Needham Elementary School

08/21/2026

Huge shoutout to Coldwell Banker Real Estate for stepping up and donating back-to-school supplies for our kids! 🎒✏️ Community partnerships like this make all the difference. Thank you for helping us start the school year off right! 📚❤️

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/Wz9Y50Zutlu

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.

🧑‍⚕️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

07/07/2026

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

“Growth matters,” said Dr. Laurie Rossback, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “We 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.” 🙌

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

06/30/2026

📚 Durango School District students showed strong academic growth during the 2025-26 school year, with students making gains in both literacy and mathematics while continuing to outperform state and national benchmarks.

“These results reflect the hard work of our students, staff, and families,” said Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser. “While no single assessment tells the whole story of student learning, these results show encouraging growth and reinforce the impact of the daily work happening in classrooms across our district.” 🙌

Read the full End-Of-Year Report here: https://ow.ly/htbx50ZiUBr

06/17/2026

🤖🏆 Congratulations to our young innovators!

Last month, teams from Park, Needham, and Riverview elementary schools participated in the LEGO Explore Festival at The Powerhouse , showcasing creativity, teamwork, coding, research, and problem-solving skills.

DSD students earned an impressive six awards:
⭐ Best Costume – Explorers (Park)
🤖 Best Robot – Crawlers (Needham)
🐆 Best Research – Unearthed Jaguar Schools (Needham)
❤️ Best Core Values – Kitty Coders (Riverview)
💡 Innovation & Design – Snow Leopards (Park)
🏆 Powerhouse Award – Diamond Diggers (Riverview)

The festival featured teams of 1st-3rd grade students who spent months designing projects, building robots, and learning how to work together to solve challenges.

A special thank you to our dedicated coaches, whose encouragement and leadership helped make this experience possible. Events like these inspire curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love of STEM learning.

Interested in more LEGO fun? The Powerhouse is offering seven weeks of LEGO Robotics Summer Camps for students in grades 1-6 starting this week.

06/15/2026

✅ 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. 🙌🏼

📕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

05/22/2026

05/20/2026

Congratulations class of 2026 🎉🥳

05/20/2026

The moment you all have been awaiting! The top three classes of Funlympics 2026!

Drum roll, please…!

In third place, our brave warriors from Ms. Kristin’s 1st-grade students raised $1,964.

In second place, a round of applause for Ms. Scott’s kindergarten students, who raised $2,239.

And the golden champions, hoist the trophy high—our victors of Funlympics 2026, with $2,895, go to… Ms. Allemang’s Kindergarten Class!

Thank you to our generous corporate sponsors and product sponsors who have helped make this all possible: 365 Roofing, Goff Engineering, IT Voice, GT Tools, Primi Pasta and Wine Bar, Alpine Bank, Durango Motor Company, Nicole Sorenson and the Wells Group, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Durango Family Psychiarty, Catacombs Fitness, Destination DRO Real Estate Group, Keller Williams Born and Raised, Pediatric Partners of the Southwest, Sage, Timber Age Builders, Cream Bean Berry, and Happy Papi’s