Hundreds of students lined up Tuesday in Fanto Park outside Park Elementary School for their first day of school.
Led by staff members, the wide-eyed children gathered around in a circle as Principal Marie Voss-Patterson and Vice Principal Laurel Pate welcomed the new year with the school’s chant and a quote from Winnie-the-Pooh.
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you’ve seen and smarter than you think. So let’s think about that for a little bit as we start our new school year,” Pate told the crowd.
It’s the eighth year for the principal-vice principal duo, and this year student enrollment is larger than it has been in the last few. Park Elementary welcomed 45 transfer students this year, bringing its total enrollment to 466, Voss-Patterson said. The school has averaged anywhere from 420 to 430 students in recent years.
Pate said the influx of transfer students is a combination of students within the district and others who have moved from other states. Including kindergartners, the school added more than 100 new students.
Historically, Riverview Elementary School had the largest student population in Durango School District 9-R until the last two years, Voss-Patterson said. And with more students, came more Park Elementary staff members. The elementary school added 15 new employees this year.
Voss-Patterson pointed toward the development of the Rocket Pointe apartment complex and other developments near Escalante Drive as a possible reason for larger student enrollment.
The apartment complex opened in 2019 providing 194 units in south Durango and has provided additional housing for families in proximity to the school.
Heading into the school year, the principal team was excited this could be the year educators break free from the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It took us a while to gain back the momentum of all of the things we really value, like field trips and having parent volunteers come in and sort of going beyond the walls,” Voss-Patterson said.
“Going beyond the walls” is the concept behind Park Elementary School’s expeditionary learning curriculum. Park and Escalante Middle School are the two institutions that use the expeditionary model.
In addition to core curriculum, the goal for Park faculty is to have students use critical thinking skills and academic knowledge to address community needs. For example, kindergartners have a segment called “Toys & Play,” in which young students learn about toys from different countries and their cultural significance.
Third graders learn about educational barriers in other countries to further expand their perspective of the world. And fourth graders learn about the women’s suffrage movement and why voting is important.
But for parents, it is another year toward their ultimate goal – further education and a high school diploma for their children. On Tuesday, Durango City Councilor Dave Woodruff was dropping of his son, Mason, for his first day of fifth grade and his daughter, Finnley, for her first day of third grade.
“I loved being able to put the kids back in school,” he said. “Obviously, I’m excited about the new school year, but also to have a little bit of structure back in their lives from the semi-chaotic summer.”
Back to school brings on plenty of emotions for the young students. Friends get to see each other after the long summer, while others may be attending school for the first time.
Parents and students were able to meet with their teachers on Monday, allowing them to get to know and become comfortable with their new educators.
“My kids are always nervous. They’re always wondering who they’re going to get in their class. We came and met the teacher yesterday,” Woodruff said.
He said he is excited for his children to continue building their knowledge in core subjects and further develop their social skills.
Other school districts in La Plata County had an earlier start. Bayfield School District returned to class on Aug. 12 while Ignacio School District welcomed it students back Monday.
But the first day of school looked a little different for the students at Miller Middle School.
A summer fire at the Miller Middle School construction site forced the district to relocate students to the Impact Career Innovation Center and Durango High School. The high school and middle school students will share space on campus through September or October, district spokeswoman Karla Sluis said in an email Tuesday.
No cause of the fire has been released. Durango Fire Protection District and district officials have previously discussed the potential of arson, but there have been no conclusive results.
Sixth grade students attended class at the Impact Career Innovation Center. Seventh and eighth grade students attended on the first floor of the west wing at DHS, in the southwest corner of the building adjacent to the bus lane.
The June 16 fire damaged critical electrical equipment that was staged to be installed in the new building. It is estimated the fire caused up to $150,000 worth of damage.
“Smushing two schools together was a moving-mountains kind of project,” Sluis wrote in her email. “But everyone worked hard and made it happen in a short amount of time. We’re grateful for our patient families, our flexible staff, and our resilient students. Pretty soon our Miller Angels will be landing at a state-of-the-art new building that our entire community can be proud of.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
