{"id":16447,"date":"2025-09-23T15:51:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-school-board-celebrates-nontraditional-course-success\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:57:14","slug":"mancos-school-board-celebrates-nontraditional-course-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-school-board-celebrates-nontraditional-course-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos school board celebrates nontraditional course success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Mancos school board was given a presentation at their September school board meeting that detailed the success of the district\u2019s non-traditional courses. (Screen capture via YouTube)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

At the Sept. 15 meeting, the Mancos RE-6 school board reviewed a clean financial audit, previewed the upcoming candidate forum and celebrated success in nontraditional courses.<\/p>\n

While the board has not yet appointed a student member, it has received applications from interested students.<\/p>\n

Business Manager Chrissy Miller said the district received a clean audit. The general fund ended with a balance of $2.6 million in reserves.<\/p>\n

Miller said seeing the reserves in such a good place is \u201cawesome,\u201d especially after some \u201cmajor\u201d capital improvement projects and the recent purchase of new buses.<\/p>\n

In her BOCES report, Rachel McWhirter said BOCES is waiting for the Colorado Department of Education to decide whether Montezuma-Cortez can become its own administrative unit.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Audrey Hazleton gave her report, organized under the three main goals in the strategic plan.<\/p>\n

Hazleton said she has begun meeting regularly with Mancos United Executive Director Katie McClure, and they will work on a reflection and review of the Summer Hub facilities.<\/p>\n

She praised the early childhood staff and their ongoing family engagement initiatives. Staff from Mancos Early Learning Center recently attended \u201cWonder and Wisdom: Supporting Relationships Through Joyful Connection,\u201d an early childhood conference at Fort Lewis.<\/p>\n

Two Mancos educators also presented \u201cArt Without Bounds: Focusing on the Process\u201d at the event.<\/p>\n

Tiffany Aspromonte, HR lead, secondary academic adviser and registrar, completed a new hire onboarding process that includes follow-up support. At the New Hire Lunch, new staff \u201cshared how much they feel welcome and supported in the Mancos School District,\u201d according to Hazleton.<\/p>\n

Hazleton, McWhirter and Will Custer also established a teacher liaison role to assist student board members in improving the process and student experience.<\/p>\n

The document for the district\u2019s upcoming mill levy vote was finalized.<\/p>\n

The board discussed the School Resource Officer position, which remains unfilled. The position is open but on hold. The Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office continues to maintain a presence to ensure student safety.<\/p>\n

A presentation on the Mancos Strategic Plan focused on the district\u2019s nontraditional courses. These include middle school exploratories, CTE pathways and other offerings.<\/p>\n

Middle school exploratories include robotics, hunting, farm stand, coding, CAD, music, cooking, drama, creative writing, CSI and art.<\/p>\n

High school CTE pathways include culinary, manufacturing trades, health (A&P and sports medicine), and business (business and marketing; intro to entrepreneurship). Certifications include drone licensing, ServSafe Managers Food Safety, wilderness first aid, CPR and NCCER (building trades).<\/p>\n

The presentation noted 92% of last year\u2019s graduates earned at least one certification, and 53% earned two or more. The district also offers concurrent enrollment, work studies and internships.<\/p>\n

Other opportunities include PCC Friday Academy (sign language, auto brake service, emergency medical responder, engineering, nursing and more), job shadowing, Summer Institute, Futures Fair and others.<\/p>\n

Board members responded positively to the presentation. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing,\u201d Figueroa said.<\/p>\n

According to board President Emily Hutcheson-Brown, since 2023, Mancos High School students have received 259 industry certifications through the district\u2019s pathways.<\/p>\n

Currently, 132 students are enrolled at the high school.<\/p>\n

A moderated candidate forum is scheduled ahead of the November election. The forum will take place Monday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria.<\/p>\n

The district is asking that questions for the candidates be submitted in advance at https:\/\/bit.ly\/mancoscandidateforum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The next Mancos school board meeting is Monday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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