New Piñon and Chamisa elementary schools near completion in White Rock

Piñon Elementary School’s new building is complete in White Rock, and the old campus has been demolished, leaving crews to finish sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, fencing and gates, playgrounds, grass fields and landscaping before the end of summer 2026. Los Alamos Public Schools says that work is the last major step on the Piñon site, while Chamisa Elementary School is also nearing completion as part of the same White Rock replacement effort.

For families, that means the district is moving from construction toward the practical details that shape the school day: where cars enter, where parents park, how children reach classrooms, and when the outdoor spaces around the buildings are ready for daily use. Piñon sits at 90 Grand Canyon Drive and Chamisa at 301 Meadow Lane, both in White Rock, about nine miles southeast of Los Alamos.

The two campuses are among five elementary schools in Los Alamos Public Schools, serving a community that was originally built by the U.S. government for Los Alamos National Laboratory workers and became a permanent town in 1962. White Rock remains the county’s second-largest population center, and the elementary schools have long functioned as neighborhood anchors for the northeast side of the community.

The district’s capital program has carried the White Rock projects through years of planning, bond work and construction. Los Alamos Public Schools’ bond materials said replacing Piñon and Chamisa was part of a package aimed at school improvements that would maintain the current tax rate and help the district reach a $30 million goal. Los Alamos County later approved $7.5 million on June 14, 2022, to support design and construction of community recreation and multi-purpose spaces at the new White Rock schools.

Jaynes Corporation says the Piñon replacement is a new 60,000-square-foot school. Its Chamisa project is a 53,225-square-foot building that will include classrooms, a library, staff space, a warming-kitchen and a gymnasium. Those are the spaces expected to shape how the campuses function once students and staff settle in, not just how they look from the street.

Los Alamos Public Schools says the district serves 3,500 students and has a 97% graduation rate, underscoring how much attention this build-out has drawn across the system. With the Piñon structure finished and Chamisa close behind, the remaining work is now concentrated outside the classroom walls, where the last details will determine how smoothly White Rock’s two rebuilt elementary schools open into daily use.