APS Breaks Ground on new Southwest High School (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: construction, school districts)

[6 FOOT 3]

APS broke ground today on the newest high school (Southwest) in the city on Dennis Chavez and 118th st. APS is building phase II of the new high school (Volcano Vista) on Universe Blvd. Rio Rancho has already started construction on its newest high school (Cleveland) on Paseo Volcan next to the Downtown area in Rio Rancho.

APS

[bullionbuks]

What are you trying to say?

[Chaparral]

I believe 6/3 was trying to communicate the fact that APS has started the construction process for its latest high school, located in the rapidly growing Southwest part of town. He also reminded the readers here that construction continues on 2 other new high school facilities on the west side/Rio Rancho.

Chap

[yukon]

Perfectly logical post to me, and I don't even have kids - many people posting on ALL the city forum boards ask about schools. Building a new school - or many - is a good sign of growth in a city. Made sense to me, 6/3!

[bullionbuks]

I believe 6/3 was trying to communicate the fact that APS has started the construction process for its latest high school, located in the rapidly growing Southwest part of town. He also reminded the readers here that construction continues on 2 other new high school facilities on the west side/Rio Rancho.

I posed the question because I believe that the comments made by 6 FOOT 3 are misleading. i.e. Building schools = Albuquerque Public Schools not overcrowded. I have worked with APS regarding school overcrowding and RE development issues on the westside. Overcrowding has been and will be a problem for the forseeable future (many APS employees agree with this statement). The building of the schools will help, but if you look at long term projections-- the schools just can't keep pace with the development. Hopefully, the slow down in construction will help, but as of right now the problems still persist. Rio Rancho on the other hand does have a coherent and sustainable plan. If you have kids I would suggest Rio Rancho Schools to APS.

[LLD]

Opening posts seems pretty straightforward with no implications.

[casden]

bullionbuks,

Nowhere in 6 FOOT 3's post did I see anything that mentioned, or even implied that "Building schools = Albuquerque Public Schools not overcrowded"

[AndyJ]

Slightly off topic, but still related I think - has anyone heard anything about Del Norte HS being moved to the west side? A friend mentioned it today when we were driving past it, but I hadn't heard anything of the sort before. Any truth to this?

[abqsunport]

I am sorry, but they would never move a whole school across town. There is a need for a school in its current location. What needs to be done, however, is a rezone of the School Districts. La Cueva is now very overcrowded, El Dorodo is also very crowded at the moment. However, If they made this move, people would be livid.

[Zoidberg]

I agree.

Del Norte's often been the scapegoat for overcrowding since it is the least attended first-tier public HS in Albuquerque. I believe it has been a participant in a program that buses westside kids to less crowded schools on the east side (it and Albuquerque high).

Both La Cueva and Valley HS have far larger geographical districts than they warrant when it comes to proximity to Del Norte. You pick the halfway point between the schools and they are far out of DNHS' district lines. In my opinion, that's why DNHS is the smallest. With LCHS in particular, people cry foul at any attempt to redistrict to equalize school populations because they are under the impression their kids would be forced to move to a lesser school and their property values would drop.

A typical HS in Albuquerque would be from 1300-2000 students. If you visit other states, such as California, 3000 is not unusual to find in a high school. Bigger schools mean more class choices and more athletic facilities, usually. If all your kids are learning out of portables then obviously there's overcrowding, but simply looking at a school's population only gives you part of the big picture.