Mesa County Valley School District 51

Let's keep welcoming our new admin!
Welcome, and welcome back, to District 51: Where You Belong!

▶️ At Rocky Mountain Elementary, please welcome Assistant Principal Helen Musial
▶️ At Fruita Monument High School, please welcome Dean of Students, Michelle Thomas
▶️ At Early Childhood Education Center, please welcome Director of ECE Teresa Swanson
▶️ At Palisade High School, please welcome Assistant Principal Jennifer Campbell-Wilson

Welcome, and welcome back, to District 51: Where You Belong!

▶️ At Central High School, please welcome Assistant Principals Britny Walker and Amanda Talley
▶️ At Emerson, please welcome Director of Secondary Curriculum Brooke Caster
▶️ At Special Programs at Summit, please welcome Kristina Downing
▶️ At the Education Services Center at EAST, please welcome Pre-Expulsion Behavior Coordinator Winifred Lezine

🍅👨‍🍳 Love to cook? Turn that passion into a career that feeds our community! Mesa County Valley School District 51 is a proud partner in the Healthy School Food Pathway Pre-Apprenticeship — a FREE program that gives you hands-on kitchen experience, a ServSafe certification, and a job interview with our district. No professional kitchen experience needed! 🥬

📲 Visit chefannfoundation.com/va-hsfp or scan the QR code to apply.
❓ Questions? Email [email protected]

Back to school is always a busy season, but we're excited to give a warm welcome to some new administrators joining D51! 🎉 Some are new to our district; others are familiar faces stepping into new roles, but all are ready to provide our students with an excellent education, a real sense of belonging, and support for success in every part of life.

Welcome, and welcome back, to District 51: Where You Belong! 💙

▶️ At Fruita Middle School, please welcome Principal Kate Herrera!
▶️At Redlands Middle School, please welcome Assistant Principal Karsten Bump!
▶️At Grand River Academy, please welcome Principal Ari Goldberg!
▶️At the Education Services Center at EAST, please welcome Mental Health Promotions Coordinator Connie Young!

During District 51's School Board Meetings, District 51 and the School Board of Education like to take a moment to recognize our schools, staff, and students! Congratulations to the following:

💙 Fruita Monument High School Competition Shooting Team and their coaches for an exceptional season, including winning the Colorado state championship in s***t, earning the highest Class 1A team season average in trap, and achieving multiple individual honors.

🐔 The Chicken Hawks Robotics Team for earning the Championship Finalist Award at the Western Edge Robotics Invitational, where they represented Colorado among 88 international teams and demonstrated exceptional teamwork, innovation, robotics skills, and FIRST Core Values on the international stage.
Mesa View Elementary STEAM

🎵 The band programs at Central High School, Fruita Monument High School, Grand Mesa Middle School, Mount Garfield Middle School, and Orchard Mesa Middle School earned the Colorado Bandmasters Association’s 2025–26 Exemplary Band Award, honoring their excellence and continued commitment to high-quality music education across District 51.

🗣️ Christi Hein, District 51’s Coordinator of AP and Concurrent Enrollment, for receiving Heterodox Academy’s 2026 Teaching Award for her outstanding work advancing free speech, civil discourse, open inquiry, and respectful engagement with diverse perspectives in education.

🏅 Jennifer Kimbrow, Fruita Monument High School athletic trainer, for being named a 2026 Robert Ryan Educator of the Year by the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association, honoring her exceptional commitment to educating, mentoring, and supporting student-athletes.

We are so grateful for our community! Thank you to everybody who donated supplies or made a monetary donation. These new supplies will help each and every student in D51!

🚌💙 WHAT AN INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY! 💙🚌

The BIG Check is here! 🎉 Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, this year’s Stuff the Bus campaign raised $5,225 to support Mesa County Valley School District 51 high school students!

That means each of D51’s five high schools will receive $1,045 to purchase supplies tailored to the unique needs of their students, courses, and programs. 📚✏️💻

We are so grateful to ’s Grand Valley Pediatrics, Credit Union of Colorado , our community donors, Townsquare Media, Mesa Mall, and everyone who donated, volunteered, or helped spread the word. Together, you’re helping D51 students start the school year prepared, confident, and ready to succeed.

And this is just one part of the impact—this year’s Stuff the Bus drive also collected more school supplies from the community than ever before for D51 elementary and middle school students in need. ❤️

Thank you, Mesa County, for showing up for our students! 🎒🚌✨

At D51, traditions are part of what makes coming back to school so special. They give us moments to look forward to, bring our schools together, and remind us that belonging is at the heart of who we are.

We kicked off the second week of the school year with the 2026 Back to School Bus Tour, as D51’s leadership team and Board of Education visited three schools across the district.

🚌 First stop: Bookcliff Mustangs

Principal Dickes and the Mustang Crew challenged our leaders to a Rock, Paper, Scissors competition, a BMS tradition that goes far beyond the game. It is one of the many ways they build connection and a sense of belonging into everyday school life. Superintendent Dr. Hill made it all the way to the finals, but the Mustangs ultimately claimed the win!

🚌 Next stop: Rim Rock Elementary School

Student council welcomed us with signs and smiles before we joined classrooms as they kicked off their Monday mornings. We also took on a teamwork challenge, moving a playground ball around a circle without letting go of one another’s hands. Let’s just say, it’s harder than it looks!

🚌 Final stop: Central High School

We wrapped up the tour by seeing the incredible progress underway at CHS. More than 180 construction workers are on site each day, bringing these projects to life.

We are incredibly grateful to our community's "Yes" to D51. Your support is making these new classrooms and learning spaces possible, creating environments where students can learn, grow, and prepare for college, careers, and life.

From longstanding traditions to exciting new beginnings, D51 is a place where each and every student belongs.

Big things start with little learners! 💛 Today, our youngest students began their preschool journey, marking the beginning of an incredible path of learning and growth.

At D51, we’re proud to support students from preschool through 12th grade, providing a high-quality education every step of the way. Because every student deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, dream big, and be prepared for life beyond the classroom.

From their first day of preschool to graduation and beyond, we’re here for every step of the journey.

🍽️ 🍎 We are excited to announce that the Lunch Lizard Mobile Summer Meals Program has been selected as a beneficiary of the City Market Fight Hunger bag program.
Designed in alignment with the City Market Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative, the Fight Hunger bag program makes it easy for shoppers to impact local hunger relief efforts by simply purchasing a reusable bag.
Lunch Lizard Mobile Summer Meals Program will receive a $1 donation for every $2.50 reusable Fight Hunger bag sold during August and September 2025 at:
📍 2770 Highway 50, Grand Junction CO
📍 630 24 Rd, Grand Junction CO
▶️ ▶️ Spread the word to keep our community informed and make a difference!

Small backpacks. Small shoes. BIG day 😎🎒✏️ Let the discovery, laughter, and “What did you learn at school today?” begin!

Monument Ridge Elementary School