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By Stephani Dingreville
Corrales Elementary has opened registration for the 2022-2023 school year. After a year of uncertainty, masks and closures, the staff at Corrales Elementary School (CES) is ready to hit the ground running next fall. When asked which staff members are intending to stay on for next year, Principal Liv Baca-Hohhausler enthusiastically responded, “Almost everyone!†The administration of the school is hoping enrollment, which now stands at 318 students, will continue to rise, as it has done throughout the current school year.
The easing of COVID 19 restrictions means students, their families and other community members can look forward to the full return of the many events and happenings that make Corrales Elementary unique, and a central gathering place for the village.
Events like the always-crowded Fall Carnival, the annual Holiday Concert, and the end-of-year Celebration of Children have been historically attended by Corraleños of all ages. Even villagers who do not have children currently attending the school come to these functions. Volunteers from many parts of the community work together to make these events a success, so that CES feels at times like the heart and soul of Corrales.
The Fall Carnival, which this year quietly celebrated its 60th year, is a particularly important event in our village. This year was special, with COVID-19-mandated changes, but with mandates going by the wayside, the village can hope for a return to normal next year.
In a typical pre-pandemic Fall Carnival, the school cafeteria would be filled with people ordering food donated by local restaurants like Perea’s Restaurant and Village Pizza. Corrales Fire Department Chief Anthony Martinez would probably be manning the cash register, as volunteers from the Corrales Senior Center would be heaping steaming-hot posole onto paper plates. The kids running around in their Halloween costumes would be of course blithely unaware that the whole shindig, in its collaborative, homemade glory, feels like a moment snatched from another era.
Current PTA President Jim Ward, himself a CES alumni, has high hopes for the year to come. He noted that Corrales Elementary was consolidated and built on the current site in 1923, which means, in his words, “We will be celebrating Corrales Elementary School’s 100th birthday next year!â€
Ward goes on to say, “We are hoping to see a lot of parent and community involvement as we mark this huge milestone in the life of not only our school, but also our village.â€
Students can be registered online by visiting the APS website, www.aps.edu, and clicking on “ParentVUE/StudentVUEâ€. Andrea Atkerson, administrative clerk at the school will be available to assist with registration and answer questions. She can be reached by calling the school at 505-792-7400, or by stopping by the CES office at 200 Target Road.