OWNERSHIP

Santa Fe Public Schools

SIZE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF SITE

Nava Elementary School is located on 5.6 acres. The school was first opened in 1969. The total square footage is 34,281, with 896 square feet in portable buildings.

INFRASTRUCTURE (ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE)

The school is located along a very busy main thoroughfare. A city park is located at one side of the school, but it is fenced off. Temporary fence screening was added to keep transients from looking onto the school grounds. The school only occasionally uses the park, though parking for special school events overflows into the rather distant parking areas at the park. The drop-off/pick-up circumstances are unusual. The three crossing guards are very active, constantly stopping or directing cars in the main front parking lot. There are four lanes of one-way moving traffic and a far lane of diagonal parking spaces.

The buildings are located in the center of the fairly small site. The play areas are distributed throughout the back and sides of the building, creating severe supervision issues. The kindergarten play area is at the front of the school, in a small open area that is not separated from the main school entry walk, and is not gated off from the main parking lot. The playgrounds (and site in general) appear barren. The sidewalks are too few and too narrow. (SFPS FMP Update 2003)

The site was recently improved with Southwestern style landscaping, drainage and parking area safety improvements. Additional work is planned, including renovation of the interior courtyard.

Significant fencing was installed. The kindergarten play field is fenced from the parking areas, along with the perimeter of the other play fields. The play fields are not open to the adjacent park, although the park is visually open to the play fields through the cyclone fence.

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.

Enrollment at Nava does not exceed its design capacity; however, program capacity is exceeded. Enrollment could be controlled by the limiting the number of transfer students the school accepts.

HISTORIC TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS FOR ENROLLMENT

Nava Elementary School has experienced some enrollment decline since 2003, however, starting in the 2009-10 school year, students living in the Turquoise Trail Charter School who do not want to or cannot attend the charter school due to the lottery are assigned to Nava.

ATTENDANCE

Nava Elementary School is located on Siringo Road. Students living in the assignment area are expected to walk to school. Along with the areas around the school, Nava also educates students living in the former Turquoise Trail assignment area for which one bus is used for transportation. Of the students living in the assignment area, 75% attend Nava Elementary School. Of the total number of students who attend the school, 66% are from the assignment area.

See the following map.

RESIDENTIAL GROWTH PATTERNS

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

CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPACTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY

Construction began on Francis X. Nava Elementary School in 1968 and was completed in 1969. Veterans’ Organizations in Santa Fe recommended the school be named after Marine Corporal Francis Xavier Nava, the first serviceman from Santa Fe to be killed in the Viet Nam conflict. A display case near the entrance of the school features Nava’s photo and service memorabilia, including his medals.

CURRENT AND FUTURE PROGRAMS

Francis X. Nava Elementary School provides a comprehensive curriculum based on state content standards and benchmarks. The program includes core academic areas, fine and performing arts, physical and mental fitness, extracurricular activities, and social justice, with bi-literate, bicultural, and bilingual competence.

The school has business/community partnerships with the Food Foundation, First Serve New Mexico and College of Santa Fe. It offers programs in visual and performing arts, sports, associated program that extends the curriculum (Battle of the Books), health programs, academic support programs (Compass Learning, dual immersion language curriculum), after-school programs (Team of Champions Tennis and tutoring with First Serve New Mexico), clubs and activities, and opportunities for parent involvement (Nava Community Council - PTC), School Advisory Council).

OPPORTUNITIES ANALYSIS

Nava 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.

This school is adjacent to a park. Explore additional partnership/joint site opportunities.