OWNERSHIP

Santa Fe Public Schools

SIZE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF SITE

César Chavez Elementary School is located on 10.2 acres. The school was first opened in 1996. The total square footage is 59,500, with 5,376 square feet in portable buildings.

INFRASTRUCTURE (ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE)

The site is a little larger than the maximum recommended site size for elementary schools. The school recently installed a number of portable classroom units that are unsightly although they are easily from existing hallways, so they function on the site well. The facility was constructed in 1994.

The Music and Book Storage portables have a separate driveway to allow parking adjacent to the buildings. Security may be compromised due to campus sprawl.

FLOOR PLANS

BUILDING CAPACITIES

The following school building capacities are shown in the chart below:

Design with portables (also called “building capacity”) is the generic enrollment average of PK to 6th grade students in a class times the number of classrooms in the school. The potential number of students per classroom is set by the minimum requirements for class size established by the New Mexico Public Education Department.

Program with portables (also called ''functional capacity'') is the generic enrollment average of PK to 6th grade students in a class times the number of classrooms in the school after the number of classrooms is reduced by subtracting rooms used for something other than general education times a loading factor of 95%.

Design without portables is the generic enrollment average of PK to 6th grade students in a class times the number of classrooms in the school if the school no longer has portables and if activities currently in portables are housed in permanent classrooms.

Program without portables is the generic enrollment average of PK to 6th grade students in a class times the number of classrooms in the school after the number of classrooms are reduced by subtracting rooms used for something other than general education and if all activities currently in portables are housed in a permanent classroom times a loading factor of 95%.

Enrollment 2010-11 40th Day is the number of students attending the school on the state reporting day of the 2010-11 school year.

With portables, enrollment at César Chavez does not exceed its design or program capacity. Without portables, capacity is exceeded by more than 100 students. The assignment area for César Chavez has almost 900 elementary school students. Without a classroom addition at the school, another elementary school in the area or an assignment area adjustment, capacity will always be exceeded.

HISTORIC TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS FOR ENROLLMENT

César Chavez Elementary School has experienced one of the highest enrollment growth rates in the School District. With the opening of Ramirez Thomas Elementary School, Chavez ES enrollment declined for one year (2003-04), then grew by 117 students in the three years since then. Enrollment is projected to continue strong growth until 2011-12, then decline somewhat due to declining births, eventual slow-down in the Tierra Contenta expansion, and a halt to new mobile home parks expected in the area.

ATTENDANCE

César Chavez Elementary School is located in the Tierra Contenta neighborhood. Along with most of Tierra Contenta subdivision, students are brought to the school by 1 of 3 buses from Riverside, Tierra Real, Cedar Crest apartments, and Vista Primera subdivision. Students living in the César Chavez Elementary School assignment zone are allowed to attend a school elsewhere in the district and be transported to that school. Of the students living in the assignment area, 69% attend César Chavez Elementary School. Of the total number of the students attending the school, 89% are from the assignment area.

See the following map.

RESIDENTIAL GROWTH PATTERNS

The César Chavez Elementary School attendance zone includes the Tierra Contenta master plan area, which continues to add new phases. The strong yield of students per housing unit should continue to increase enrollment at César Chavez.

CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPACTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY

César Chavez Elementary School is named after César Chavez, a Mexican American Migrant Worker. School enrollment is 628 students (285 are English Language Learners). Student demographics are 88% Hispanic, 7% Caucasian, 4.2% Native American, .2% African American, and .6% Asian. The school receives 100% free breakfast and free lunch because we are a Provisional II school. In addition, César Chavez Comm. School was chosen by the USDA as one of 26 schools in the state to receive a free afternoon fresh fruit and vegetable snack program.

The school is designated as one of the city parks within the Tierra Contenta development.

CURRENT AND FUTURE PROGRAMS

The school’s main focus areas in both English and Spanish are literacy, math, science, and social studies. The Bilingual Program focuses on building a strong literacy foundation in the students’ first language (Spanish), while developing their English language. Other programs are Certified Art Program, Certified Music Program, and Band Program for 4th and 5th Graders.

César Chavez has business/community partnerships with the HOSTS Program, Unity Santa Fe, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Wells Fargo Bank, Temple Beth Shalom and county offices. It offers programs in visual and performing arts, music, sports, associated program Cooking with Kids, extracurricular activities (Student Council), health programs, academic support programs (Compass Learning, Helping One Student to Succeed - HOSTS, bilingual maintenance program), after school programs (Before/After School Program -21st Century, ESL Power Hour, math club, 2nd grade reading intervention, Girls Inc., FACT), · Chess Club, parent support programs (Family and Youth Resource Center – NM grant-funded, Parent Resource Library, SFCC ESL Classes), PTO and community garden.

OPPORTUNITIES ANALYSIS

César Chavez ES:
Should be included in a comprehensive plan to include preschools
Should be included in future partnership opportunities
Should be evaluated for future capital projects for the next bond issue and/or capital program

No changes are recommended.