Schools Talk Back

The two middle schools that a recent report to Santa Fe Public Schools suggested consolidating into one, De Vargas and Capshaw, will each host a community forum on the proposal.

Data compiled by Atlantic Research Partners, a consulting firm that focuses on education issues, shows De Vargas and Ortiz middle schools scoring the lowest for overall school performance, a rank based on academic performance, community preference (a metric calculated by the number of students who transfer out), absences and safety audit scores. Enrollment at district's the three middle schools, Capshaw, De Vargas and Ortiz, has hovered well below capacity in recent years. De Vargas has the highest rate in the district of students transferring out and saw enrollment drop from 325 last year to 234 this year, at a school with a capacity for 653.

Atlantic Research's Dec. 14 presentation to the Board of Education recommended closing Capshaw and De Vargas and establishing a new middle school at the more centrally located De Vargas campus on Llano Street for some 600 students. The Mandela International Magnet School, the district's only international baccalaureate program, would then move to the Capshaw campus and use the additional space to add grades and increase class sizes.

The report projects creating the new middle school and increasing enrollment at some of the higher performing schools, such as Tesuque, Atalaya, El Dorado and Gonzales, will provide "equitable access to high quality instruction" for 1,298 students.

The forums are scheduled for 5:30 pm on Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Capshaw Middle School and at 5:30 pm on Thursday, Jan. 7, at De Vargas Middle School.

Santa Fe Reporter