Ignacio Middle School (IMS) has had an excellent start to the 2024/2025 school year and a productive first quarter. At the beginning of the year, we celebrated our growth in CMAS, hosted a Family Science Night, and held our first Pep Assembly. Students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher enjoyed an Honor Roll Breakfast, and we conducted our first quarter Character Counts assembly. Additionally, we organized our first in-school dance, which was one of the best ever, welcomed the Navajo Magician, Brian Yazzie, and enjoyed a Rosie the Riveter performance through Colorado Humanities. These past 13 weeks have been incredibly busy and fulfilling. 

Our volleyball season was a success, with 34 girls participating and the A team finishing their regular season with a record of 9-1. In football, 36 boys participated, and we secured third place in our league. Our cross-country team had seven athletes, many of whom improved their personal records by the end of the season. We are currently in the Boys Basketball season with 30 athletes participating. 

With the implementation of a four-day school week, our district aims to enhance family time and engagement while maintaining a strong focus on academics during school hours. Our school day begins at 7:50 a.m. with core classes for 6th and 7th graders, while 8th graders participate in high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, including Band, during their first hour at the high school. This collaboration between buildings provides our students with valuable exposure to various CTE pathways. We are also pleased to offer Band classes for our 5th grade elementary students and Choir for our middle school students, enriching our arts programs and supporting student engagement. The school day concludes at 4:05 p.m., and on game days, events will start at 4:30 p.m. to ensure a safe environment for clearing the building and allowing parents in after 4:15 p.m. 

Ignacio Middle School is actively seeking parents, guardians, and community volunteers to join the Building Accountability Committee. This committee meets on the first Monday of each month at 4 p.m., with the next meeting scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 at the middle school. The committee serves as an advisory group, providing opportunities for input from parents, volunteers, and community members to support student needs and learning. For more information, please contact Dayna at dtalamantemontoya@ignacioschools.org. 

IMS students are also preparing for Literacy Night, which will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Additionally, we are gearing up for our school-wide Science Fair in December, where all students should be researching, testing their hypotheses, and preparing to present their findings to judges on Wednesday, Dec. 18.  

We are thankful for the many opportunities our little community has for students. We are proud Bobcats! 

Courtesy of the Southern Ute Drum

As the fall colors come and go, Ignacio Elementary continues to rock this year! The school had a great positive start to the year. We welcomed some new faces that you will see around campus.  

Jennifer Wittrup is teaching 3rd grade this year. She has taught school, mostly in 3rd grade, for 28 plus years! Most of her teaching career was in Indiana. She taught for a short time in Wyoming before moving to Southwest Colorado. She is certified in trauma-informed practices. We are lucky to have a teacher with experience join our staff.  

Ashika Wagner is teaching 1st grade this year. Wagner completed her student teaching experience last year in a kindergarten classroom at IES. She has moved to the community and is doing a great job in her classroom. She got her degree at Fort Lewis College last May.  

Emily Hartley is teaching 3rd grade this year. She also came to us from Fort Lewis College. She is enthusiastic and is doing awesome things with her class. She has built working relationships with her students and loves watching them learn.  

Nicole Margeson is teaching SPED this year to grades 3-5. Nicole has taught for 12 plus years in Southwest Colorado in both Cortez and Dolores. She moved with her husband to Bayfield over the summer and joined our staff. This is her first-year teaching SPED. She is enjoying learning about SPED and working with students to improve math and reading skills.  

Amy Vezeau is a paraprofessional in our SPED department. She was a substitute all last year in the Ignacio Schools and decided to join us full-time. She has built great relationships with the students she helps. We are lucky to have her working with our students.  

Min Luna is a Paraprofessional in our SPED department. She joins us from Chicago, Ill. She has some experience working with preschool students in Chicago. We are excited and happy she moved to Southwest Colorado and has joined our Bobcat Family.  

Aundrea Herrera is a Paraprofessional in our kindergarten classes. She is a lifelong Bobcat! Aundrea graduated from Ignacio High School last May and is taking college classes online to be a teacher someday. We are excited to have her working in the schools and gaining experience towards being a future teacher.  

2024-2025 Performance Rankings: Each year the Colorado Department of Education ranks schools based on the CMAS scores (grades 3-5). Last year at this time we were rated as a school in Priority Improvement (among the lowest-performing schools in the state). Over the school year, we ensured all students had high-quality teachers, put common behavior expectations in place, and worked with grade-level teachers to ensure students were learning and growing academically and emotionally. Teachers met weekly to plan lessons and look at student work to ensure they were learning what was taught to them. Our efforts paid off! Our students grew an average of over 55 percentile in both reading and math. This equates to more than a year’s growth. Some classes grew in the 70 percentile!  We expected to move up in ranking from the CDE. We moved two levels to the top schools. For the 2024-2025 school year, Ignacio Elementary School is rated a Performing School. We still have room to grow and will continue this year.  

This year’s initiatives include Habits of Discussion. This will help our students improve their communication and critical thinking skills. Some of the skills they are working on is to always answer any question in complete sentences, both with oral and written tasks, and giving reasons for their answers based on evidence from the reading or math problems. Parents can help at home by asking students to answer in complete sentences anytime you ask them a question. For example, if you ask them what they would like to watch on TV, have them answer in a complete sentence and give a reason why they picked that show.  

We continue to infuse fun activities for students this year to help keep our learning climate a fun place to be. This includes your Rise and Shine pep assemblies, the AR reading Point Clubs where students can earn pizza parties and trips to Fly High but earning points in AR reading, the NED Show, the Navajo Magician (coming in November), and a schoolwide Read-A-Thon in November. We also have a friendly competition for which classes are reading the most words each week. This has motivated the students to have read over five million words so far this year. We have also recognized over 250 students for going beyond our expectations and being Six Pillar Bobcats. Next week the whole school will be working in homeroom classes to solve a mystery similar to the game CLUE.  

I invite anyone to come visit the school to see all the great things happening at the school this year. It is a great year in Bobcat Country.

In our ongoing commitment to providing healthy and delicious meals for our students, the Ignacio School District’s food service team recently took a field trip to Kerrigan’s Farm, where they picked up fresh roasted green chiles! This exciting initiative not only supports local agriculture, but also enriches our students’ dining experience with fresh, vibrant flavors. 

After returning to the kitchen, our dedicated team cleaned and prepared the chiles, transforming them into a homemade sauce that perfectly complements our meals. They also thoughtfully bagged and froze the remaining chiles, ensuring that we can incorporate this local goodness into future dishes. 

Last week, our students were treated to delicious homemade bean and cheese burritos topped with the freshly made green chile sauce. The smiles on their faces said it all! 

Our food service team works tirelessly throughout the school year to create nutritious, tasty meals that fuel our students for success. By using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, we are not only promoting healthy eating habits, but also fostering a connection to our community. 

We’re proud of our food service team and their efforts to provide the best for our students. Thank you for supporting our mission to serve great meals and for encouraging our young learners to appreciate wholesome, local foods!

ISD is hosting another NAPAC Informational meeting at 5:30 pm on Monday, November 4. This is a repeat meeting of the Oct 16 meeting. Please RSVP at the link below.

https://forms.gle/Sv5bBKXkNvCAwqNt9

Ignacio School District Parents and Guardians

It is time once again for the S-CAP Family Survey.  This survey is administered twice a year to teachers, students, and parents.  It only takes 15 minutes to complete.  The results are reviewed, shared, and used to guide District decision making.  Furthermore, all S-CAP schools utilize the survey so it informs decisions made around the State.  It is an important part of our strategic plan.  The survey will close on October 26.

The survey is anonymous. No one will know your identity, not even the University of Colorado Denver researchers administering the survey. If you have children in more than one school, you can take the survey for each school if you wish to do so.  We estimate the survey will take about 10-15 minutes to complete on average. Click on this link to complete the survey: 

 https://ucdenver.co1.​qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_​77jGoX89VKceX4O

¡GRACIAS por tomarse el tiempo para dar su opinión sobre la escuela de su hijo(a)! La información proveniente de esto será de gran ayuda para los líderes de la escuela y del distrito al trabajar para mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de todos nuestros estudiantes.  La encuesta es completamente anónima -- nadie, ni siquiera los investigadores de la Universidad de Colorado en Denver que administran la encuesta, conocerán su identidad.  Si usted tiene hijos en más de una sola escuela, usted puede completar la encuesta para cada escuela si así lo desea. Estimamos que le tomará aproximadamente 10-15 minutos completar la encuesta.  

Si desea completar esta encuesta en español, haga clic en el menú desplegable y seleccione español. 

Por favor, seleccione su idioma: 

https://ucdenver.co1.​qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_​77jGoX89VKceX4O

Ignacio, CO – September 10, 2024 – The Ignacio School District is thrilled to announce a remarkable achievement for the 2023-2024 school year. According to the Colorado Department of Education & Preliminary School Performance Framework, all three schools in the district have advanced from the Improvement & Priority Improvement categories to the Performance category—a significant milestone in the continuing progress and improvement in the District.

This achievement reflects the districts progress in the areas of Academic Growth, and Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness. The Performance Framework assesses district and school performance based on CMAS/PSAT/SAT testing scores, and the percentage of points earned across these indicators determines the final accreditation rating.

Highlights of the district’s outstanding performance include:

● Ignacio High School achieved a score of 53.3% out of 100 a great jump from 44.9% in 2022, notably excelling in the graduation rate of minority students with an impressive 96.9%. This achievement reflects the district's commitment to ensuring equitable educational opportunities for all students.

● Ignacio Middle School reached a score of 60.5% from a previous score of 50.1%, surpassing the required 53% to attain the Performance category, demonstrating significant academic progress and growth.

● Ignacio Elementary School emerged as the top performer with a score of 62% from a previous score of 37.1% in the 2023 school year, setting a new standard of excellence in the district and showcasing outstanding early educational achievements.

● Ignacio School District as a whole moved to Accredited status at 59.3% from 46.9% in 2023.

This notable advancement is a testament to the collective efforts of students, educators, and the entire community. The district’s success in elevating all schools to the Performance category highlights a significant improvement in overall academic performance, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and an unwavering focus on student success.

The district engaged with community stakeholders three years ago to adopt a meaningful mission statement and five-year strategic plan. Since that time staff has vertically aligned curriculum and developed pacing guides that align with State standards. There has been a focus on classroom strategies to increase student engagement and improve intervention. Finally, ongoing efforts to utilize data-driven decision-making, increase staff retention, and provide focused professional development have also been impactful.

Looking ahead, the Ignacio School District remains focused on addressing the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district’s goal is to further accelerate academic recovery, with a particular emphasis on improving performance in math and language arts.

“We are incredibly proud of this achievement, which shows the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our students, teachers, and staff,” said Christopher deKay, Superintendent of Ignacio School District. “This milestone shows our district’s commitment to academic excellence and our ongoing efforts to provide a supportive and effective learning environment for every student.”

The district looks forward to continuing this momentum and remains dedicated to further enhancing educational outcomes and opportunities for all students. This progress marks a new chapter of success for the Ignacio School District, one that promises continued growth and achievement in the years to come.

For more information about the Ignacio School District’s performance and ongoing initiatives, please visit ignacioschools.org or contact (970) 563-0500.

The Ignacio FFA chapter has been awarded $2,602.00 as part of the Grants for Growing program. The nationwide program, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company, provides grant funds to local FFA chapters to support the development or improvement of agricultural education projects that enhance the classroom experiences for students through chapter engagement activities. 

Read the full article here.

Courtesy of the Southern Ute Drum