OWNERSHIP

Santa Fe Public Schools

SIZE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF SITE

Atalaya Elementary School is located on 14.58 acres. The school was first opened in 1971 and had an addition in 1996. The total square footage is 36,666.

INFRASTRUCTURE (ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE)

The site is large for an elementary school, but not all of the property is suitable for building construction. The site slopes from south to north. A city park borders the site on the south. The park has been cited as a security issue in the past. The site has access. This site has not been evaluated since 1993 and since then, received extensive remodeling and a major classroom addition.

The site and facility should be reevaluated in the next assessment cycle.

FLOOR PLANS

Following is a floor plan showing classroom use during school year 2010-2011.

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.

Enrollment at Atalaya does not exceed its design or program capacity. Another 40 students more than the current enrollment could comfortably attend Atalaya without exceeding program capacity.

HISTORIC TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS FOR ENROLLMENT

Atalaya Elementary School has had steady enrollment due to a fairly high rate of in-transfers. Enrollment is projected to increase up to 2011-12 due to a large first grade in 2006-07, then decline again.

ATTENDANCE

Atalaya Elementary School is a small school near Canyon Rd. Atalaya services students who live directly around the school; as well, students are assigned to the school who live anywhere along Hyde Park Rd. and the southern portion of the Old Santa Fe Highway. Due to this extremely large assignment area, most students assigned to attend Atalaya Elementary School are transported to the school on 1 of 2 buses. Of the students living in the assignment area, 84% attend Atalaya Elementary School. Of the total number of students who attend the school, 65% are from the assignment area.

See the following map.

RESIDENTIAL GROWTH PATTERNS

No major residential developments were identified in the Atalaya Elementary School attendance area.

CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPACTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY

Atalaya ES is a newer school in the district and has a strong community influence.

It has joint use of tennis courts with the city of Santa Fe.

CURRENT AND FUTURE PROGRAMS

Atalaya has business/community partnerships with St. John’s College, Santa Fe Prep, Mentoring New Mexico, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Youthworks and the Rape Crisis Center. Atalaya is a learner-centered environment which provides students with access to technologies through an experiential interdisciplinary curriculum. Programs at Atalaya Elementary include: multi-age classrooms, music, physical education, cheerleading, art, library, beginning and advanced band, computer lab, Character Counts, Reading Buddies, PTA, Project AWARE, spring swimming program, fire prevention, Life Skills and Second Step, boys and girls basketball (3rd - 6th grade), annual science fair, annual career fair, annual multicultural fair, annual spelling bee, Achievement After School Program, Boy Scouts, Lunch Buddies (Big Brothers Big Sisters), Spanish club, chess club, and family events. It also offers health programs, Mentoring NM, academic support programs (Compass Learning), parent support programs (monthly newsletter), and opportunities for parent involvement (PTA, School Advisory Council, volunteers in the classrooms and in the school, parents as substitutes and open house).

OPPORTUNITIES ANALYSIS

Atalaya 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

The district is considering improving Atalaya to include a middle school on the site. The school would become a community K-8 school.