Since its inaugural year in 2011, Mountain Middle School has steadily grown as a successful institution that offers sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders a project-based learning curriculum in an expanding universe of school choice in Durango. As the school has established its roots, it has proved to be an effective and important component of the community’s educational environment, and has built that success on outreach, engagement and partnerships with neighbors, supporters, educators and decision-makers. From its inception, Mountain has had plans to eventually expand its program into the elementary school grades. Now, with a record of success, clear demand for the school’s offerings, an established and growing partnership with Durango School District 9-R, and a detailed path for achieving this goal, the school is ready to begin its expansion. It is well-equipped to do so, and the community should support this effort.
Mountain Middle has been building the financial and structural framework for its expansion into elementary grades and plans to begin in the 2016-17 school year by adding grades three through five. The school plans to add a building that will house the new students and has actively engaged the surrounding neighborhood in the process as part of Mountain’s commitment to being a good neighbor and addressing concerns.
Neither Mountain nor any other school is compelled by law to gain city approval for its project – that authority is given to the state – though schools must notify the local planning department of its plans before beginning construction. Mountain has done this and much more: It has sought and responded to neighborhood and city concerns, including traffic congestion, parking, student behavior and site design. The school did this before opening in 2011 and has demonstrated a continued commitment to being a good neighbor since.
That is not to say the school is without impact on its Animas City neighborhood. Mountain’s arrival has brought with it a dramatic increase in traffic, as well as an uptick in noise and pedestrian activity. These are relatively isolated and episodic: The majority of the time, the building is quiet, and the cars are few. Further, they are the expected and unavoidable consequences of adding a learning facility to a community, along with an increased number of family-oriented school events, the vibrancy of young people engaged in projects, play and exploration in and around their school building. It is a net positive, made more so by Mountain Middle School’s role as a key piece in the region’s educational offerings.
Mountain’s charter is held by the Colorado Charter School Institute, a statewide body authorized to oversee those schools not chartered by their local district. Nevertheless, Mountain and 9-R have a cooperative and growing collaborative relationship intended to offer families a range of choices for educating their children. To that end, Mountain’s expansion plans can satisfy demand that 9-R cannot meet on its own by providing spaces for elementary students at in-town facilities; Needham, Riverview and Park elementary schools are nearing or have exceeded their capacity. Mountain can help alleviate this crunch, and would do so using a proven model in an established institution.
Coupled with the Juniper School, a proposed elementary school pursuing a district charter, Mountain’s expansion is a positive step for education innovation and choice. Its effects, though of legitimate concern to neighbors, can be mitigated through the collaboration that has brought the school along thus far.
