Rachael Sewards, founder and executive director of Solare Collegiate Charter School, updated the board at the November meeting on the school’s growth.
Solare, which serves fifth- through eighth-grade, was the first school in the Chamber’s charter expansion committee in 2022.
She highlighted the following facts about Solare:
- In SW Albuquerque — APS’s Learning Zone 2
- 93% Hispanic, 2% African American/African, 1% Indigenous, 2% White, 2% Other Multiple Races
- Title 1 School
- 27% Students with Special Needs
- 30% English Learners
- High levels of scholar mobility and significant increases in scholar enrollment during November-January
- Grade-level academic learning in ALL classrooms
- High-quality, grade-level materials
- Focus on critical thinking and oral literacy
- Conceptual mathematics
- All teachers are observed weekly, attend weekly coaching meetings
- Whole-school data sharing, bi-weekly data meetings in content areas
- Nine of 14 classrooms are co-taught, inclusion-based learning communities
- Dedicated 30 minutes FOCUS each day
- Every scholar has an individualized plan for backfilling previously missed learning, aligned to NWEA MAP, utilizing IXL individualized growth plans
- Scholars scoring in the 21st to 40th percentile receive additional intervention support two times per week
Sewards updated the board about a new 21,000-square-foot facility that will be added by December 2025. With the new building, Solare will add kindergarten through fourth grade and expects to increase enrollment from 416 to 624 students. The school was awarded $1.73 million in expansion grants from CSP and ESNM.