Animas Valley Elementary

Animas Valley Elementary Our restorative culture approaches people and situations with kindness and compassion. Our teachers and staff welcome you and your student(s) to our community.

Dynamic teaching techniques and sincere dedication to meeting the needs of each student describe the atmosphere in which your child will learn. Our vision is to guide learners as we develop the tools and mindsets to continually seek and understand the world and ourselves. Learners will demonstrate confidence, compassion and value diversity. Everyone will leave our school with the ability to apply,

transfer and reflect on concepts because we are motivated to ask questions and discover solutions. Comment Policy:
The Durango School District 9-R welcomes your active participation on our website, and we encourage you to interact with us and each other using our comment system. Our goal is to create an open dialog among the many diverse voices in our community. It is our hope that you will read and comment on the material you find on the site. Privacy: A valid email address and real first and last name are required for commenting. Your first and last name will be shown alongside any comments you make. We will not publish, share, or sell email addresses. The provided name and email address may be used by the district to privately contact the commenter. All email, snail mail, phone numbers, and any private and personal information posted in any comment will be deleted as soon as possible to protect the privacy of the commenter or any other community member mentioned. Language and Manners: This site is 'family friendly'. Obscenity, profanity, and vulgar language are prohibited. Comments with such language or with links to such language will be rejected and/or deleted. Personal attacks in comments are also prohibited. This applies to discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity as well as insults against fellow commenters, district staff, or students. You may disagree with another person's ideas or opinions but please keep the comments respectful and family friendly. Continued personal attacks will result in the user being blocked from using the system. A Comment is Conversation: A comment which does not add to the conversation and runs off on tangents or kills the conversation may be edited or deleted. Comment Spam: Most comment spam will be automatically rejected by our system. Any spam that gets through will be marked and deleted. The users of the system may also flag a comment as being spam or inappropriate. These comments will be reviewed and deleted as needed. Continued comment spamming will result in the user being blocked from using the system. Noncommercial: Comments may not solicit or promote any business. The comments are to be used for noncommercial purposes only. Hold Harmless: All comments on this site are the responsibility of the commenter, not the school district, administrators, contributors, editors, or authors. By submitting a comment on our site, you agree that the comment content is your own, and to hold this site, durangoschools.org, and all entities and representatives harmless from any and all repercussions, damages, or liability. Blocking of Commenters: Anyone who violates this Comments Policy may be blocked from commenting or accessing the site at the discretion of the district. All Rights Reserved: Durango School District 9-R reserves the right to edit, delete, or mark as spam any and all comments. The district also reserves the right to block anyone from commenting on or accessing the website.

08/25/2026

Our first day has been full of smiles, new friendships, and lots of joy! Thank you to our incredible staff, families, and community for a wonderful start to the year!

Our Meet the Teacher event is Monday Aug. 24th!  Students class assignments will be sent out to families towards the end...
08/17/2026

Our Meet the Teacher event is Monday Aug. 24th! Students class assignments will be sent out to families towards the end of the week!

πŸŽ‰ Save the date: Aug. 5! πŸŽ‰ Come celebrate the ribbon-cutting of Ignite Mobile Learning Lab, a new mobile STEAM classroom...
07/29/2026

πŸŽ‰ Save the date: Aug. 5! πŸŽ‰ Come celebrate the ribbon-cutting of Ignite Mobile Learning Lab, a new mobile STEAM classroom! Ignite is a partnership between Durango School District (DSD) and Durango Education Foundation (DEF).

Bring the family and be among the first to step aboard this one-of-a-kind learning space, explore hands-on activities in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics). You'll meet the Ignite team and see how this innovative classroom on wheels is bringing exciting learning experiences directly to students across our district.

πŸ—“οΈ Wednesday, Aug. 5
πŸ•” 5:45 p.m. Ribbon-Cutting; 6:15-7:15 p.m. Tours & Activities
πŸ“ Impact Career Innovation Center (Durango High School campus)

Enjoy:
✨ Tours of the mobile learning lab
πŸ§ͺ Interactive STEAM activities
🎢 Live music by Stillwater Music
πŸͺ Light refreshments
🫧 Fun for the whole family

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, foundations, grant partners, and community donors, DEF raised $363,000 to bring this innovative classroom to life.

🚌 Learn more about Ignite: https://ow.ly/a3cB50Zutlr


07/13/2026

πŸ‘‹ It’s Meet Us Monday! πŸ‘‹

This week, we are excited to introduce Mark Arnold, an IT Tech for Durango School District! Mark stays busy supporting the technology needs of our staff and students across three different campuses: Animas Valley Elementary, Park Elementary, and Miller Middle School. πŸ’»βœ¨

πŸš΄β€β™‚οΈ When he's off the clock, Mark loves to get outside and enjoy the best of Durango! Like many in our community, he is an avid mountain biker. Recently, he has also picked up disc golf β€” a fun nod to his childhood days of playing Frisbee β€” and has been super enjoying his time out on the course. πŸ₯

Thank you, Mark, for keeping our schools connected and running smoothly every day! πŸ’™



Join our team! https://ow.ly/hN7Y50ZcO2X

Every child attending a DSD school or childcare facility must have a complete immunization record or exemption submitted...
07/09/2026

Every child attending a DSD school or childcare facility must have a complete immunization record or exemption submitted to their school, or the child will be unable to attend school until they are compliant with this state law. The immunization record must be from the child's healthcare provider or other immunization provider, and must show that the child is up-to-date on all school-required vaccines, according to their age.

If you plan to have a Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption for your child, please note that the date of the exemption must be on or after July 1, 2026, for the 2026-27 school year.

Note: Starting in the 2026-27 school year, Colorado law will require students to have one dose of Tdap vaccine before their first day of seventh grade.

πŸ§‘β€βš•οΈLearn more about immunizations: https://www.durangoschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=512021&type=d&pREC_ID=1033567

🍎 Visit our Back to School Hub: https://www.durangoschools.org/apps/pages/backtoschool

πŸ”’ District assessments administered throughout the year indicate that students made meaningful progress from fall 2025 t...
07/07/2026

πŸ”’ District assessments administered throughout the year indicate that students made meaningful progress from fall 2025 to spring 2026 across multiple grade levels.

β€œGrowth matters,” said Dr. Laurie Rossback, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. β€œWe are especially encouraged to see students making progress throughout the year and to see fewer students performing significantly below grade level. Those trends represent real gains for students and provide a strong foundation for continued success.” πŸ™Œ

Read the full End-Of-Year report here: https://ow.ly/CGPb50ZiUXz


βœ… Summer Bridge Checkpoint  #1 is happening this week, June 15–18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the District Administration ...
06/15/2026

βœ… Summer Bridge Checkpoint #1 is happening this week, June 15–18, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the District Administration Office, located in Bodo Park at 281 Sawyer Dr., Suite 100.

Elementary school students who have completed pages 1-22 in their Literacy Foundations Summer Workbook can stop by to claim a prize. Rewards include opportunities to win exciting items such as a Lake Nighthorse pass, Gravity Lab pass, Hive pass, Cream Bean Berry gift card, and more. πŸ™ŒπŸΌ

πŸ“•We hope to see you there, and thank you for helping your child stay engaged in learning this summer!

Learn more about Summer Bridge here: https://ow.ly/gPJW50ZbQqQ

πŸ””The Tradition Lives On! πŸ””Today was an incredibly special day at AVE as our amazing 5th graders took part in one of our ...
05/22/2026

πŸ””The Tradition Lives On! πŸ””

Today was an incredibly special day at AVE as our amazing 5th graders took part in one of our favorite long-standing traditions: Ringing the Bell! πŸŽ“βœ¨

Every year, our departing 5th graders ring the bell at the front of the school to officially celebrate completing their time at AVE and to mark the end of their elementary school journey.

We are so incredibly proud of the hard work, leadership, and kindness this group has shown during their years with us. While we are sad to see them go, we know they are ready for the next big adventure!

Miller Middle School you are getting an absolutely amazing cohort of incoming 6th graders! πŸ’™πŸΎ

πŸ₯šβœˆοΈ THE EGGS HAVE LANDED! ✈️πŸ₯šOur amazing 3rd graders put on their engineering hats and came up with some creative and in...
05/22/2026

πŸ₯šβœˆοΈ THE EGGS HAVE LANDED! ✈️πŸ₯š

Our amazing 3rd graders put on their engineering hats and came up with some creative and inventive designs to protect their fragile cargo. From parachutes and bubble wrap to elaborate sponge fortresses, the ingenuity was off the charts! πŸš€βœ¨

A shoutout to our brave admin team and Mr. Michael, who look forward to climbing up onto the roof every year to do the honors. Thank you for being such good sports and tossing those eggs with style! πŸ«πŸ™ŒπŸΌ

We are thrilled to report that many of our eggstronauts survived the plunge completely intact!

All the world’s a stage… and our 4th and 5th graders completely owned it today! 🌎🎭A huge congratulations to our 4th and ...
05/21/2026

All the world’s a stage… and our 4th and 5th graders completely owned it today! 🌎🎭

A huge congratulations to our 4th and 5th graders on their amazing Shakespeare performances today! This end of the year tradition is always such a special transition for them and they put in so much hard to make it happen. Bravo, cast! ✨

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373 Hermosa Meadows Road
Durango, CO
81301

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