DDL Project School: Valley View Elementary
Location
Valley View Elementary is located in the southern part of New Mexico. We are about 60 miles from El Paso, Texas, and the Mexican border. It has a population of 73,000. Located in an older urban section of town, we are small but diverse. Our school's population is 361 with 80% Hispanic, 15% Anglo, 2% African American and 2% Native American. We are also unique in that we serve a large number of students with special needs. Many of our students speak Spanish in their homes and at family gatherings.
Our Area
Our city, Las Cruces, is the seventh fastest growing city in the United States. New Mexico State University is located here. It is also home to White Sands Missile Range and NASA. We have a long season of festivities, from the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally in January to the Tortugas dances in December. Things get really "hot" in October when the world's largest enchilada is cooked during the Whole Enchilada Fiesta. Those that enjoy history would enjoy a trip to nearby Old Mesilla to see where the Gadsden Purchase was signed and where Billy the Kid was jailed.
Climate
Las Cruces, NM, has beautiful weather year round. Our average temperatures are 60 degrees in winter and 97 degrees in the summer. Our average annual rainfall is 8.5 ". We only get about 3.2" of snow each year! It is very windy in the spring.
Agriculture in the Area
The area's major crops are onions, chile, cotton and pecans. Our climate is ideal for growing many different varities of vegetables and some fruits. We use an irrigation system to provide the water needed to grow our crops because we receive very little precipitation.
Our School Garden
Our garden is located in a protected patio between two wings of classrooms. In the Spring of 1997, with the help of an artist, second grade classes built an adobe wall. This became the site for a Three Sisters garden. Denise Lucht's third grade class and Mary Helen Ratje's fifth grade class researched native varieties of corn, squash, beans and chiles. They used both online and off line resources After researching the varieties, they made recommendations as to which ones should be planted in the garden. In May of 1998, the two classes planted Taos, Santa Ana, Alamo, and Hopi varieties of blue corn, Calabaza Mexicana and zucchini squash, pinto beans, and Chimayo and Espanola chile.