Escalante Middle School Home

We are crew,
not passengers.
Folklorico dancers

About Us

Escalante Middle School is for 6th-8th grade students and is located on the south end of Durango, Colorado – just beneath the beautiful Purple Cliffs along the Animas River. Escalante is an EL Learning (formerly Expeditionary Learning) school. This means we believe that learning is active, challenging, meaningful, public, and collaborative. 
girls with kitten in vet science class
Where we’re located
Durango School District map
girl in shop class using joiner tool

Mission

Our mission is to empower students to apply the habits of work, learning, and scholarship to become productive and caring citizens. 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 student's 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. 

School & District News

Hoop

Eagle Boys Basketball 2024 Season Information

Escalante MS is eager to start our Eagle Boys' Basketball season with the first practice on October 8th from 3:30 - 5:45 PM. There is a MANDATORY parent meeting at EMS on October 15th at 5:30 PM in the main gym. Eagle Boys Basketball is open to all 7th and 8th-grade boys. To practice, athletes must have a current physical turned in to the school and complete the registration linked below. Check back here for the game schedule which will be posted soon.
Volleyball and Football

EMS Fall Sports News

Escalante Middle School is excited to offer Football and Volleyball to all 7th and 8th-grade students! With all the construction happening at EMS this summer, we won't be able to access the gym until later in August than we are used to. Keep checking the website for current information.

Fall sports are open to all 7th and 8th-grade students. To be eligible to participate, students need to complete the registration checklist linked below. For more information, click the Athletic Information Page below or contact Athletic Director Will Dodd at [email protected] or Tami in the office at [email protected]. Unfortunately, there is no one in the office to take phone calls until construction is completed. Appx 8/13/2024

Volleyball Schedule
Official Practice starts August 6th-8th. Practice will be from 5-8 pm at Durango High School. Athletes should enter the building through the front entrance. Athletic Director Mr. Dodd will help direct you to where practice will be. He will also be able to answer questions any parents may have about their athlete's registration status.

Volleyball practice the week of August 12th will be in Escalante's Gym from 2:00 - 5:30 PM. Athletes will need to bring their own water bottles and knee pads.

Football Schedule
August 1st and 2nd is a Mini Camp that is not mandatory, but is highly encouraged to be there. It will be from 7 am-11 am each day.
Official practice starts on August 5th-8th from 7 am-11 am.

Again, to participate in any sport, athletes must complete all their registration items before being allowed to participate. This includes the district's online athletic registration (see link below), the athlete's physical (form provided by the Doctor), and payment of the athletic fee. No athlete can participate in the above-listed activities if they have not completed these tasks.
Picture Day

School Pictures September 5th

Dear Parents,
School Pictures are coming! Attached is a PDF of our school’s FALL Picture Day Flyer. The PDF below is hyperlinked, click anywhere on either page and it will take you directly to the online ordering page.
You can also order online by going to www.mymjthomas.com and entering our school's event code. (Event Code: C588) If you have any questions or concerns about pictures please call MJ Thomas Photo at 1-800-219-0199.

Estimados padres,
¡Se acercan las fotos escolares! Adjunto se encuentra un PDF del folleto del día de fotografías de OTOÑO de nuestra escuela. El PDF tiene un hipervínculo; haga clic en cualquier lugar de cualquiera de las páginas y lo llevará directamente a la página de pedidos en línea.
También puede realizar pedidos en línea visitando www.mymjthomas.com e ingresando el código de evento de nuestra escuela.(Código de evento: C588) Si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud sobre las fotografías, llame a MJ Thomas Photo al 1-800-219-0199.
Welcome

EMS Hosts Fall Check-In Night August 15th

Families with a student enrolled at EMS are invited to CHECK-IN NIGHT on August 15th. Check-In Night is an informational event where students and parents may walk through the school, meet teachers and administrators, and gather informational forms. Students are not required to attend Check-In Night. EMS hosts the event as an opportunity for families to acquaint themselves with EMS. Students will receive their schedules on the first day of school, August 20. If you have any questions, please call the office in August at 970-247-9490.

Fall 2024 Check-In Night August 15th
6th Grade: 4:30 - 5:30 PM
7th & 8th Grade: 5:45 - 6:30 PM

Las familias con un estudiante matriculado en EMS están invitadas a la NOCHE DE REGISTRO el 15 de agosto. Check-In Night es un evento informativo donde los estudiantes y los padres pueden caminar por la escuela, conocer a los maestros y administradores, y recoger formularios informativos. Los estudiantes no están obligados a asistir a Check-In Night. EMS organiza el evento como una oportunidad para que las familias se familiaricen con EMS. Los estudiantes recibirán sus horarios el primer día de clases, el 20 de agosto. Si usted tiene alguna pregunta, por favor llame a la oficina en agosto al 970-247-9490.

Otoño 2024 Noche de Registro 15 de agosto
6to Grado: 4:30 - 5:30 PM
7mo y 8vo Grado: 5:45 - 6:30 PM

Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor DeepL.com
person repairing laptop

Optional Durango School District Chromebook Insurance Policy

It is Durango School District’s intent to distribute new Chromebooks to incoming 6th and 9th grade students. Upon distribution of the new device, the student may submit a new non-refundable insurance deposit to cover the new device. This insurance policy is available to 6th – 12th grade students.
girl and dad with bicycle prize

2024 Summer Bridge makes learning fun and prepares students for next year

School’s out, but the Durango School District 9-R is encouraging students to work on learning through the summer – with fun events as a reward. The Summer Bridge program combines free activity books with checkpoints, events, and prizes to continue learning this summer and be ready for the next grade level. The books include engaging activities and practice in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and fitness.
District office front entry

Durango School District Administration Office - Summer Hours

The Durango School District Administration Office summer hours will be in effect June 3rd - July 26. We will operate with regular business hours Monday - Thursday, 8am - 4pm, and be closed to the public on Fridays during this time period.
Emily Moreland

Principal's Message

Welcome, Eagle students and families! At Escalante Middle School, we focus on building cultures of respect, responsibility, courage, and kindness – where students and staff are committed to quality work and citizenship. Our highly qualified staff is trained to tailor instruction to help a diverse range of learners. We meet students’ individual learning needs by adjusting instruction to address specific learning styles, abilities, strengths, and needs. 
Engineer Mountain

Quality of Life

Durango is a beautiful place to live and work. It is located at 6,512 feet elevation in Southwest Colorado near the Four Corners region. Families who live here enjoy a historic steam train, ski resort, rivers, vibrant downtown, bike trails, sky-high “fourteener” mountains, and four distinct seasons with an average of 266 sunny days per year. We welcome new families and new staff members, and we offer excellent benefits and competitive salaries. 

Accessibility Statement

It is the goal of Durango School District 9-R that the information on this website be accessible to individuals with visual, hearing, or cognitive disabilities. Good faith efforts are being made to ensure that our website complies with web accessibility standards.

Most pages on our site are available in HTML format, which can be read by screen readers. Some documents are in Adobe PDF format, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website. Additionally, some documents are in Google Docs, and Google Forms. Most modern browsers and screen readers can access Google-based documents. More information about Google web products accessibility can be found on the Google Accessibility website.

In order to ensure that Durango School District websites are accessible to everyone in our community, including those with disabilities, we are using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

If you cannot access any page(s) on our site, please email us at [email protected]. Include the location of the webpage/document, your name, email address, and phone number so we can provide the information in another format, and address the issue.