STEM monte del sol students collage
Fibornachi

STEM
Department

Erick Druva, Science Department Chair
Middle School Science, Math, MESA
Email Erick

Rudy Penczer, Math Department Chair
Algebra, Statistics, Calculus
Email Rudy

Monte del Sol is the only MESA school in Santa Fe. MESA stands for Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Achievement, and is a national program. Our MESA program supports students in three different science classes, and also includes a MESA Club for middle school students who are building robots as they learn about coding and robotics.

STEM students creating bridgeAll incoming students take a math placement test and are placed in classes at their level, so if your middle school student scores higher than seventh or eighth grade, they can be placed in Algebra 1 with a high school math teacher and start earning high school math credit.

Math                                                                                High School students begin with Algebra 1 and Geometry. Other math classes offered in high school are Algebra 2, Probability and Statistics, Financial Literacy, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. Our math curriculum is supported with tutoring for students who are not at grade level or who have difficulty grasping the topics. One of the pillars of Monte is Arts Integration, and math teachers use art in their classes.

Science                                                                                                                                                              The science curriculum includes the following:

  • Integrated science in middle school.
  • Physics in ninth grade.
  • Biology in tenth grade.
  • Chemistry in eleventh or twelfth grade.

There are many additional enrichments offered in science. AP Biology and AP Environmental Science are offered every other year.

We partner with Santa Fe Community College to offer several dual-credit courses. Two sustainability and four Computer Science courses offered through SFCC can be taken here at Monte del Sol.

           Our teams participate in:

  • The Supercomputing Challenge (past eight years)
  • The Governor’s Stem Challenge, where we have won a showcase award every year we’ve participated
  • Science Fair Project (2009-2015) and more recently in local Earth Day experiments and presentations
  • NASA Techrise: One of our proposals was accepted and funded last year. The team completed and shipped their payload build, and it will launch in summer 2023
  • City of Santa Fe Children’s Water Fiesta (our chemistry students served as presenters and docents for many years until it was suspended during the pandemic. We hope it will be reinstated soon.

STEM monte del sol students with Mayor Gonzales

Stem Department Courses

  • Core Classes

    Integrated Science 7
    Integrated Science 8
    Physics 9
    Biology 10
    Biotechnology 10
    Chemistry 11-12
    AP Environmental Science 11-12
    Wildlife Science 11-12
    Anatomy and Physiology 11-12

  • High School Math

    Algebra I
    Algebra I Honors
    Algebra II
    Algebra II Honors
    Geometry
    Pre-Calculus/Calculus
    Financial Literacy
    Probability and Statistics

  • High School Science and Electives

    Physics
    Biology
    Honors Biology
    Biotechnology
    Chemistry
    AP Environmental Science
    Greenhouse(Dual Credit SFCC)
    Wildlife Science
    MESA (Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement)
    Introduction to Sustainability (Dual Credit SFCC)
    Sustainability Technologies (Dual Credit SFCC)
    Intro to Linux (Dual Credit SFCC)
    Intro to Programming (Dual Credit SFCC)
    Intro to PC Hardware and Software (Dual Credit SFCC)
    Scientific Technology (Dual Credit SFCC)

STEM Faculty

Math Faculty

Brenna Farrow
7th Grade Math
Email Brenna

Graciela “Chela” Butler
Middle School Math
Email Graciela

Guillermo Tellez
Geometry, Algebra
Email Guillermo

Rudy Penczer
Math Department Chair
Algebra, Statistics, Calculus
Email Rudy

Science Faculty

Dan Holland
Biology
Email Dan

Erick Druva, Science Department Chair
Middle School Science, Math, Mesa
Email Erick

Jim Heidenberger

Physics, Chemistry, Dual Credit Greenhouse

Email Jim

Roger Brown
High School Science, Dual-credit Sustainability
Email Roger

Top photo credits: Boy with geometry squares and fibonacci sequence drawing on the sidewalk: Carla Evans.