{"id":13287,"date":"2026-02-25T20:56:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-school-board-oks-kiva-montessoris-request-to-transfer-authorization-to-charter-institute\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:36:29","slug":"cortez-school-board-oks-kiva-montessoris-request-to-transfer-authorization-to-charter-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-school-board-oks-kiva-montessoris-request-to-transfer-authorization-to-charter-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez school board OKs Kiva Montessori\u2019s request to transfer authorization to Charter Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Children\u2019s Kiva Montessori School has received approval from the Montezuma-Cortez school board to apply to transfer authorization to the Colorado Charter School Institute. (Photo courtesy of Lurleen McCormick)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Children\u2019s Kiva Montessori School has received approval from the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School Board to pursue transferring its authorizing entity to the Colorado Charter School Institute.<\/p>\n

Kiva\u2019s request was presented to the school board earlier this month. If the transfer is approved by CSI, the change could take effect as early as July 1.<\/p>\n

The board passed the resolution for Kiva to proceed, though President Joshua Shumway and member Laura DeWitt voted against the measure.<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Kiva Montessori School operates as a public charter school for kindergarten through grade eight. Kiva Head of School Lurleen McCormick told The Journal <\/em>that the transfer would ensure the school\u2019s long-term autonomy and stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a rural Montessori charter school, CKMS values the autonomy of local governance, individualized instruction and strong family partnerships. CSI\u2019s statewide expertise in charter oversight, academic accountability and operational systems will allow CKMS to maintain its unique Montessori model while benefiting from specialized support tailored to public Montessori charter schools and stable support during staffing changes and\/or transitions,\u201d McCormick said.<\/p>\n

A change in authorizer would not alter the school\u2019s day-to-day operations for students and families. Kiva would remain a public charter school, continuing under its current mission, leadership and governing board. The main change would be in its oversight. CSI would take responsibility for setting performance expectations and monitoring academic, financial and organizational performance, as well as ensuring compliance with applicable laws.<\/p>\n

Kiva would operate under a new charter contract with CSI and undergo annual evaluations under its accountability system. CSI currently authorizes more than 45 charter schools across the state, including in Towaoc.<\/p>\n

To transfer, Kiva must submit an application that includes several steps: submission and review of the application; evaluation of the school\u2019s academic performance, financial health and organizational capacity; a public community meeting; a capacity interview with CSI\u2019s review team; a site visit and a public presentation before the CSI board. The board will then discuss and vote on the application during a public meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis transition is designed to preserve what families value most about Kiva \u2013 its close-knit community and child-centered approach \u2013 while positioning the school for increased accountability and continued growth with strong performance outcomes and sustainable success for years to come,\u201d McCormick said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

now enters the application phase with the Colorado Charter School Institute<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1183,21,155,28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-charter-schools","tag-cortez","tag-education","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13287"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18902,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13287\/revisions\/18902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13287"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}