Miller Middle School eighth graders are five of the 27 members of the Where Everyone Belongs (WEB) Leadership Team. They took time during lunch on Aug. 22 to describe their mentorship work with younger students. From left, all age 13: Sage Newcomer-Ball, Zada Bialek, Liv Candelaria, Scarlett Pacheco, and Skylar Carr.
“WEB has been a wonderful success and addition to our community,” said MMS Principal Vernadette Norman. “It provides valuable mentorship opportunities, and we're excited to build on it in the years ahead.”
WEB was launched at Miller last year and already seems to be making a difference. Enrollment has grown from 356 students in the 2024-25 school year to 412 this year – a 16% increase. School leaders credit programs like WEB for creating a welcoming culture that strengthens interpersonal skills and helps students connect.
Building a positive culture
WEB was brought to Miller through the counseling team, who saw it as a strong fit with the district’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework.
“Our administration team along with the counseling department were looking for opportunities where our students could take ownership in creating a positive school environment for all students,” said Alanda Martin, WEB advisor and a counselor at Miller. “WEB seemed like a great fit for us, as it is student leader-driven and also aligns with the Link Crew model at Durango High School. Our leaders are certainly Empathetic Collaborators (a Portrait of a Graduate competency). They work hard to make all students feel welcomed and supported at school.”
Students on the front lines of inclusion
During orientation in August, WEB leaders welcomed incoming sixth graders with ice-breaker games, building tours, introductions to teachers, and plenty of smiles. They wore branded blue shirts so new students could easily spot them in the halls. But the most meaningful support often comes in the little things – like a wave in a hallway.
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Liv Candelaria remembered how nervous she felt on her first day: “Oh my gosh, the eighth graders are so tall. The seventh graders look kind of mean. I have no friends. What am I doing?” Now, she said, sixth graders know nearly 30 older students by name, and that makes all the difference. "I think it's really important to have a stable sixth-grade year because it's the foundation of middle school... and high school, too."
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Zada Bialek recalled a moment at orientation when one student sat outside the circle and appeared to be withdrawn. “Another student said, ‘We should make the circle bigger so everyone can sit in.’ " That small change demonstrates what inclusion looks like.
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Sage Newcomer-Ball said his own worries motivated him to step up: “I worried I wouldn’t like my classes. I worried I would have no friends. I wanted sixth graders to not be worried like I was.”
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Scarlett Pacheco said the program has given her leadership skills and a deeper sense of purpose: “Belonging means being accepted by people who see who you really are, and you don’t have to act like someone else around them.”
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Skylar Carr added: “I became a WEB leader because I really like involving myself in the school and the community. Durango’s a small town, and wherever you go you see a familiar face. WEB gives us the chance to really know people, not just pass them in the hallway.”
Their advice for adults? Pay attention to small gestures. “If people are getting bullied because they don’t fit in, adults can help change that,” said Newcomer-Ball. Carr agreed: “The best teachers learn as much from students as we do from them."
"We are the next generation, and soon we're going to be able to make big decisions," said Carr. "Adults and kids need to listen to each other. We both have experiences the other hasn’t.”
"Everyone at one point in their life is going to feel like they don't belong," said Candelaria. "In middle school, we have a lot of drama. Adults need to be more stable for us. Everyone makes mistakes, but they can learn from them."
"Comfortable. Community. Involved. Included. Together."
These are the "only one word" descriptors the five eighth graders used for Miller's school culture today. For them, belonging isn’t built through policies or laws. It’s built every day through eye contact, a smile in the hallway, a friendly wave, or making the circle bigger so everyone fits in.
Watch the full 30-minute interview with a panel of WEB leaders here.