Your children are thriving in classrooms filled with engagement, joy, and meaningful learning. I've observed students exemplifying our Portrait of a Graduate competencies in authentic ways, participating in rigorous discussions, and developing the skills they need to succeed in life. The strong routines our teachers have established are creating environments where your children can flourish academically and personally.
Celebrating our students' academic excellence
I am thrilled to share some outstanding news about your children's achievements. Our district has scored #11 on CMAS among all Colorado districts with 1,500+ students, and when PSAT/SAT scores are included, we rank #9 statewide! We are the only district outside of the Front Range to achieve this distinction. This remarkable achievement reflects not only the dedication of our exceptional teachers and staff, but also your support at home and your children's hard work.
We face many serious challenges: rising housing costs that affect our ability to recruit and retain teachers; state funding reductions; the extra expenses that come with serving a remote and rural district; various social-emotional challenges students face in today's world; and the violence in Evergreen and Utah yesterday (please see support resources later in this newsletter). Despite these challenges, our school community continues to deliver exceptional educational experiences for your children.
Supporting our staff and schools
We recognize that our teachers and staff face significant challenges, particularly with housing costs in our beautiful but expensive valley. We're working on solutions, including a potential housing opportunity for staff that we hope to announce later this month.
We're also actively advocating with state organizations to change Colorado's inadequate school funding system. This year, we received only a 1.6% revenue increase from the state—barely enough to cover the increased employer-paid health insurance costs. To pay for salary increases for our dedicated staff, we're now using our reserve funds, which isn't sustainable long term.
Budget realities—your voice matters
Beginning Monday, Sept. 22, our Budget Committee will work to develop recommendations for reducing our budget by $2 million to preserve our financial stability. However, we know budget cuts alone aren't the answer. We MUST advocate together to change our state's funding system that ranks Colorado 49th in the country for education funding, despite being one of the wealthiest states. This situation is unacceptable for our children's futures.
We need your voice and partnership. I invite you to join my Superintendent's Parent/Guardian Advisory Council, where we work together to tackle challenges and develop innovative solutions to support our students and schools. Your perspectives as parents and community members are invaluable in helping us navigate these challenges while maintaining the excellent education your children deserve.
How you can get involved
Beyond joining the Superintendent's Parent/Guardian Advisory Council, here are other ways to support our schools:
- Share Your Ideas: Submit suggestions through our Kaizen Form—we've already implemented over 100 community ideas!
- Stay Informed: Follow our communications about state funding advocacy efforts.
- Engage at Home: Continue supporting your children's learning and discussing their Portrait of a Graduate growth.
Portrait of a Graduate updates
Based on feedback from teachers, students, and families, we've streamlined our Portrait of a Graduate implementation. We've made the process more user-friendly, especially for our youngest learners, and created clearer expectations for meeting the goals of the six core competencies, which are: Resilient Risk-Taker, Empathetic Collaborator, Agile Thinker, Creative Problem-Solver, Confident Communicator, and Courageous Leader. Your children now have grade-level templates in their portfolios to make tracking their growth more manageable.
We hope you have been able to view your student’s progress through Abre. Stay tuned to see their exceptional artifacts of Portrait of a Graduate growth as they acquire all of the power skills needed to be successful in life, learning, and work—now and in the future, no matter the path they take.
Looking forward together
Thank you for entrusting us with your children's education and for being such supportive partners in their growth. The academic excellence we're achieving together—ranking among the top districts in Colorado—happens because of the strong partnership between our dedicated educators, engaged students, and supportive families like yours.
Together, we're not just achieving test scores—we're preparing your children to be thoughtful, capable, and confident citizens ready to contribute meaningfully to our community and beyond.
With gratitude for your partnership,
Dr. Karen Cheser
Superintendent
Durango School District (DSD—formerly 9-R)