In 1958, Barbara Young Simms began to investigate the possibility of starting a girls day school in Albuquerque. In 1965, she secured land, established a board of trustees, and formed the Sandía School, a nonsectarian school. In late January 1966, the Rev. Paul G. Saunders, an Episcopal priest, was selected headmaster and, later that year, the school opened. The year began with 75 students in grades 5 through 10 (grade 11 was added the next year; grade 12 the year after), and finished with 82 students.
In 1969, Orell Phillips served as interim headmaster while the school’s board searched for a new head. In 1970, Mose Hale became third headmaster. Three years later, Sandía School became coeducational. In 1974, Elton Knutson was selected as fourth headmaster.
The school began to refer to itself as Sandia Preparatory School and expanded to a coeducational school during the 1974-75 academic year. Fifth-grade classes were discontinued in the 1985-86 school year. For the next academic year, Dick Heath joined Sandia Prep as its fifth headmaster.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Dick and Nancy Heath were Sandia Prep. Dick served as Headmaster from 1986 to 2010 -- New Mexico’s longest-serving independent school head at a time when the national average was five years. In the journey of life, he found a lifelong partner in Nancy, an educator herself, who served as an Albuquerque Public Schools kindergarten teacher until her retirement in 2014. Their three daughters, all Sandia Prep "lifers," carry on the tradition of education, with two becoming educators and one a social worker.
During his tenure, Dick accomplished significant milestones that left a lasting impact on the institution. He successfully grew enrollment from 270 to 660 students, a testament to his dedication and leadership. In 1990, he played a pivotal role in the acquisition of the current SPS campus from Albuquerque Academy, securing a stable and impressive location for the school's future. Remarkably, more than 90 percent of the facilities on Prep's expansive 30-acre campus were constructed under his guidance, a tangible representation of his commitment to enhancing the school's infrastructure.
Moreover, he demonstrated remarkable fundraising acumen, leading a series of highly successful capital campaigns that generated $21 million in capital improvements. These campaigns not only transformed the physical environment but also allowed him to formalize and expand Prep's holistic educational approach, which he aptly termed "The Five A's" - Academics, Arts, Athletics, Activities, and school Atmosphere. This comprehensive approach ensured a well-rounded education for Prep's students, enriching their experiences beyond the classroom.
Notably, Dick was not only dedicated to the students but also to the faculty and staff, creating a positive and supportive work environment for Prep's teachers. In recognition of his efforts, Prep received the American Psychological Association's National Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award and Best Practices Honors in 2009, making it one of only five employers in North America to receive this prestigious recognition. His visionary leadership, commitment to excellence, and unwavering support for both students and staff have left an indelible mark on the institution.
In recognition of the Heaths’ immense contributions, Sandia Prep honored them by naming its soccer, track and field, and baseball facilities the "Dick Heath Sports Complex." Furthermore, the Russell Student Center boasts the Dick Heath Board Room. It is because of the dedication shown by Dick and Nancy Heath that Prep is the groundbreaking place that it is today.
Since its founding in 1966, Sandia Prep has grown from a girls school serving 82 students in three buildings to a coeducational institution serving 670 students at its maximum in multiple buildings and facilities that fill a 30-acre (120,000 m2) campus. The first graduating class in 1969 consisted of six girls and has risen to roughly 80.
Sandia Prep is “descended” from the original Sandía School, a private day and boarding school for girls founded by Ruth Hanna McCormick (Barbara Young Simms’s aunt by marriage) in 1932. In its first year, Sandía School held classes for five students and one teacher in a private house where Manzano Day School is now located. The school was formed in part to help prepare girls for further study or college in the Eastern United States.
In 1937, the school moved to a new permanent campus (now part of Kirtland Air Force Base). Mrs. Simms commissioned architect John Gaw Meem to design the school complex in the territorial style. By 1938, the school had 75 students, nine of whom were boarders, and 18 faculty. In 1942, due to World War II, Sandía School closed. A number of alumnae from the first Sandía School actively participated in the organization of the current Sandia Prep School.
In the fall of 2021, the School’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted Heather B. Mock to succeed retiring Head of School Bill Sinfield. Sinfield had a well-regarded seven-year tenure at Prep. He was known for improving the School’s budgetary and fundraising prowess and for greeting students at the front of school with a handshake every morning. He also led the School’s administrative leadership team through the COVID-19 pandemic, offering off-campus and hybrid teaching as ably as possible as Prep faced monthly changes in the rules for social contact per the state department of health guidelines.
In the 2022-2023 school year, Mock returned to Prep, where she first began her academic career nearly 30 years earlier, as its tenth head of school.
Heads of School
Rev. Paul G. Saunders, Headmaster 1966-1969
Orell A. Phillips, Acting Headmaster 1969-1970
Mose V. Hale, Headmaster 1970-1974
Elton H. Knutson, Headmaster 1974-1986
Dick Heath, Headmaster 1986-2010
Ron Briley, Acting Headmaster 2004-2005
Steve Albert, Head of School 2010-2014
Joyce Whelchel, Interim Head of School 2014-2015
Bill Sinfield, Head of School 2015-2022
Heather B. Mock, Head of School, 2022-
Curriculum
Sandia Prep is an independent school and does not accept funding from the district, state, or federal government; therefore, it is not restricted by policies put in place by those entities. The school has developed a more rigorous college-prep curriculum as compared to a state-prescribed one. The curriculum is typified by a focus on experiential learning, critical thinking, and collaboration. Every department offers advanced classes to help position students well for college admission.
Prep’s sixth and seventh grades are arranged with an elective rotation cycle which allows students to sample many courses in their first two years to begin to know their own talents and interests; classes rotate every quarter. The upper school (high school grades nine through twelve) is designed to provide students with the opportunity to test their skills in a variety of academic disciplines. English, mathematics, science, history, modern language, arts, digital media and communications, and physical education are all required. Independent study and special, depth-diving academic programs are also offered.
Prep is known for the rapport which forms between its faculty and students. Its diverse teaching staff encourages engagement, global awareness, and experimentation.
The school has a rotating schedule of four days lettered A-D. There are eight periods, four of which are featured in a school day. Middle school and upper school assemblies, office hours, and class advisories are included throughout the week.
Facilities
Sandia Prep encompasses 33 acres, including 5 sports fields, 4 newly-renovated[citation needed] tennis courts, and a contemporary[clarification needed] track and soccer stadium. There are 16 campus buildings totaling 171,496 square feet. The buildings include over 50 classrooms and administrative offices, three computer labs, the DesignLab (Prep's makerspace), art studios, a photo lab, the Center for Learning Excellence, the Outdoor Leadership Program, Saunders Library, the Russell Student Center and its cafeteria, the Pitchfork Café, a dance room, a rehearsal room, and the 300+ seat McCall Family Theater which was renovated in the fall of 2018.
Prep completed a million-dollar renovation of its track and soccer stadium in 2015 and rebuilt its tennis courts in 2021. The school has an additional soccer field, and baseball and softball fields. The campus includes two gyms: the West Gym which seats 600 people and can be configured for four basketball courts or four volleyball courts; and the Field House, built in 2008, which includes the 850-seat gymnasium, a weight room, multipurpose room, locker rooms, offices, and spacious lobby.
Sandia Prep is the only high school in New Mexico that has its own observatory.[citation needed]
Athletics
More than 78% of Prep students play on 54 teams in 22 sports offered. All students from sixth through eighth grade take PE classes as part of their regular schedule.
Beginning in sixth grade, students may participate in:
Basketball
Cross Country
Dance
Flag Football
Golf
Mountain Biking
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball
Beginning in eighth grade, students may participate in all sports offered to sixth- and seventh-grade students, as well as:
Baseball
Bowling
eSports
Lacrosse
Swim
All eighth-grade Sandia Prep students are eligible to participate in upper school athletics, at any level of competition (freshman, c-team, junior varsity, or variety) provided they receive approval from the Sandia Prep Athletic Director and the New Mexico Activities Association.
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