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New Mexico State University

Los Padillas Elementary

Location

Los Padillas Elementary is located in the community of Los Padillas. Los Padillas is the southern-most community in the South Valley of the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area. The Los Padillas land grant was established before Albuquerque existed. Isleta Pueblo is our community's southern boundary. Isleta Boulevard (US 85) traverses Los Padillas. Other reference points are Coors Boulevard, Malpais Road, Raymac Road, and Black Mesa.

Los Padillas is located in the flood plain of the middle Rio Grande Valley. This area of the South Valley is considered rural. It is a fragile ecosystem containing endangered Bosque (riverside cottonwood forest), with precarious surface and ground water sources. The air quality is threatened by urban sprawl encroaching on desirable open spaces and rural ambiance.

Los Padillas is a relatively traditional and stable community. Families have lived continuously in this community for more than three centuries. Los Padillas Elementary celebrated its centennial in 1990. Our student population is 469 strong (approximately 76.9% Latino/a, 16.4% European American, 4.9% Native American, 1.2% African American, 0.2% Asian, and 0.4% Other). Los Padillas has comprehensive school-wide Bilingual and Title I programs. We have just completed the second year of a major Math and Science initiative fulfilling the Los Padillas SEDL Math and Science Standards Grant. This grant complements the Los Padillas Wildlife Sanctuary, our on-site 5 acre outdoor learning laboratory and constructed wetlands, making us a special learning institution.

Climate

Latitude is 35°, 3° N, Longitude is 106°, 37° W. Elevation in the South Valley is 4800 ft. Temperature range is 15° F - 95° F. The temperature at any given time can be 10° F colder in the South Valley than in Albuquerque on cold, clear mornings and evenings or 10° F hotter on a clear hot day. The average annual rainfall is approximately 10 inches.

Agriculture in the Area

Farming is still a major land use in the Los Padillas community. Small truck farms grow chile, corn, squash, tomatoes, and fruit. Alfalfa is a main crop. Dairies and feed lots are also present. There is limited grazing -- usually confined to families raising 1 or 2 head of cattle for their own use. Many people board their own horses.

Our School Gardens

Presently, Los Padillas has four student/teacher generated gardens. These gardens are located in the west patio of our campus.

The first one installed was the model xeriscape garden planted by each grade level under the mentorship of Mrs. Phillips' fifth graders. This was completed in 1990 in time for our Centennial celebration. This garden was to demonstrate the beauty of native plants and their natural drought tolerance. The students nurtured this garden for two years by faithfully watering weekly. This model xeriscape garden is now well established, requiring virtually no maintenance.

In 1996, the teacher garden was installed. This was the result of a Math and Science professional development class with the theme of gardening in the Southwest. The twelve teachers participating in this class analyzed soil, practiced composting, studied native medicinal plants, planned and drew to scale their garden plot and plant placement, embellished and prepared the soil and finally, planted the medicinal plants. The garden is growing well, maintained by the teachers and their students.

In 1997, two new gardens were installed.

The bodyguard-en was planted by Ms. Martinez' 1st graders. Her class studied the medicinal plants in the teacher garden. They learned the primary uses for these plants. When the NMSU students came to help with the garden they dug out a shape of a giant person for the garden. Ms. Martinez' class planted medicinal plants in the particular part of the body which they helped. One of the 1st grade students came up with the name "bodyguard", since all the plants were good for the body, that lead easily to its enchanting name. All the plants are thriving.

Mrs. Romero's and Mrs. Phillips' 4th graders used five varieties of chile seeds provided by NMSU to start a gardening unit. The students began an experiment using different types of soil in which to grow the chile seeds (worm compost, potting soil and sand). They created science journals and kept daily records of the seeds' progress. However, disaster struck when the chile seeds died when left unattended. They were replanted and a few grew before the end of the school year. The students were exposed to the idea of a Zuni waffle garden (a traditional Native American water conserving planting technique for arid environments). They drew scale models of the garden. Then they enhanced and prepared the soil, created the "waffles" and planted their 10 seedlings. They drew and sketched the final garden. Unfortunately, disaster struck again when the garden was vandalized the first week of vacation. Only four of the chile plants remain.

As we plan for next academic year we see four mayor areas of work:

  1. Establish the garden area as a more permanent space on the campus. We will be negotiating with the APS facilities planning department for fencing and benches. The students in our classes will be involved in writing to local businesses asking for landscaping material donations.
  2. Watering the garden during the summer needs to be addressed. This summer we were fortunate that one of the custodians took an interest in the garden area. She watered and weeded the garden along with her regular duties. However, we realize that this is not an ideal situation and will have to research other avenues for next summer.
  3. We plan to harvest the medicinal plants with the students. We expect that our students will be able to identify family members who will be able to come to our classes and serve as consultants in this area of study.
  4. Lastly, we plan to plant "the three sisters and the little brother". Our experiences during this phase will be shared with the other five schools involved in the garden project. Keep visiting the DDL site for exciting updates.

Our Area

The South Valley makes up more than 1/3 of the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area. The city of Albuquerque, with its population of over half a million, is the largest in the state of New Mexico. It is a city with a diverse cultural, socio-economic profile. For the Los Padillas community, the proximity to Albuquerque opens up the opportunity to participate in all its attractions. Students at Los Padillas Elementary have had field trip experiences to the New Mexico State Fair, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Rio Grande Biological Park, the Albuquerque International Airport, the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, the National Atomic Museum, the Albuquerque Children's Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, the Explora! Science Center, the South Broadway Cultural Center, the Kimo Theater, Old Town Plaza, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Petroglyph National Monument, the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park, the Albuquerque Journal, and the University of New Mexico. Make sure to visit when you are in our area!

Our 5 Favorite Links

Offline References

Los Padillas Elementary: Centennial Highlights, 1990.

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