"Ideal school of the future": SFPS unveils overhauled ECO campus
Apr. 18—Evan Sturge was unequivocal: Early College Opportunities High School is "definitely the best high school in Santa Fe."
In addition to core academic courses, Evan, a ninth grader, takes electives in auto body and technology at the school, better known as ECO. He likes that it offers a unique experience — one dedicated to preparing students for college and career pathways in the skilled trades. ECO is a dual credit school, offering students an opportunity to earn credits toward professional certifications and associate degrees at Santa Fe Community College and other institutions as they work toward a high school diploma.
"It's not a traditional school at all; it's very different," Evan said. "All the teachers are nice. Everyone here is nice."
ECO's buildings are now equally nice. After years of planning and about 18 months of construction, a newly renovated campus is officially open to students and staff.
Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Hilario "Larry" Chavez — surrounded by builders, designers and students like Evan — marked the occasion Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
ECO's $21 million renovation — paid for with voter-approved bond money from 2017 and 2021 — will make space for more than 400 students by doubling classroom space, creating a campus gym and adding a single-entrance administrative building for improved security.
The school doesn't yet have a student population to fill the overhauled campus. State Public Education Department data from the 2022-23 school year — the latest available — placed ECO's enrollment around 110 students across grades nine through 12.
It'll be up to district officials, Chavez said, to promote ECO as an opportunity for Santa Fe students, increasing enrollment in the process.
"What better way to recruit individuals [than] a state-of-the-art building with high quality of instruction and a market that is in demand right now?" he said.
To school board member Sarah Boses, ECO seems like "the ideal school of the future." It's a place for hands-on learning that will engage students, she said.
In a lot of ways, ECO fits with New Mexico's vision for the schools of the future, too. In recent legislative sessions, lawmakers have heavily invested in career-technical education as a means of reengaging checked-out students and reconnecting high school academics to the "real world."
When it opened in 2016 in what previously served as a vocational-technical wing of Santa Fe High School, ECO got off to a difficult start. It received an "F" in the state's former school grading system in its first year of operation.
In recent years, though, the school has made progress in boosting its graduation and proficiency rates. Graduation rates from 2021-22 — the most recent data available — show 75% of ECO students graduated in four years, compared with 82% districtwide and 76% across the state.
The school's proficiency rates, though low, are on par with Capital High School's, and the latest rating from the Public Education Department listed ECO as a "Traditional" school, requiring no intervention from the department.
The new space, which features classrooms, eco-friendly fixtures and spiffy modern furnishings, is intended to help further ECO's development — as demand for trained tradespeople rises and the district develops its own programs geared toward workplace readiness, Chavez said.
To fill the wide gap between ECO's current enrollment and its new capacity, Chavez said his team plans to market the school as a good option for Santa Fe teenagers.
"That's our job: To get out there and really promote this school, promote the district as a whole, really show what great programming we have in place and what great facilities we have to host students and staff," he said.
