The New America School

The New America School offers public charter education to recent immigrants, adult learners, and students seeking to enhance their English proficiency while earning a high school diploma. Aria Studio Consultants has proudly supported this mission across four campuses, delivering spaces that enhance academic support, foster cultural belonging, and promote access to opportunities.

Our work included master planning, renovations, additions, and ground-up facilities — all guided by a unified design approach that responds to student needs, community context, and long-term program growth. Every campus required a tailored solution, yet each shared a commitment to accessibility, flexibility, and a welcoming sense of place.

Nowhere was this impact more visible than in Las Cruces, where the project began with one of the most deteriorated buildings we have encountered. The former downtown mall space was dark, water-damaged, unsafe, and nearly unusable — with collapsed ceilings, boarded storefronts, and a neglected site that had become a barrier to community activity. Despite these challenges, Aria reimagined the structure as a vibrant educational anchor. The transformation helped catalyze the city’s broader revitalization efforts, leading to improved public infrastructure, renewed pedestrian access, and new opportunities for community markets and cultural gatherings. What was once blighted became a place for learning, connection, and upward mobility.

Across all campuses — Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Thornton, and Phoenix — Aria developed growth strategies, implemented circulation improvements, constructed gymnasiums, equipped kitchens, provided FF&E packages, remodeled classrooms, and enhanced sites. Each project was completed through close coordination with educators, district leadership, and engineering partners.

Aria provided full architectural and engineering services, from programming and planning through construction documents and administration. Our work ensured compliance with educational standards, alignment with budget and schedule requirements, and thoughtful integration of spaces tailored to English-learning students and their families.

These multi-campus improvements represent a long-term partnership built on student advocacy, operational efficiency, and meaningful community integration — with the Las Cruces project serving as a powerful example of how thoughtful design can transform not just buildings, but entire neighborhoods.