to house the program is expected to begin during spring break, March 30 to April 3, they are also waiting on acceptance of a state grant to help them fund the program and deploying a survey until the grant is submitted.

"Our whole goal is (kindergarten) readiness," said Brittany Griffith, assistant principal of the program. "(Pre-K) really sets the foundation for the rest of (the students') educational career — helping students learn to self-regulate and learn those social interactions before kindergarten."

The program, if implemented, would accept 142 students and include at least nine licensed pre-K teachers, with potentially 18 educational assistants and an instructional coach, according to presentation slides presented to the board during the work session.

Puesta Del Sol Principal Dana Petro said that her team is thrilled to offer a pre-K program. 

"If we can get our 4-year-olds in school prior to going to kindergarten, then we have an opportunity to prepare them better for school," she said.

The preschool's instructional approach would include literacy, mathematics, creativity and physical education, according to information provided during the work session. Whole group and small group instruction would last 20 minutes each; outdoor learning would last 60 minutes, and self-learning would last 120 minutes. Family-style breakfast and lunch periods would be included. 

"When you talk about their eyes lighting up or those 'Ah ha!' moments, those are going to come through those interactions with other children and adults through play," Griffith said. "That age is very magical."

Puesta Del Sol officials met internally to discuss how to incorporate the program into its existing campus. The school, with three buildings, will house the preschool in the "Freedom" wing, which contains nine classrooms and office spaces, Petro said. Renovations range from adding changing tables in bathrooms to creating hallways and small group areas.

"Even the cabinetry is new — because it has to be low for little guys," Petro said. "So it's a whole renovation."

Contractor bids are due March 2, according to information provided during the work session.

Janna Chenault, RRPS's elementary school improvement officer, said establishment of a new preschool program was years in the making. The need is, in part, due to a waitlist at Shining Stars, she said. The preschool only offers half-day pre-K, in contrast to Puesta Del Sol and other community preschool options.

Shining Stars Principal Dawn Ramos wrote in an email that her school, with 420 students in its pre-K program, has a waitlist of 40-50 students — down from over 100, thanks to the availability of more preschool options. But, Ramos wrote, Rio Rancho could use more.

"The desire to add another preschool program is wonderful and greatly needed. Due to our current building size, we are unable to enroll all students who wish to attend," Ramos wrote. "Additionally, there is a strong interest in a full-day program option, which Shining Stars is not able to offer at this time. Expanding preschool opportunities will provide more students and families access to high-quality early childhood education."

During the fall semester of 2024, Chenault said school officials began examining where in Rio Rancho was the greatest need for another preschool program and soon determined it was the city's south side. The search then began for which school in the area was most suitable for a pre-K program.

"We've known that we needed to expand more opportunities — it was just challenging with the size of our schools and only having one pre-K (location)," Chenault said. "We didn't have space to do that, and now we actually have space, and we can do that."

School officials settled on Puesta Del Sol, 450 Southern Blvd. SE, for its "pods" with restrooms and the ability to hold several classrooms in one space, according to Chenault.

While RRPS is paying for the renovation, external funding — like the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department grant — could fund everything related to classroom operations. Puesta Del Sol officials believe the school is uniquely positioned to receive the grant.

"I think Rio Rancho is set up nicely to receive grant funding — I can't speak to if it will be funded or not," Griffith said.

The department has not received a grant application/proposal from RRPS, ECECD spokesperson Julia Sclafani wrote in an email. She added that the department will not share details of individual applications until after the grant closes and awards are issued around May 15.

Meanwhile, school officials have launched a 15-question survey that asks families, for example, whether families would apply to a pre-K program at Puesta del Sol and what qualities they value most in a pre-K program. With up to 115 responses submitted so far, the survey will be kept open until at least the end of the month, when school officials are likely to submit the grant, Chenault said.