Welcome to Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1

Results for the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, administered in April, were released Thursday by the CDE. The tests, administered to grades three through eight, evaluate students’ proficiency in English and math. “State tests provide valuable information to our principals and teachers on where we can improve and how we can better support each student and class,” Lori Haukeness, superintendent of Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1, said in an email to The Journal. “We are excited to see the continued improvements in achievement in math and reading in our elementary and middle schools and improved levels of growth across our district, especially for our students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and our Native American students.” She also highlighted the district’s improved graduation rate, which has increased by more than 20% in the past six years, with over 86% of Re-1 students graduating in four years.

RE-1 received a safety grant to allow the district to upgrade safety features at schools. One of the changes is the Raptor Visitor Management school security system that will be put in place at all campuses. Through the Raptor system, visitors will have to submit their driver’s license at the front desk, which will then perform a sort of background check, screening for sex offenders and notifying staff of child custody violations.

In a U.S. News & World Report ranking of Colorado’s best public high schools, Durango High School came in 66th and Bayfield High School was 79th, based on factors such as test scores and graduation rates. MCHS was listed in the state’s top 100 schools at No. 100. The report ranked 272 of the 513 public high schools in the state, using data from the 2017-18 school year.