LAS CRUCES – “They are really excited. They are just as anxious as I am to get this thing open, to get the tradition started,” said Principal Michael Montoya about the staff he has hired for Centennial High School, which will open its doors to about 1,000 freshmen, sophomores and juniors this August.
Montoya brings a number of heavy hitters from LCPS and other schools around the state to his lineup, including:
• Science teachers Beth Rewalt and Lorraine Bridges from Mayfield High School and Melody Hagaman from Picacho Middle School;
• Band Director Joseph Flores and Choir Director Ida Holguin, both from Vista Middle School;
• English teachers Nancy Hollingsworth (2010 LCPS teacher of the year) and Joel Hutchinson from Oñate High School, Amie Kraenzel from Picacho and Melanie Stuart from Zia Middle School;
• Math teachers Dusty Dowell from Oñate and Marcia Salopek from Mayfield and Ray Muñoz from Picacho;
• Spanish teachers Angelica Salcido-Lempke from Mayfield and Patricia Bischof from Picacho;
• Agriculture teacher Rachel Knight from Picacho;
• Special education teacher Shelley Mark from Picacho;
• Fine arts teacher Shelley Black from Mayfield;
• Social studies teacher Marissa Montaño from Mayfield;
• Physical education teachers Aaron Ocampo (who will also serve as head football coach) from Manzano High School in Albuquerque and Al Rosen (head volleyball coach) from Gadsden High School in Anthony.
Montoya has a few more staff members to add to accommodate the nearly 1,000 students expected on the first day of the 2012-13 school year. More than 900 students are already enrolled at Centennial, and Montoya expects additional transfers before the April 16 deadline.
When his roster is complete, the only comprehensive high school to be built in New Mexico during the state’s centennial will offer a complete range of courses and programs to its students, including Advanced Placement classes, honors courses and advanced educational services; special needs classes and programs; foreign language classes in Spanish, German and French; a full spectrum of electives, including band, orchestra and choir; and all athletics, including cheerleading.
“I’m in awe when I go out there,” Montoya said about visiting the new school site, where construction is expected to be completed in mid-May. The 344,000 square-foot, 84-acre school will feature state-of-the-art technology – about 230 miles (about the distance from Las Cruces to Albuquerque) of wiring have already been installed. Every one of the school’s 103 classrooms will have wireless internet access and interactive boards, and all teachers will have laptops.
The school library will open with 15,000 books on the shelves and an additional 6,000 eBooks available to students. And, like San Andres High School, Centennial’s library will be a branch of the city’s Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, open to students and community members after school hours.
Montoya said he also expects Centennial to have a student-based health center like those currently in place at Las Cruces and Oñate high schools. And, the hope is that it will grow into a community-based center, providing service after school hours.
”Our students will have all the tools they need to succeed and the very best staff imaginable to teach them and guide them,” said Montoya.
CHS also will include a ninth-grade academy – a five-story building that will house all classrooms and labs for all freshmen. The entire building becomes a “small learning community,” said Montoya, which helps staff build relationships with students during a challenging transition year.
More than three-quarters of the eighth graders in Centennial’s attendance zone have chosen to go to Centennial year, even though they had the option to attend the high school they previously were zoned for. That freshman class will be joined by sophomores and juniors for Centennial’s first year. All 2012-13 seniors will be allowed to stay at and graduate from their current high schools.
As a result, the CHS Hawks will be in the 4A division for football, basketball, baseball and all other sports during its first year; but will join Las Cruces, Mayfield and Oñate high schools in 5A as it moves closer to its nearly 2,100 student capacity.
Montoya also has been visiting middle schools to recruit students for Centennial. “The community has been very responsive. They’re very excited about a new high school in Las Cruces,” he said.
Montoya, 48, is a 1981 graduate of Las Cruces High School and a native of Tortugas. He was principal of Picacho Middle School for eight years before Superintendent Stan Rounds named him to the top post at Centennial. He also has nine years’ experience as an assistant principal and eight years as a teacher.
For more information, contact Montoya at 575.527.9093 or mmontoya@lcps.k12.nm.us.