Due to the number of Snow Day school closures this winter, Durango School District 9-R has announced a plan to make up school days in the remainder of the 2022/23 school year.

The Summer Bridge program is still in full swing, and the second checkpoint for the completion of the first 80 pages is next week, July 10-13. See the list of check-in venues and times below.

Introducing our Back-to-School Countdown: Plan ahead, step by step, for your student's successful school year.
Each week, we will send helpful information and tips to prepare your child for the first week of the 2023-2024 school year.
Up this week: Your student's health.

There was a threat to Durango High School this morning. Staff and students at all of our schools are safe.

School’s out, but Durango School District 9-R is encouraging students to work on learning through the summer – with fun events as a motivating 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.

Emily Moreland
Principal of Escalante Middle School

Emily Moreland originally hails from Grand Junction, and has served as both a high school English teacher as well as a school administrator. She and her husband, Jordan Englehart (engineering teacher at Durango High School), have spent the majority of their careers teaching overseas – first in South Korea, then in Kuwait, and most recently in Quito, Ecuador. The pandemic brought them back to Jordan's hometown, where Emily worked as the Assistant and Interim Principal of Montezuma-Cortez High School. Emily is a dedicated, positive school leader with a commitment to living the district's mission and vision. She holds a master's degree from Colorado State in Communication Studies, a professional teaching license and an initial principal license in Colorado, and she is currently pursuing a post-master's certificate in Educational Leadership through The College of New Jersey. Emily and Jordan are looking forward to relocating their family to Durango this summer, and she is greatly looking forward to joining the staff at Escalante Middle School this fall and contributing to the great work being done there.


Eva Duce
Vice Principal of Escalante Middle School

Escalante also has the good fortune of adding a second assistant principal to support the school community. Eva Duce will move from the physical education classroom and athletic director position to the assistant principalship. She has served on EMS’s instructional leadership team for the past eight years, has master’s degrees in both Educational Leadership and Teacher Leadership, possesses a strong special education background, and extensive classroom teaching experience. We are thrilled to see her embrace this leadership role.

We all love summer break, but EMS is excited to enter the 2023/24 school year! Counselors are busy building schedules and will have those completed in August. We invite families to EMS for Check-In night by grade level, then by team. The times are listed below and you should expect an email the week of August 7th describing which team your student is on. Please see below for the 2023/24 School Supply List and Football or Volleyball Information. Contact the office beginning August 1 if you need help purchasing supplies. 970-247-9490

EMS Check-In Nights:

6th Grade - August 15, 2023
Ocelots 5:00 - 5:45 PM
Falcons 6:00 - 6:45 PM

7th Grade - August 16, 2023
White Tigers 5:00 - 5:45 PM
Timberwolves 6:00 - 6:45 PM

8th Grade - August 17, 2023
Taz 5:00 - 5:45 PM
Panthers 6:00 - 6:45 PM

Dear EMS Community,
Our Celebration of Learning Event will take place on May 23 from 3:45 to 6:00 PM. Our goal is to have all students showcase at least one piece of work or be involved in a performance on that day. Parents and community members can come anytime between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to celebrate a year of learning with us and enjoy our student’s displays and performances. The school will be running transportation after school on the 23rd; however, in the past, the vast majority of our students stay at school and meet parents at the event.
We will be distributing summer workbooks to prepare for next year’s instruction to parents for your child at the Celebration of Learning event as well. If you are not able to attend, we will send the workbooks home with students on the 24th. If a workbook does not make it home with your child, as backpack mail can be unreliable in middle school, we do have some extras in the office you can pick up before June 8. The EMS office will be closed after the 8th.
On the 24 and 25th, students will be turning in their Chromebooks and chargers during Crew. Please ensure all school materials and technology return to EMS before our last day on the 25th.
I look forward to closing out the school year in style next week. I have enjoyed the last eight years as principal at Escalante and have grown so much professionally during my tenure. I look forward to celebrating the year’s learning with you on the 23rd as a closing salvo before I move into the next stage of my career.
Many thanks,
Jeremy Voss
EMS, Principal

On Saturday, April 29, 34 Escalante Middle School (EMS) students competed at the state competition for National History Day at the University of Colorado, Denver. Five students will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

We invite incoming 6th grade families to join us for an Open House at Escalante Middle School on Wednesday, May 17th, to learn more about Escalante Middle School and the transition from elementary to middle school.