Durango High School will cut its Small Learning Communities program and Miller Middle School will drop its International Baccalaureate program, in part because of impending budget cuts.
Together, the programs offered a five-year IB Middle Years Programme for students in sixth through 10th grades. When the high school decided to cut its program, middle school officials had to decide whether to continue with a three-year IB program or move to other types of programs in concert with the high school, according to a letter from Miller Middle School Principal Cito Nuhn.
Letters from both schools’ principals recently were sent to parents of impacted students.
“As a result of these reflections and conversations with staff, students, and parents, Durango High School will be shifting away from (the Small Learning Communities program) beginning next school year,” DHS principal Leanne Garcia wrote. “Instead, students will be a part of a grade level team that will embrace a common instructional methodology for all students.”
The program, in its fifth year, divides freshman and sophomore students into three Small Learning Communities: Atlas, which focuses on global thinking and self-awareness; Basecamp, rooted in outdoor pursuits; and DAVINCI, a science, technology, engineering and math focus with an infusion of the arts.
The middle school IB students could feed into the Atlas program.
The change “does not mean that we will not still implement the framework in interdisciplinary teaching, international mindedness, inquiry and action and service,” Nuhn wrote. “Instead it simply allows us to utilize our resources on other researched-base and effective professional development.
“As we have tighter budgets ... we are asking ourselves what the best return for our investment is,” Nuhn wrote.
During four years of a declining budget, Durango School District 9-R has reduced programs, laid off staff and postponed capital-need purchases. Last year, Florida Mesa Elementary dropped its IB program. Needham and Animas Valley elementary schools still have International Baccalaureate programs, said Julie Popp, 9-R spokeswoman.
“We were looking at our budget, and in order to have those innovative titles … dollars have to be allocated to that,” Popp said. “We’ve received wonderful training that will not be lost in the transition.”
Popp said the Small Learning Community program will be shut down beginning in the fall. The junior and senior classes are not affected because the program does not follow into those years, Popp said.
Garcia wrote to parents that although the Small Learning Community program has shown academic growth among the student body, it also had limitations on what students can study, and presented differences in methodology among core classes.
“With changes to graduation requirements on the horizon and continued budgetary challenges, Durango High School will need flexibility in programming for students, which I’m not sure our current SLC model can provide,” Garcia wrote.
In recent weeks, the district asked the public to attend meetings to help determine what programs should be cut in the face of a budget that must be at least $465,000 below that of 2015-16’s $42.2 million.
In her letter, Garcia said she will have discussions with the community about how best to handle the budget cuts. In addition to her first Wednesday of every month office hours from 8:30-9:30 a.m., Garcia will hold a second meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the school library.
Nuhn asked Miller Middle families to attend a meeting at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday at the school.
