LCPS presents first ‘State of the District’ address

Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ignacio Ruíz announced student proficiency rates, budget data and future goals in a “State of the District” address on May 29 at the Las Cruces Convention Center.

Ruíz, who joined LCPS last summer, shared the stage with keynote speaker Richard Carranza, a former chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, as well as current student and alumni speakers and a performance by Mariachi Tierra del Encanto.

Modeled on the traditional “State of the Union” address presidents deliver to joint sessions of Congress, it was the first event of its kind at Las Cruces Public Schools.

Carranza, who headed New York City’s schools from 2018 to 2021 under former Mayor Bill DeBlasio, opened his speech with metaphorical lessons about teamwork and collective endeavor from the aerodynamics of flying geese formations.

“If there’s one thing that I found in the school systems across this country that I’ve led but have also worked in, it’s that very rarely are we willing to … accept help and give help to others. But the only way to achieve our community goals is by doing exactly that,” he said in his address.

He went on to use different sections of the mariachi band to illustrate organizational harmony (or dissonance), likening groups of instruments to different departments in a school district. Carranza himself is a musician who has taught mariachi.

Las Cruces school board president Teresa Tenorio presented the district’s updated strategic planning document, including commitments to uphold “equity, sustainability and respect” for the student body throughout school settings.

Jamila Gilbert, a Las Cruces High School graduate and product of Sierra Middle School’s science magnet program, who works for Virgin Galactic and has flown to space on one of its missions, shared her experience of that flight and how Las Cruces schools had set her on a course to view the Earth from above.

An hour into the presentation, Ruíz took the podium. “Las Cruces Public Schools proudly educates over 23,000 students. We have close to 5,000 highly trained professionals including over 1,600 of the most dedicated educators in the country across our 40 schools,” he said as he introduced his report.

The proficiency data Ruíz presented, the most recent available based on student testing, measured performance during the 2022-23 school year, before his arrival at the district.

According to those results, LCPS students in grades 3 thru 8 and grade 11 averaged 38 percent in reading proficiency, while math proficiency scores in those grades were 23 percent.

The attendance rate for students attending at least 90 percent of school days district-wide was 61 percent, while 39 percent of the students were chronically absent.

The district’s graduation rate continued to top the New Mexico rate, although it has pulled closer since 2020. For 2022-23, the LCPS graduate rate was 81.5 percent of students compared to 76.2 percent statewide.

The data only tells part of the district’s story, Ruíz then said, with respect to student success, what it means and how it is achieved. His presentation included a breakout of department functions and presentations about various educational and athletic activities, and tracking of graduates’ post-secondary success, with three major themes: Safety and dignity for a diverse student body, equity in services for all students and respect for the various constituencies represented by LCPS.

Ruíz followed the departure of Superintendent Ralph Ramos in the spring of 2023 in the wake of grievances and complaints filed by district employees. The school board investigated the complaints, which were not publicized, but did not place Ramos on leave or take disciplinary action against him before he announced his retirement.

During his first school year in Las Cruces, Ruíz said he pursued an entry plan that included extensive meetings with the community and staff, addressing organizational changes and communicating with the district and its constituents about those efforts. Presenting his concept of a “collaborative cycle of improvement” involving data, feedback and implementation of policies, the new superintendent pledged that as he began his second year on the job, “I am committed to regularly communicate and dissemninate information and updates on the work to ensure that everyone is clear on the goals and action steps. Here at LCPS, all of us are accountable for every single student.”

Before taking the position in Las Cruces, Ruíz had been an assistant superintendent at the Clark County School District in Nevada, and had also served in the Tucson Unified School District. A news release announcing his hire said the school board had entered a contract with Ruíz through June 2025 at an annual salary of $200,000.