Students, staff celebrate grand opening for unique Las Cruces middle school

MESILLA, New Mexico -- Nearly 100 middle school students celebrated finally having classrooms to call their own on Friday.

The Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy has its own campus after being bounced around to different locations within the Las Cruces Public School system over the past 3 years.

The Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy is considered a new-style middle school with an innovative project-based learning model that uses smaller classrooms.

New Mexico Lt. Governor Howie Morales was on hand for the opening and praised the schools smaller class sizes that focus on a students strengths.

“Education doesn’t need to be standardized, it needs to be individualized and that's what this campus is showing," said Morales. "This took a lot of collaboration between the local government, state government the school district and local administrators.”

The schools 96 kids are split up into 5 different houses with each group claiming their own unique chants and colors.

Any 6th to 8th graders within LCPS can apply for the academy however admission requires an interview and writing test.