Escalante Middle School

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Escalante Middle School Escalante is a school designed to meet the academic, social-emotional, and physical needs of all students. We will not publish, share, or sell email addresses.

As an Expeditionary Learning (EL) school, we strive each day to create a learning environment where all are welcomed, valued, respected, and safe. Reading, writing, mathematics, geography, science, and history are all taught using the team approach. We meet students' individual learning needs by challenging our instruction to address each students' learning style, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. We use online and computer-based instruction, individualizing reading programs , and student learning groups based on similar academic abilities. Escalante offers a challenging array of exploratory courses, including keyboarding, art, technology, foreign language, band, orchestra, choir, PE, health, interpersonal skills, and computer instruction. 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. 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.

Today, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the cultures, histories, traditions, and contributions of Indigenous peoples...
10/12/2026

Today, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the cultures, histories, traditions, and contributions of Indigenous peoples.

Durango School District is proud to serve students representing 27 federally recognized tribes. Each student brings a unique identity, story, and perspective that enriches our school communities.

This beautiful wood engraving, created at Escalante Middle School last year, features a student’s poem, “Where I Am From,” celebrating family, culture, and identity.

“I am from sparkly regalia. From colored beads and bias tape.”

Today and every day, we celebrate the many voices and cultures that make our schools stronger. ❤️

🌎 Durango students are making national headlines – again! We're excited to see Escalante Middle School's global classroo...
10/09/2026

🌎 Durango students are making national headlines – again!

We're excited to see Escalante Middle School's global classroom partnership featured in Edutopia, a national education publication. The article highlights how students in Durango and New Delhi, India, connected across continents to explore real-world environmental challenges through project-based learning. 🙌

It's wonderful to see the innovative teaching and learning happening in our schools recognized on a national stage. Congratulations to EMS teacher Lu Boren and her students!

💙 Read the Edutopia feature: https://ow.ly/XoxU50ZWuhH



10/08/2026

Building real-world skills from day one! 🔨🧰

In the Construction Trades CTE pathway at Durango High School, Wood Shop Teacher Peter Lutz is guiding students through hands-on learning that prepares them for careers beyond the classroom.

Students in the Construction Systems Technology class recently received their tool bags — equipped with hammers, cat’s paws, tape measures, speed squares, and more — and they're mastering circular saw and miter saw safety. By the end of the year, they'll be building full-scale mock-ups covering everything from framing, electrical, and plumbing to stair stringers, rafter pitches, and drywall.

Even better? Students are earning industry-recognized credentials — Home Builders Institute pre-apprenticeship certification training this fall, then OSHA safety training in the spring — giving them a major head start and a valuable resume boost as they prepare to compete in the statewide SkillsUSA competition!

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

🏡 Schools are at the heart of our community. Stay connected with Durango School District through our free weekly Community Update—featuring student successes, district news, upcoming events, and stories that matter to our community.

📬 Sign up for DSD's Community Update newsletter here: https://ow.ly/ryNM50ZW5az






🍂 Fall Break is Oct. 9-12. All schools will be closed on Friday, Oct. 9, and Monday, Oct. 12. We hope all our families e...
10/08/2026

🍂 Fall Break is Oct. 9-12. All schools will be closed on Friday, Oct. 9, and Monday, Oct. 12. We hope all our families enjoy this beautiful time of year!

10/05/2026

At Durango Big Picture High School, learning is personal, purposeful, and rooted in community — and so is the way they end each week!

Every Friday, DBPHS gathers the entire school for "Kick Me Out," a joyful send-off tradition adopted from the Big Picture Learning model. Whether it’s student karaoke or a competitive game of musical chairs, "Kick Me Out" gives students and staff a chance to celebrate their achievements, laugh together, and build the strong sense of belonging that makes DBPHS so unique.

Want to see what makes Durango Big Picture High School such a special place to learn and grow? Come celebrate with us!

🎉 Durango Big Picture High School Grand Opening & Ribbon-Cutting
📅 TONIGHT: Monday, Oct. 5
⏰ 5:30–7 p.m. (Ribbon-cutting at 5:30 p.m.)
📍 281 Sawyer Drive, Suite 400 (Top floor of the Columbine Building)
✨ Join us for speakers, live music, campus tours, student demos, and a chance to meet our amazing staff!

🏡 Schools are at the heart of our community. Stay connected with Durango School District through our free weekly Community Update—featuring student successes, district news, upcoming events, and stories that matter to our community.

📬 Sign up here: https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1720193/1714944.4612864/?v=a




📣 Help us make school communication easier! Families receive a lot of information throughout the school year, from schoo...
09/13/2026

📣 Help us make school communication easier!

Families receive a lot of information throughout the school year, from schools, teachers, coaches, activities, and the district. We want to make it easier for you to know what you need to know, what you need to do, and where to find information when you need it.

We invite all current DSD families to take about 3 minutes to tell us what’s working and what could be better. Your feedback will help Durango School District (DSD) improve how we communicate with families.

Take the 3-minute Family Communication Pulse:

Families receive a lot of information throughout the school year, from schools, teachers, coaches, activities and the district. We want to make it easier for you to know what you need to know, what you need to do, and where to find information when you need it. Please take about 3 minutes to tell us...

🚀 How far can a paper rocket fly? At Escalante Middle School, nearly 100 feet.About 130 students took their engineering ...
09/10/2026

🚀 How far can a paper rocket fly? At Escalante Middle School, nearly 100 feet.

About 130 students took their engineering skills outside with the Ignite Mobile Learning Lab bus for a rapid design challenge: build, launch, test, adjust and try again. 🛠️

But the Sept. 9 rocket launch was just the beginning. Next, students will build custom model rockets, visit local engineers at Agile Space Industries and explore Colorado’s aerospace future. It’s all part of a project-based learning journey that connects a middle school design challenge to the real world.

📖 See where these rockets are headed and read the full story: https://ow.ly/9Up850ZM4GR






Ready for more stories about our students' experiences? Subscribe to Community Update, a weekly digital newsletter delivered to your inbox: https://ow.ly/XbKj50ZM4GP

✍️ School Storytellers: Shout out to Jordan Englehart, Bryan Bagdol, and Dr. Karen Cheser for contributing content for this story.

08/11/2026

🛋️✨ The future is looking pretty groovy at DSD.

We recently stopped by Escalante Middle School and Durango High School for a sneak peek at some of the new furniture in our schools — and we’re getting definite retro-futuristic, Jetsons vibes. 🚀

Think bright school colors, amoeba-shaped curvy tables, angular couches designed for conversation, balance stools, mobile charging stations, stackable rolling carts and flexible modular pieces that can move and change along with the learning happening around them.

Beyond looking cool, the new furniture is designed to make classrooms and shared spaces more flexible, collaborative and comfortable for today’s students and educators.

And it’s needed. Much of the furniture across our schools has served generations of students and was well past its useful life.

💙 We’re incredibly grateful to our community for passing the 2024 Investing in Our Schools Bond, making it possible to replace aging furniture with learning environments that better reflect DSD’s innovative, future-focused mission.

We can’t wait for our students and staff to try it out.


🎬 What does the Sundance Film Festival, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Adobe and Sony Pictures have to do with students...
08/10/2026

🎬 What does the Sundance Film Festival, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Adobe and Sony Pictures have to do with students in Durango? Potentially, quite a lot.

💰 A new $250,000 state grant will help connect Durango School District’s creative Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs with professionals and organizations shaping some of the nation’s biggest creative industries. This can open doors that can be harder to access when you’re growing up hundreds of miles from a major industry hub.

Through Creative Educators Network, DSD teachers will tap into relationships with organizations including Adobe, Warner Bros. Discovery, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Dolby and Avid. This will bring current industry knowledge, connections and opportunities back to students in Southwest Colorado.

And with the Sundance Film Festival moving to Boulder in 2027, the timing couldn’t be better. 🎥✨

For students interested in fashion, digital media, graphic design, filmmaking, business, multimedia production, set design and more, this is about turning creative talent into real career pathways. Our geography won't limit what they can imagine or who they can learn from.

🗞️ Click the link for the full story.






Huge thanks to our partners for opening doors for our students in Durango:
💙 The Colorado Education Initiative
💙 Creative Educators Network

A $250,000 state grant will strengthen career-connected learning in digital media, graphic design, fashion design, business and construction trades.

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

🎉 Save the date: Aug. 5! 🎉 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.

🗓️ Wednesday, Aug. 5
🕔 5:45 p.m. Ribbon-Cutting; 6:15-7:15 p.m. Tours & Activities
📍 Impact Career Innovation Center (Durango High School campus)

Enjoy:
✨ Tours of the mobile learning lab
🧪 Interactive STEAM activities
🎶 Live music by Stillwater Music
🍪 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/LrUq50ZutlC


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141 Baker Lane
Durango, CO
81303

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