Albuquerque Public Schools
APS Celebrates Week of School Construction Milestones
Groundbreakings, grand opening mark progress on capital projects.
Albuquerque Public Schools celebrated a week of progress on capital projects, with groundbreakings for two schools and a grand opening for another.
On Tuesday, APS leaders joined the Corrales Elementary School community for a groundbreaking to expand the school into a K-8 facility. The $56.7 million project includes new buildings, renovations and site redesign.
The nearly 121,000-square-foot facility is designed to accommodate about 525 students and 50 staff members. Voters approved funding for the project in 2021, and the estimated completion date is July 2027.
The plan to turn Corrales Elementary into a small K-8 school is aimed, in part, at retaining more students. Roughly 60% of outgoing Corrales Elementary students currently transfer out of APS for middle school.
On Wednesday, Harrison Middle School held a groundbreaking for the first phase of a three-phase school replacement. The $30.3 million first phase includes the construction of a 54,480 square-foot facility to house various classrooms and support spaces. Completion for that first phase is expected by March 2026. Voters also approved funding for that project in 2021.
The total campus rebuild will be 155,000 square feet. Harrison Middle School opened in 1960, and the existing facility no longer meets the needs of students and staff.
On Thursday evening, the Cochiti Elementary School community hosted a grand opening and family engagement event to celebrate the completion of a $6.5 million project. The 8,400-square-foot classroom block includes six new classrooms and landscaping improvements. The project, which was completed in February, was funded by a federal COVID-19 grant.
The new classroom block at Cochiti accommodates students from Duranes Elementary School as part of the district’s right-sizing initiative.
"This week's events mark a significant step forward in our commitment to providing modern learning environments for our students," said Kizito Wijenje, Capital Master Plan executive director for APS. "We are incredibly grateful to the voters for approving the Corrales K-8 and Harrison Middle School projects and to the taxpayers for funding the Cochiti Elementary project."