I attended Cottonwood for seven years and graduated in 2023. I know a lot of people who loved CCPS,…read moreand in many ways, I did,d too. A few of the teachers are still some of the best people I know, who inspire, support, and advocate for their students unconditionally. I have an immense amount of gratitude and respect for these individuals and the role they play in young people's lives. That being said, Cottonwood is not the school for everyone. While it can be an overwhelmingly positive experience for students who are actively seeking extra academic challenges, for others, it may not be the right place. In terms of specifics, the STEM programming throughout middle and high school is severely lacking and does feel weaker than in other public schools. As someone who is in a college pre-medical program, this difference in STEM education between my peers and me is definitely noticeable. Just something to consider if you or your child is passionate about pursuing a career in that field. Another note worth considering is the role mental health can play in determining whether or not to attend CCPS. For juniors and seniors, the only classes available are part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. While this program can be incredibly beneficial for some students, it is known to exacerbate existing mental health conditions for students who have them. Additionally, there is very little support for students who struggle with mental illness, and some teachers are even hesitant to respect 504 accommodations. In my experience, it seemed like student mental health wasn't a priority while I attended, but I'm hopeful that has since changed in the last couple of years. Ultimately, Cottonwood has its pros and cons, just like any other school. When deciding whether this is the right place for your family, you must take into account your individual needs, goals, and circumstances. Some students thrive here, and others don't. Both experiences are valid, and I truly believe that the current administration is proactively looking into ways to improve their existing problems for future students.

I attended this school all the way from sixth grade until I graduated in 2024. For parents…read morewondering whether or not to send their kid here for school, I would say that it is definitely worth it for middle school. Cottonwood is a safe environment and is free from many of the negative influences prevalent at so many Albuquerque middle schools. Additionally, your kid will go into high school ahead of their peers. However, there are many issues I have with this school, that make me hesitant to recommend it as a high school. These problems mainly boil down to not giving the students a voice, and trying to fix problems that don't exist while avoiding the ones that actually harm the school environment. One of the biggest claims that Cottonwood makes is that they care about equity and inclusion, but from my experiences, that is not the truth. There is very little diversity, both racial and economic, so much so that my graduating class of 69 people included one singular Black student. I also know an Indian student who left the school to attend La Cueva because the lack of diversity made it hard to attend Cottonwood. A few of my female friends also reported one of our male peers in a Title IX case involving verbal, physical, and sexual harassment, and this student was not reprimanded, and as far as I know there is no record of their report attached to this peer. I personally have had many issues with equity in sports, I joined the varsity cross country team as an eighth grader and this program became one of the only reasons I stayed at Cottonwood. This program is one of, if not the most decorated at the school, and yet our needs were continuously ignored, and our requests often times met with hostility. We share uniforms with the Track and Field program, and these uniforms have been worn for around five or six years. After 10+ seasons of use, they have become very beat up, and we no longer have enough uniforms for everyone. It has gotten so bad that athletes from other teams have come up to me to ask how old our uniforms are, and our teammates have to share uniforms, taking off jerseys to give to another person in between events. When we inquired about getting new uniforms, we were told that we were out of luck since teams get new uniforms every three years, and although last year was our year, we got new warm ups instead. This is despite the fact that two programs share the uniforms so really we should get new ones every 1.5 years, and despite the fact that the Volleyball and Basketball programs have gotten new uniforms and/or warm ups almost every, if not every year for as long as I have been competing in cross country and track. When we asked if we could fundraise for new uniforms we were told we were not allowed, because it would be unfair to the other programs. It also took the school 6 months and a year to hire a new cross country and track coach, respectively, when both of these coaches quit. However, when the boys basketball coach left it took a mere month to replace him, with no disruption in training. These experiences represent an overarching theme of my time at Cottonwood: I didn't feel like I mattered, and it felt like the administration and some of the teachers enjoyed exercising power over teenagers rather than actually helping these students grow as people. It is also worth mentioning that the school has an incredible organization issue that makes it hard to get anything done. So, in the end, parents, if you send your kid here and they express interest in leaving, I implore you to at least listen to what they have to say.

best school ive ever been too, amazing staff, courses in class, best community. highly suggest nex…read moregen, love them

Great school amazing teachers great classes great all in general small aps school would highly…read morerecommend

used to go to this school but I got expelled but other than that it was a good school the kids…read morewhere alright Their teachers were good Mr. Hzhy is the best teaher out the he is one of my favorite teachers and the principal was always on the top I'm just kidding. Our good. My brother still goes here. The math teacher for seventh grade is in the world. I'm sorry to be so mean but why you so mean the I loved it. I mean, I got jumped, broke my thum , but it was good.

I go here everyone always says it is the greatest school ever personality I feel like it is just…read moreaverage school normal public school we have a great band program and most teachers are nice and have good classes sendings if you like political stuff then don't go here many students and son teachers don't like Republicans you have good kids here and smart kids but expect stupid kids to the community school sending that's here is ok in some ways but overall just an average school

I attended high school here and looking back on it the people who attend La Cueva High School are…read morenot the best. The majority of the people are not good people as I was constantly bullied and people used me. I discussed the bullying problem to the La Cueva Administration with very little success. The bullying continued until all of Albuquerque Public Schools was forced to go online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I realized people were using me when I transferred and looking back, I did not enjoy freshman year of high school. There are some people who are very nice and I still maintain close contact today. The teachers are veery good at their job. If the La Cueva administration were to begin to adress the bullying in a way that decreases the bullying that persists, I might rate the school higher.

This school is amazing! My child attended the middle and high school. She was doing terribly in…read morepublic school and now she is flourishing. Teachers are great and students are respectful.

I am still GOING to this school. However, I would like to say that the disciplinary action here is…read moreabsolutely horrible. I got pantsed and the person who did it got suspended FOR ONE DAY. APS is for sure better

Well...this is a biased review due to the fact that I work here, and I love this place; therefore,…read moreDel Norte High School (DNHS) automatically earns quintillion stars. Ha ha ha. I was told that Del Norte is the smallest high school compared to all of those within the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) district. Back in the day when DNHS opened in 1964 it was the most northern property in the city (hence, the name), so nothing was more north than the campus. My has this city grown! SIDE NOTE: Very few of my yelp friends know that I substitute taught for three consecutive school years; I made my schedule open to all high and middle schools, yet I only subbed at certain elementary schools because I already knew I was a better fit for older students. In those three school years, I discovered that I really work best with high schoolers compared to any other age group; therefore, I just had to find a location that worked best with my volunteer and family schedules. I found my spot. On a funny note, DNHS refers to its campus as the Castle. So, the Queen of Albuquerque found a place for her crown. ;-) Anyone using the yelp app knows who sometimes holds this title. *wink* What I love about Del Norte High School: ODE TO DNHS. Okay -- my heart is really signing this and not my voice. I appreciate the staff and faculty, the new building, the location, and the students. As of the fall semester of 2014 the cafeteria is still being built, so if you drive by the Castle, you'll see the construction underway. The projected completion date is the fall semester of 2015. I look forward to the new cafeteria. Wait! Students are calling my name right now, and so I have to run. See you all around yelp! Have a nice day!

I gave Del Norte 4 stars, but that requires an explanation. Ranking wise Del Norte is a below…read moreaverage school. However based on two things occuring it can provide an above average education. First your child must be self motivated and proactively pushing their own education. Second there needs to be significant parent involvement in what classes they take and addressing issues with the school administration when they come up. With these two things your child can get an above average education at Del Norte. Without them you are looking at average at best.

I am so glad I was able to transfer my son to ADO last year. The entire staff is wonderful....the…read moreprincipal, Joyce Newman was principal of the year for NM! The faculty is focused on the childrens education...all of it. Not just reading, or math to get their scores up like I've experienced with other schools in APS. Even the parents are friendly! This is a fantastic school! My son loves it here!