Courtesy Photo: Kindergarteners and 1st graders read with community reading buddies while parents/guardians share strategies for encouraging their young readers.
Where Friendships Begin, Families Connect, and Communities Grow
By Erica Martinez-Maestashas
There is something special about childhood friendships, both those in our neighborhoods and our schools. But when they cross from our neighborhood into the school down the street, those relationships often last a lifetime. As a child, most of the kids in my neighborhood attended Piñon. Each morning, we gathered on the sidewalk with backpacks slung over our shoulders, making our way to school together. Not only did we walk to and from school as a group, but our neighborhood friendships extended into our classrooms, sports teams, and special activities like Girl Scouts. The same friends who sat next to me at lunch were the same ones who knocked on my door after dinner asking if I could come outside and play. We enjoyed bike riding and roller skating, sleep overs and family barbecues. Those friendships became more than memories. They became lifelong connections and relationships.
Take a look over your back wall, across your street, or on your drive to work. There is likely a sweet school that embraces kids, has high expectations, and works tirelessly to meet the needs of every student. For me, that was Piñon. Maybe for you it’s a school like Chaparral. It might look a little old, with faded brick walls that have watched generations of students grow up. There might be a long pick-up line winding through the parking lot each afternoon. You might see walking paths that lead right to the front door or a beautiful playground where laughter echoes across the neighborhood.
After school, a group of grandparents may gather near the gate, chatting and waiting for their grandchildren. A couple of dads might share bike riding and hiking stories during morning drop-off. Kids who sat next to each other in class ride their bikes together down the block once homework is done. Informal playdates, family walks after dinner and impromptu games of tag in the yard become part of everyday life. There is something special about sitting in the lunchroom and realizing the student across the table is also your neighbor. During recess you yell across the playground, “Hey! Let’s play after school!” For parents, these moments often become a built-in support system that makes daily life a little easier.
Courtesy Photo: Students learn about a variety of career pathways at a recent career fair
Without hesitation, I can confirm that there are incredible teachers across our city and in every classroom. There are passionate, well-trained educators at every school who arrive early, stay late and dedicate their energy to helping students succeed. At Chaparral, I typically arrive by 7:15 a.m., and on any given day several teachers have already beaten me to work. Their classroom lights glow early in the morning as they prepare lessons, organize materials and think about how to best reach each student.
Twenty-five years ago, when I began my career as a new teacher, my heart was committed to student growth and learning. I spent hours planning lessons, celebrating small victories with students and constantly asking myself how I could do better the next day. Fast forward to today, and my experience has shown me something powerful: nearly every teacher shares that same commitment. In every school I have served, teachers set their sights on creating the best learning environment possible so students can become confident readers, writers and mathematicians.
As an elementary school principal in the heart of Santa Fe, I often think about those connections between neighborhood and school, between families and between kids. It seems common for many midtown families to completely overlook their neighborhood school. Without stepping foot into the closest school, many request a transfer to a different school. Perhaps due to work or childcare situations or pressure from family and friends, this becomes a glaring missed opportunity. A missed opportunity to pour into the school down the street, a missed opportunity to bridge families, friends and neighborhoods and ultimately a missed opportunity to truly build community. Take for example, a parent trying to juggle multiple morning drop offs. We used to call on our neighbors for help. It was a quick, safe, built in support system. It’s cliché to say that it takes a village, but it really does take a village, and you and I are part of that village. Together, we can ensure that every child, every school and every neighborhood thrives. We can pour into friendships, relationships and school communities.
Courtesy Photo: Chaparral staff and families work together to plan upcoming family events
Santa Fe is a community rooted in strong family ties and connections. Schools have always been the center of our neighborhoods. Our annual and beloved pet parade exemplifies this. Alumni of elementary schools cheer loudly for their former school. Parents and grandparents instantly go back to being a Chaparral Firebird or a Kearny Raider. With a smile that says, ‘that’s my school’, your heart instantly grows a bit and the nostalgia hits. You become a third grader swinging on the playground with your friends or shooting hoops with your neighbors. It’s that connection that has the opportunity to build a great community. For Chaparral, we recognize that organic relationships take time and need fertile ground. We also recognize that getting to know neighbors takes time, but it can be done. Through family events such as our annual community clean up, Scholar Saturday or our quarterly family lunches; and the engagement of community partners, a community within a community is fostered. A strong surrounding neighborhood has the potential to truly support a strong neighborhood school.
Santa Fe has many fantastic school options, and parents are every child’s biggest advocate. Choosing a school is an important decision, and families naturally want the best for their children. But sometimes the best opportunity might already be right around the corner.
Your neighborhood school is more than just a building where students learn reading and math. It is a place where friendships form, where families connect and where a sense of community grows stronger each year. It may not be perfect — no school is — but it holds the potential to become something truly meaningful when families invest their time, trust and energy into it. You just might be the missing piece, completing the perfect school puzzle.
Take a step through the front door of your neighborhood school. Introduce yourself. Ask for a tour. Meet the teachers and see the classrooms where learning happens every day. You may just discover that the school down the street is exactly the place where your child will thrive. And before you know it, you might find yourself walking in next year’s pet parade beside your neighbor, cheering alongside families who have become lifelong friends.
Courtesy Photo: Staff and families collaborate about their child’s educational experience.
Erica Martinez-Maestashas served in public education for 25 years. She is currently the proud principal of Chaparral Elementary. Born and raised in Santa Fe, she attended Piñon, De Vargas, and Santa Fe High School.