Mountain Middle School has received the “Performance with Distinction” accreditation from the Colorado Department of Education for the eighth time in the last 11 years.
“We are humbled and honored to announce today that the school has officially earned the state’s top accreditation rating of Performance with Distinction once again in 2023,” Executive Director Shane Voss said in an announcement on Friday. “To earn an accreditation rating of Performance with Distinction, the school must demonstrate significant academic growth and achievement, financial sustainability and organizational excellence which includes meeting key metrics in our educational program, operations, governance, diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Earlier this year, the school’s fourth and fifth graders earned the state’s top ranking for public elementary schools in Colorado for academic growth, as well as the state’s top ranking for academic achievement in math and reading.
Grades six through eight earned the No. 3 ranking for public middle schools in Colorado for academic achievement, with reading scores in the 98th percentile and math scores in the 92nd percentile, according to the school’s news release.
“Our staff works incredibly hard to help all of our students reach their potential, especially with our increasingly diverse student population. Currently, 22% of our students have been diagnosed with a disability. The majority of students entering the school their first year are one or more years behind in reading and math,” Voss said during the announcement.
The school continues to credit its strict cellphone-use policy when the students are in the classroom. This was recently featured in a documentary called “Trust Me,” which covers how media technology is influencing students.
“As a staff, we put a tremendous amount of effort into differentiating our instruction and finding ways to meet the needs of all of our learners,” fifth grade English teacher Brooke Barton said in a news release. “Every staff member embraces the belief that all students can succeed. Our school community has been enhanced with increased diversity, and we are so proud of seeing all of our students' efforts pay off.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
