{"id":136066,"date":"2026-06-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-school-board-approves-online-school-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T23:45:31","slug":"montezuma-cortez-school-board-approves-online-school-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-school-board-approves-online-school-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez School Board approves online school plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez School District is advertising a fully online option as an opportunity for families involved in online education outside the district to return and reconnect with district resources. (Journal file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Erika Taylor\u2019s son failed three classes in his first year of high school, to her and her husband\u2019s shock. They\u2019d always known him to be a bright kid, adored by his teachers and deeply engaged with reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had all these great coping mechanisms, so we didn\u2019t realize how advanced his learning differences were until he got to high school,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

To make up for lost credits, he enrolled in summer classes offered by his district, Denver Public Schools. They were conducted at a public library, with each student completing their individual work online.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe finished chemistry, English and whatever math he was in in about two weeks \u2013 a year\u2019s worth of material,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Her son\u2019s principal introduced them to Ian Jones, the principal for Denver Online High School. Hopeful, she and her husband sought the unlikely solution, enrolling their kid in the full-time virtual high school. The result was a success.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got so much individual attention,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was really being able to work at his own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor, who is now the president of the Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families, said she is grateful to the district for providing an online option, which aligned with her son\u2019s learning style, propelling him to graduation.<\/p>\n

Now, Montezuma-Cortez School District is preparing to launch a similar option.<\/p>\n

Why is M-CSD offering online courses?<\/div>\n

Following several rounds of parent surveys, the district elected to partner with Colorado Digital Learning Solutions, a state subsidized provider of online classes, to offer online and hybrid options to middle school and high school students in the district. The school board approved the plan last week.<\/p>\n

M-CSD Executive Director of Academic Services Justin Schmitt said there were around 240 kids within M-CSD boundaries who attended online schools outside the district last year. In the last three years, he said, the district has seen a cumulative loss of 700 enrollments to online programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our kids are involved in programs that are based in Colorado Springs or Denver,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cWe wanted to be able to say, \u2018Hey, we can still provide a high-quality online learning experience for you and keep you connected to your local district.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Education
Education experts say students who struggle with intense social anxiety or learning differences or those who have time-consuming extracurricular obligations may benefit from the online school format. (Journal file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In the hopes of recuperating some of those losses \u2013 along with state funding, which is based on enrollment numbers \u2013 the district will allow students to choose between traditional in-person, hybrid and fully online models. With enrollment coming up July 9, district officials are still uncertain of how many families will opt into online school, but Schmitt said, based on phone calls the district has received, he estimated around 10 families are interested in the fully online option.<\/p>\n

What does CDLS offer?<\/div>\n

CDLS offers more than 250 different courses, all taught by Colorado licensed teachers. The organization has worked with 160 districts throughout Colorado over its 10 years of operation and boasts a high rate of passing among its enrollees.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 90% of the kids who take courses with us generally earn a passing grade,\u201d CDLS Executive Director Dan Morris said, citing the nonprofit\u2019s seven-year profile.<\/p>\n

The student handbook<\/a>, available on CDLS\u2019s website, offers a snapshot of the day in the life of a virtual student, who completes assignments asynchronously according to a weekly schedule. Students, the handbook says, should expect to spend an equivalent amount of time in their online coursework as they would in person: roughly four to five hours per week per course.<\/p>\n

The handbook also clarifies that CDLS courses are not easier or less time-intensive than those offered at a traditional school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are online courses, and they are rigorous. It\u2019s not something a student can just click through and accomplish,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThere\u2019s assignments, there are due dates, there are quizzes, there are assessments throughout the course, and we expect kids to complete their work within a semester time frame, just as if they were in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will traditional, in-person school be impacted?<\/div>\n

District officials believe the online option won\u2019t make a significant dent in in-person enrollment, meaning Montezuma-Cortez High School and Middle School will function normally for the students sticking with traditional schooling.<\/p>\n

\"Teachers
Teachers will not be reduced as a result of the online school option, Montezuma-Cortez School District officials said. Superintendent Eddie Ramirez said three full-time positions and one part-time were added to Montezuma-Cortez High School to ensure there is adequate support for students taking online courses. (Journal file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe want kids to be in person,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cIn our view, that\u2019s the best learning option. That provides us with the best opportunity to provide the support that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He predicted that most of the kids opting into the fully online model will likely be those who\u2019ve already exited the district to pursue online schooling elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Schmitt said, some teachers expressed concerns they would be edged out of their jobs as a result of enrollment in the online option, but he reassured them that was not the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s overall not a decrease in staffing at all,\u201d he said.\u2029\u201cWe\u2019re maintaining or even growing our level of staffing on those campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district created three more full-time positions and one part-time in the high school to help accommodate the periods in which hybrid students are taking online classes, Superintendent Eddie Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

What are the choices for students interested in online courses?<\/div>\n

Middle school and high school students interested in CDLS\u2019s offerings can elect into a hybrid option or a fully online option. The fully online option has students completing the minimum 360 hours of instruction a semester with asynchronous courses through CDLS. They can elect to take additional courses in-person.<\/p>\n

Hybrid students would be the opposite, taking one or two online courses in the midst of their mostly in-person days. For the hybrid model, students will work on their online courses in \u201cflex classrooms\u201d on campus during the allotted period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a supervising teacher in the room who provides support, but they\u2019re not the teacher of the course itself, so it\u2019s almost like they have a course teacher and then a supporting teacher on site,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez Middle School\u2019s hybrid option will function as a pilot program, offering limited first-come first-serve spots to students interested in taking a few online courses while attending school in person. (Journal file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The hybrid model will be operating as a pilot program in the middle school, offering a maximum of 25 students per grade level.<\/p>\n

Both CDLS course instructors and M-CSD officials will be monitoring student progress. Morris said teachers, district officials and even parents can view the amount of time students spend on an assignment, when they last logged in and how far along they are in the course.<\/p>\n

Social activities and quintessential school events \u2013 like prom \u2013 are also available to students enrolled with CDLS courses via M-CSD \u2013 in both the fully online and hybrid options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we encourage them to participate in our online program instead of others,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cThey can attend our dances. They can be a part of our drama program. They can be a part of our band program. They can participate in athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who benefits from online learning?<\/div>\n

Educators and administrators say there are a variety of reasons online schooling may benefit certain students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a student comes with special needs and needs some accommodations in the online environment, we have the ability to slow the course down,\u201d Morris said. \u201cSome kids will have the ability to accelerate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Jones, the principal of Denver Online School, where Taylor\u2019s son attended, encounters a diverse array of reasons students selected online school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have probably about 25 ballet dancers who dance all day and they don\u2019t do their schoolwork until nighttime,\u201d he said. \u201cI have soccer players, hockey players \u2013 people like that \u2013 who use it just to create that time during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also kids who work, kids with medical conditions and those with difficulty learning in the traditional classroom who gravitate toward online school.<\/p>\n

However, online school can become a last resort for some students disengaged with school, which reflects in Denver Online High School\u2019s low graduation rate of 70%. Jones and other educators say learning online can be misperceived as \u201ceasy,\u201d and families should evaluate their choices carefully to ensure it aligns with their student\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a certain point, you start to engage in that conversation with the family about is this actually the right option for your student,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIf the kid\u2019s not engaging in school, we don\u2019t want to be a spot where they land and drop out.\u201d<\/p>\n

M-CSD officials said they will keep tabs on the success of the online and hybrid programs by monitoring grades, assessment scores and other metrics, but that any conclusive data on the success of the programs would need to be collected over multiple years.<\/p>\n

Now, the district will begin advertising its online option, particularly to students and families it lost to other online schools, trying to keep students who live within M-CSD\u2019s boundaries involved with its schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to recognize that there\u2019s different needs and trying to make sure that all the kids that live in our district are kids that we want to serve,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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