Puesta del Sol art teacher Jocelyn Salaz wins state Golden Apple award

Jocelyn Salaz thought she was heading into an online-safety lesson at Puesta del Sol Elementary School. Instead, students packed the cafeteria on Tuesday and watched Rio Rancho Public Schools reveal that the school’s art teacher had been chosen as one of five New Mexico Golden Apple Award recipients.

Principal Dana Petro delivered the news before the room erupted in cheers for Salaz, who has taught at Puesta del Sol for 13 years. Family members, including her parents from Cuba, gathered around her with hugs and kisses as she stood beside a gift basket of green apples and a Golden Apple trophy. The award also included cash and a professional-development stipend, underscoring that the recognition reaches beyond a schoolwide celebration and into her work as a practicing educator.

The honor carries statewide weight. The Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico says its teacher recognition program has operated since 1994 and has honored teachers since 1996. Each year, the foundation selects five teachers statewide for the Excellence in Teaching Award, with recognition rotating among elementary, middle and high school teachers in a three-year cycle. Finalists go through a full-day evaluation visit that includes interviews with people from the school community before winners are chosen.

Foundation executive director Cristina Torres Archibeque said the nonprofit receives a large field of nominations and applications each year, then narrows the list through school visits before making final selections. Recipients join the Golden Apple Academy, the foundation’s community of past honorees, and receive a professional-development stipend, cash award, a KRQE interview and the Golden Apple statue trophy.

Salaz was the only Rio Rancho Public Schools educator among this year’s five honorees, a distinction that gives Puesta del Sol a rare place in a statewide network of top teachers. RRPS Superintendent Robby Dodd publicly thanked her for the impact she has on students every day, while Salaz said she could not imagine doing anything other than teaching art and credited her siblings and parents for supporting her path into education.

Her background helps explain why the recognition resonates in Rio Rancho. RRPS says Salaz was born and raised in Cuba, New Mexico, earned a bachelor of fine arts in art history and a master’s degree in art education from the University of New Mexico, and taught elementary and some high school art in Cuba Independent Schools for six years before moving to Rio Rancho.

Puesta del Sol, at 450 Southern Blvd. SE in Rio Rancho, serves grades K-5, has 597 students and 47 teachers, and offers full-time art and music programs. Salaz’s award places that work in public view, showing how one classroom can shape a school’s identity and why arts education remains a visible measure of what parents and schools value in Sandoval County.