Durango School District 9-R is excited to announce that the Colorado Department of Education has accepted our application to become a new Administrative Unit (AU) for special education effective July 1, 2017. As the district’s Director of Exceptional Student Services, I will be working closely with the San Juan BOCES as well as our district departments to prepare and plan for this transition.

As a public school district, we hold a great deal of responsibility in ensuring that we adequately prepare our students for success after they leave our pre-K-12 system. While we continue to show great growth in the academic arenas, what I am most proud of is the work that is done on a daily basis by our staff – teachers, support staff, coaches, and administrators – to build character that will lead our students to success.

Another school year is upon us and I’m happy to share that great things are, once again, in store for our students in Durango. We’ve worked hard to keep budget cuts as far away from our students as possible. This last spring was a tough budget season, as the district couldn’t count on any new funding from the State of Colorado due to the constitutional crisis that continues to exist.

We hope everyone enjoyed a fun and safe holiday break!  We look forward to welcoming you all back to school tomorrow, Monday, January 2, 2017.