RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) – There is a new education option for parents with young kids in Rio Rancho, as the school district is finally set to open its first full-time Pre-K program. At Puesta del Sol Elementary, the transformation is underway, making Rio Rancho Public Schools’ first-ever, full-time Pre-K school. “Working families need full-day opportunities, it just gives families the option if they want half-day or a full-day, where they haven’t had that option before,” said Brittany Behenna Griffith, Principal at Puesta Del Sol Pre-K.
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The investment comes two years after New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department ordered districts statewide to transition to full-day Pre-K programs. While that mandate is on hold, Rio Rancho Public Schools said that a public survey showed parents wanted a full-time option, and the district saw a way to add it at Puesta del Sol’s campus.
“It’s one of the original buildings in Rio Rancho, so there’s a large, huge connection to the community to this school. So when it was brought up that it may be re-purposed as a pre-k, a lot of the families that have been here or have kids here, even if their kids aren’t here, pulled together and really advocated to keep this as an elementary school,” said Janna Chenault, Chief Academic Officer at RRPS…