RIO RANCHO — Fundamental operational changes to Independence High School were proposed Monday by school leaders in response to recent state intervention and years of low graduation rates.
IHS Principal Jessica Sanchez shared details of the 2026-27 restructuring plan with the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education during a regular meeting. The board unanimously approved the proposal, which must be approved by the New Mexico Public Education Department.
“In my conversations with the state, they agreed (with restructuring) because we’re making gains and we’re heading in the right direction,” Sanchez said during the meeting. “I say all of this to say we are keeping a lot of the things that we’re doing because some things (are) working. We just need to fine-tune things a bit.”
The plan comes more than two months after IHS and district officials informed the board it was preparing the school for restructuring in response to NMPED placing IHS under its “More Rigorous Interventions” designation last year. The school had failed post-four-year graduation rates of at least 66.67% over three consecutive years. According to data provided by RRPS during Monday’s presentation, IHS posted a 50.2% graduation rate in 2023, 58.5% in 2024, and 63.7% in 2025…