At 3:20 p.m., school was over for 1,000 students at Durango High School, loosing the teenagers upon society for jobs and internships, travel, sports and, yes, “family time.”
Wednesday was the final day of classes for Durango School District 9-R’s almost 4,500 students.
At DHS, sobbing students hugged each other, signed yearbooks and carted away school projects and locker contents. Inevitably, someone blasted Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out.”
Summer break is perhaps more booked-up than ever for students and staff. Freshman Kade Jackson said he’ll stay busy this summer with Connie Mack baseball games and a rigorous schedule of football workouts. Aside from that, Jackson plans to spend a couple of weeks in Hawaii and also visit Lake Powell, Utah.
Kade said his year was “kind of busy, trying to maintain sports and grades, but I did a pretty good job of that this year.”
Sophomore Isabel Whitehead has a full calendar, as well. She’s attending the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders in Boston later this month. Then in July, she’ll be busy with a three-week Music in the Mountains camp. Isabel also is involved in 4-H Club, meaning her plans for Thursday were modest.
“I think I’m cleaning out my goat pen,” she said.
Maria Jimenez, a freshman, said high school is more challenging than middle school. “Teachers don’t baby you,” she said.
Staff have one more day of work before they’re done. Assistant Principal Joe Pecorino planned to visit family in Lincroft, New Jersey, this summer before returning to prepare for the 2015-16 academic year.
Attendance was light Wednesday because of the midweek end to the school year. At many district schools, it was a time for students to have fun.
“A lot of it is celebrating, and they certainly deserve that. They’ve worked hard all year,” said district spokeswoman Julie Popp.
Durango School District 9-R had 175 school days in 2014-15, well in excess of the 160-day state minimum. Classes resume for 2015-16 on Aug. 25.
For freshman Quinn Luthy, the day was emotional. “I’m saying goodbye to all my teachers and my friends,” he said.
Although many students are traveling this summer, Quinn is going further afield than many of his classmates: He’s spending next year in an exchange program in Bangkok.
cslothower@ durangoherald.com
