Is R.M. Sweeney Elementary a good school?

R.M. Sweeney Elementary ranks in the bottom 3.0% of New Mexico elementary schools.

How many students attend R.M. Sweeney Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 283 students attended R.M. Sweeney Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of R.M. Sweeney Elementary?

Students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary are 95% Hispanic, 2% White.

What schools do graduates of R.M. Sweeney Elementary attend?

Students who attend R.M. Sweeney Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Edward Ortiz Middle High : Capital High

R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Summary:

R.M. Sweeney Elementary is a public elementary school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, serving grades PK-5 with 276 students. The school is part of the Santa Fe school district, which is ranked 85 out of 119 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

R.M. Sweeney Elementary consistently performs significantly below the state and district averages in standardized test scores across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 10% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 39% at the state and district levels. Similarly, only 9% were proficient or better in Mathematics and Science, compared to 25% and 36% statewide, respectively. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of all elementary schools in New Mexico over the past several years, with a ranking of 420 out of 433 schools in the 2023-2024 school year. The school's performance is particularly concerning for Hispanic students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who rank in the bottom 10% of schools in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.

While the nearby schools in the Santa Fe district also struggle academically, Chaparral Elementary and Amy Biehl Community School outperform R.M. Sweeney Elementary by a significant margin in all subject areas. Despite being a long-standing school, R.M. Sweeney Elementary has not shown any meaningful improvement in its academic performance or statewide ranking over the past decade. The high concentration of students from low-income families, as indicated by the free and reduced-price lunch rates, may be a significant factor contributing to the school's poor academic performance.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

501 Airport Rd
Santa Fe, NM 87507

(505) 467-1500

District: Santa Fe

SchoolDigger Rank:
420^th of 433 New Mexico Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,008

Students who attend R.M. Sweeney Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Edward Ortiz Middle
High:	Capital High

Student/teacher ratio: 11.0

Number of students: 283

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.4%

White:

2.1%

African American:

0.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 70.3%

See top rated New Mexico elementary schools

Compare R.M. Sweeney Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details R.M. Sweeney Elementary ranks worse than 97% of elementary schools in New Mexico. It also ranks 18^th among 19 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Fe School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.79. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (95.4%), White (2.1%), American Indian (0.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 70.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at R.M. Sweeney Elementary is 11, which is the 2^nd best among 19 elementary schools in the Santa Fe School District. (See more...)

Compare R.M. Sweeney Elementary employs 25.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at R.M. Sweeney Elementary is $9,008. 17 elementary schools in the Santa Fe School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

R.M. Sweeney Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks R.M. Sweeney Elementary 420^th of 433 New Mexico public elementary schools. (See R.M. Sweeney Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Santa Fe:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Fe 85^th of 119 New Mexico school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

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Rank History for all students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile
2005	17.56	353^rd	389	9.3%
2006	14.01	369^th	390	5.4%
2007	25.06	325^th	398	18.3%
2008	22.99	344^th	405	15.1%
2009	21.37	356^th	411	13.4%
2010	12.93	394^th	419	6.0%
2011	12.45	381^st	402	5.2%
2012	13.23	376^th	398	5.5%
2013	12.49	390^th	412	5.3%
2014	16.30	405^th	442	8.4%
2015	19.42	380^th	421	9.7%
2016	17.36	372^nd	410	9.3%
2017	15.41	341^st	374	8.8%
2018	14.68	348^th	383	9.1%
2019	15.72	360^th	396	9.1%
2022	7.25	403^rd	420	4.0%
2023	8.13	426^th	435	2.1%
2024	8.79	420^th	433	3.0%

See the entire list of New Mexico Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	10.20	83^rd	83	0.0%
2019	22.83	84^th	98	14.3%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile
2018	17.65	321^st	356	9.8%
2019	18.97	323^rd	361	10.5%
2023	7.53	418^th	426	1.9%
2024	8.13	230^th	237	3.0%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	13.21	2^nd	2	0.0%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	11.79	324^th	339	4.4%
2019	22.51	280^th	343	18.4%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile
2018	16.30	308^th	333	7.5%
2019	9.90	324^th	337	3.9%
2023	9.27	408^th	414	1.4%
2024	13.60	382^nd	410	6.8%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile
2018	14.71	302^nd	329	8.2%
2019	18.88	281^st	320	12.2%
2022	4.79	350^th	389	10.0%
2023	7.24	392^nd	395	0.8%
2024	8.77	383^rd	390	1.8%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	NM State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	63.18	96^th	325	70.5%
2023	7.27	407^th	413	1.5%

See the entire list of Best New Mexico Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: New Mexico Public Education Department, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: New Mexico Public Education Department

Review counts

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Reviews:

by a teacher
Saturday, February 11, 2017

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Enrollment information for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1990	223	5	1	492	9	n/a	n/a	730
1991	223	0	0	415	0	n/a	n/a	638
1992	162	9	2	482	2	n/a	n/a	657
1993	129	0	2	515	3	n/a	n/a	649
1994	126	2	2	526	8	n/a	n/a	664
1995	102	1	4	492	16	n/a	n/a	615
1996	102	1	4	492	16	n/a	n/a	615
1997	90	5	5	496	10	n/a	n/a	606
1998	84	0	8	520	15	n/a	n/a	627
1999	73	1	9	574	19	n/a	n/a	676
2000	67	0	9	578	23	n/a	n/a	677
2001	54	1	9	591	15	n/a	n/a	670
2002	30	0	9	577	15	n/a	n/a	631
2003	30	0	9	577	15	n/a	n/a	631
2004	23	0	2	386	6	n/a	n/a	417
2005	27	0	1	362	11	n/a	n/a	401
2006	27	3	0	494	4	n/a	n/a	528
2007	24	4	0	532	9	n/a	n/a	569
2008	20	0	0	491	6	n/a	n/a	517
2009	17	1	3	651	10	n/a	n/a	682
2010	20	3	6	631	10	0	0	670
2011	15	0	2	530	11	0	0	558
2012	42	2	3	514	5	0	1	567
2013	33	4	2	519	7	0	1	566
2014	37	2	1	579	12	1	2	634
2015	24	1	0	454	11	0	0	490
2016	17	1	1	444	9	0	0	472
2017	22	1	1	420	7	0	0	451
2018	20	2	2	441	5	1	0	471
2019	13	0	2	438	7	2	0	462
2020	12	2	2	380	5	0	0	401
2021	11	2	2	358	4	0	0	377
2022	7	7	1	291	0	1	0	307
2023	6	1	1	267	0	1	0	276
2024	6	2	2	270	2	1	0	283

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1990	730	35.1	20.7	n/a
1991	638	33.5	19.0	n/a
1992	657	34.5	19.0	n/a
1993	649	36.4	17.8	n/a
1994	664	34.1	19.5	n/a
1995	615	35.2	17.5	n/a
1996	615	35.2	17.5	n/a
1997	606	35.3	17.2	n/a
1998	627	34.0	18.4	n/a
1999	676	34.0	19.9	75.4
2000	677	39.9	17.0	69.7
2001	670	54.0	12.4	86
2002	631	40.5	15.6	98.6
2003	631	40.5	15.6	98.6
2004	417	30.4	13.7	94.2
2005	401	30.4	13.2	97.5
2006	528	33.8	15.6	99.2
2007	569	35.6	16.0	98.9
2008	517	34.7	14.9	99.4
2009	682	43.7	15.6	99.6
2010	670	40.2	16.6	99.6
2011	558	34.6	16.1	99.1
2012	567	37.8	15.0	86.9
2013	566	37.0	15.2	98.8
2014	634	39.1	16.2	99.5
2015	490	36.0	13.6	81.4
2016	472	35.0	13.4	100
2017	451	31.2	14.4	99.8
2018	471	30.5	15.4	100
2019	462	25.2	18.3	100
2020	401	26.4	15.1	100
2021	377	23.2	16.2	100
2022	307	21.2	14.4	99
2023	276	23.2	11.8	100
2024	283	25.6	11.0	70.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1990	730	35.1	20.7	n/a
1991	638	33.5	19.0	n/a
1992	657	34.5	19.0	n/a
1993	649	36.4	17.8	n/a
1994	664	34.1	19.5	n/a
1995	615	35.2	17.5	n/a
1996	615	35.2	17.5	n/a
1997	606	35.3	17.2	n/a
1998	627	34.0	18.4	n/a
1999	676	34.0	19.9	75.4
2000	677	39.9	17.0	69.7
2001	670	54.0	12.4	86
2002	631	40.5	15.6	98.6
2003	631	40.5	15.6	98.6
2004	417	30.4	13.7	94.2
2005	401	30.4	13.2	97.5
2006	528	33.8	15.6	99.2
2007	569	35.6	16.0	98.9
2008	517	34.7	14.9	99.4
2009	682	43.7	15.6	99.6
2010	670	40.2	16.6	99.6
2011	558	34.6	16.1	99.1
2012	567	37.8	15.0	86.9
2013	566	37.0	15.2	98.8
2014	634	39.1	16.2	99.5
2015	490	36.0	13.6	81.4
2016	472	35.0	13.4	100
2017	451	31.2	14.4	99.8
2018	471	30.5	15.4	100
2019	462	25.2	18.3	100
2020	401	26.4	15.1	100
2021	377	23.2	16.2	100
2022	307	21.2	14.4	99
2023	276	23.2	11.8	100
2024	283	25.6	11.0	70.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Year	Total Expenditures Per Pupil
2019	$9,008

Data source: New Mexico Department of Education

Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on R.M. Sweeney Elementary

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Rank Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Ranks 360^th of 396 Elementary schools	Ranks 426^th of 435 Elementary schools	7%

Test Scores

	% proficient Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	% proficient Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
3rd Grade Language Arts (R.M. Sweeney Elementary)	23	10.2	12.8%
3rd Grade Language Arts (Santa Fe)	32	32.6	0.6%
3rd Grade Language Arts (New Mexico)	30	31.8	1.8%
4th Grade Language Arts (R.M. Sweeney Elementary)	9	7.8	1.2%
4th Grade Language Arts (Santa Fe)	28	33	5%
4th Grade Language Arts (New Mexico)	30	35.2	5.2%
4th Grade Mathematics (R.M. Sweeney Elementary)	6	7.8	1.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Santa Fe)	23	22.9	0.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (New Mexico)	27	24.5	2.5%
5th Grade Language Arts (R.M. Sweeney Elementary)	23	12.5	10.5%
5th Grade Language Arts (Santa Fe)	32	33.9	1.9%
5th Grade Language Arts (New Mexico)	33	35.7	2.7%

Student Body

	Number of students Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Number of students Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Total Students	462	276	40.3%
African American	0	1
American Indian	7	0	100%
Asian	2	1	50%
Hispanic	438	267	39%
Pacific Islander	2	1	50%
White	13	6	53.8%
Two or More Races	0	0
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	100%	100%

Schools Near R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				NM-ASR Science (2024)	NM-MSSA English Language Arts (2024)	NM-MSSA Mathematics (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NM-ASR Science All Grades	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
R.M. Sweeney Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	501 Airport Rd	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-1500	283	26	11.0	70.3%	6 (2.1%)	2 (0.7%)	270 (95.4%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8.8	420^th of 433 public elementary schools	3.0%		8.1	426^th of 435 public elementary schools	2.1%	6	9.0	10.0	9.0	$9,008
Cesar Chavez Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6251 Jaguar Dr	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-3200	291	22	13.5	99.3%	8 (2.7%)	3 (1.0%)	274 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8.8	421^st of 433 public elementary schools	2.8%		12.8	410^th of 435 public elementary schools	5.7%	11	9.0	16.0	6.0	$11,463
El Camino Real Academy Community	Public	PK, KG-8	2500 S. Meadows	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-1300	715	52	13.7	99.9%	14 (2.0%)	1 (0.1%)	698 (97.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	10.4	413^th of 433 public elementary schools	4.6%		11.9	415^th of 435 public elementary schools	4.6%	2	20.0	17.0	5.0	$10,112
Nina Otero Community School	Public	PK, KG-8	5901 Herrera Drive	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-4200	644	41	15.6	99.8%	29 (4.5%)	3 (0.5%)	598 (92.9%)	9 (1.4%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32.9	281^st of 433 public elementary schools	35.1%		23.4	354^th of 435 public elementary schools	18.6%	73	18.0	35.0	17.0	$9,143
Pinon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2921 Camino Caballos	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-1600	519	37	14.2	45.9%	70 (13.5%)	8 (1.5%)	418 (80.5%)	16 (3.1%)	4 (0.8%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	77.3	90^th of 433 public elementary schools	79.2%		71	119^th of 435 public elementary schools	72.6%	29	33.0	53.0	38.0	$9,330
Nye Early Childhood	Public	PK	3160 Agua Fria St.	Santa Fe	87507	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 467-4600	135	10	13.5	98.5%	17 (12.6%)	4 (3.0%)	104 (77.0%)	8 (5.9%)	2 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Amy Biehl Community School At Rancho Viejo	Public	PK, KG-6	310 Avienda Del Sur	Santa Fe	87508	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-2100	342	23	15.1	56.4%	54 (15.8%)	1 (0.3%)	275 (80.4%)	5 (1.5%)	5 (1.5%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	45.8	207^th of 433 public elementary schools	52.2%		46	217^th of 435 public elementary schools	50.1%	10	34.0	35.0	25.0	$8,584
Francis X. Nava Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2655 Siringo Rd	Santa Fe	87505	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-1200	154	13	11.5	98.7%	20 (13.0%)	2 (1.3%)	123 (79.9%)	3 (1.9%)	6 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44.4	219^th of 433 public elementary schools	49.4%		14.9	398^th of 435 public elementary schools	8.5%	179	33.0	37.0	22.0	$13,170
Salazar Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1231 Apache Ave.	Santa Fe	87505	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-3900	229	15	14.9	99.1%	17 (7.4%)	1 (0.4%)	202 (88.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	17.9	372^nd of 433 public elementary schools	14.1%		20.7	367^th of 435 public elementary schools	15.6%	5	13.0	24.0	12.0	$12,878
Chaparral Elementary	Public	K-6	2451 Avenida Chaparral	Santa Fe	87505	Santa Fe County	Santa Fe	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 467-1400	195	13	15.4	100.0%	21 (10.8%)	5 (2.6%)	159 (81.5%)	7 (3.6%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51.9	184^th of 433 public elementary schools	57.5%		43.3	236^th of 435 public elementary schools	45.7%	52	40.0	40.0	24.0	$11,184

R.M. Sweeney Elementary

R.M. Sweeney Elementary:

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Santa Fe:

Average Rating:

What do you think?

Rank History for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for all students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for English Language Learner students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for Homeless students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for Female students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for Male students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for Hispanic students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rank History for White students at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Review counts

Enrollment information for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Student/Teacher Ratio R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Per Pupil Expenditures for R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Impact of COVID-19 on R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Rankings

Test Scores

Student Body

Schools Near R.M. Sweeney Elementary

Frequently Asked Questions about R.M. Sweeney Elementary

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