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. 
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Where we’re located
Durango School District map
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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

Four graduates stand together in a hallway

Durango High School Class of 2026: By the numbers

As the Durango High School Class of 2026 prepares to graduate on Friday, school leaders say this year’s senior class reflects a growing trend at DHS: students pursuing college credits, career certifications, scholarships, trades training, athletics, and military service at record levels.
Four adults and one middle schooler holding a sculpture with the words

End-of-year message from our Superintendent

At the end of the 2026-27 school year, Dr. Karen Cheser spotlights remarkable student capstone achievements, celebrates resilience through recent district changes, and looks ahead to summer learning opportunities.
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Principal 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. 

Events

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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. 
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Accessibility Statement

It is the goal of Durango School District 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 Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
 
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.
 
To ensure accessibility for everyone in our community, including those with disabilities, Durango School District is taking the following steps:
 
* We are actively identifying and addressing accessibility barriers across our websites and digital platforms.
* We request accessibility documentation (such as VPATs – Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates) from vendors whose digital tools or content are used on our websites.
* We work with vendors and service providers to ensure they are taking steps toward full compliance with WCAG and Section 504 requirements.
* We are committed to ongoing staff training and continuous website improvement.
* We regularly review our digital content to align with the Colorado Digital Accessibility Act (C.R.S. 24-34-104) and the latest applicable standards.
 
If you are unable to access any page or document on our site, please contact us at [email protected]. Include the webpage or document URL, your name, email address, and phone number. We will provide the information in an alternative format and work to resolve the issue. Alternatively, you may call the district's main information line at (970) 247-5411 and ask to speak with someone in the Communications Department. 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.

Learn more about the district's accessibility compliance plan and progress reports.