{"id":16449,"date":"2025-09-18T19:36:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T19:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/teacher-shortage-at-cortez-middle-school-hurts-student-performance-staff-say\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:57:14","slug":"teacher-shortage-at-cortez-middle-school-hurts-student-performance-staff-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/teacher-shortage-at-cortez-middle-school-hurts-student-performance-staff-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Teacher shortage at Cortez Middle School hurts student performance, staff say"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lissa
Lissa Lycan, English teacher at Cortez Middle School, during an open mic performance at the Sunflower Theatre in 2020. On Tuesday, Lycan and other middle school staff told the Montezuma-Cortez Board of Education that a teacher shortage has hurt student performance. Erika Alvero\/The Journal<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Cortez Middle School staff told the RE-1 Board of Education during its Sept. 16 meeting that unfilled teaching positions and scheduling challenges are hurting student performance, classroom management and program sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve taught at the middle school for 10 years. I clearly remember when the building felt chaotic and our focus was more on behavior management than learning,\u201d said eighth grade English teacher Lissa Lycan. \u201cBut through intentional effort, strong leadership and targeted training, we built something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past few years, we have had calm hallways, on-task classrooms and a true culture of learning. Our CMAS scores reflect that with tangible growth that shows our systems work,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd yet, despite that success, we\u2019ve been asked to absorb so many staff cuts that those hard-won systems are now starting to crumble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff also raised concerns about the loss of the school\u2019s pod structure, a collaborative model with one teacher each for English language arts, arts, math, social studies and science. Pod structures, they said, foster consistency and support student success.<\/p>\n

Unfilled positions have forced teachers to cover multiple roles, leading to chaotic passing periods, lost instructional time and reduced team-based learning.<\/p>\n

Counselor Robyne Cote told board members that as class sizes increased, failing grades increased too.<\/p>\n

\"Andrew
Andrew Pearson, principal of Cortez Middle School<\/span>Bailey M. Duran<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe district\u2019s failure to fill open middle school positions is already weakening many student outcomes,\u201d she said. \u201cFailing grades are rising, difficult behaviors are rising, test scores are falling \u2013 none of which have been the case in the recent past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiddle school staff are some of the hardest-working, most dedicated people I know\u2026 These issues are not due to a lack of heart, work, desire or try. They are simply the outcome of not having enough space, time or capacity to meet the current needs of our students,\u201d Cote said.<\/p>\n

Test scores have declined from last year, and class sizes now exceed 32 students.<\/p>\n

Seventh grade counselor Logan Worley wrote a letter saying test scores are \u201clower than this time last year,\u201d and teachers are stretched too thin to do their jobs well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving too many students in the classroom is not just a management issue \u2026 we have highly qualified teachers and staff,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe issue is that there is not enough space for teachers to provide effective interventions. Previously, we could strategically place students based on their needs. Now, we\u2019re having difficulty even identifying those needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff emphasized the impact of the Responsibility-Centered Discipline program, implemented three years ago to reduce disruptive behaviors and build student skills through trust-based conversations. The program has improved attendance, grades and engagement, but staffing shortages have hindered full implementation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heart of RCD is rooted in individualized conversations between teachers and students focused on skill building and student accountability,\u201d Cote said. \u201cThese conversations build trust, strengthen relationships and help students feel physically, emotionally and socially safe. When this happens, attendance, grades, student engagement and student learning all go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRCD only works if teachers have the capacity to implement it,\u201d she added. \u201cRight now, with extra-large classes, teachers spread thin and support staff and administrators stretched beyond capacity, they simply do not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other speakers included Forrest Kohere, Autumn Hanberry, parent Tori Palmer on behalf of Worley, Kathy Clark by letter and Mario Davidson.<\/p>\n

The school has struggled to fill positions, with some postings delayed until June \u2013 missing the optimal hiring window of March through April.<\/p>\n

Principal Andrew Pearson said the school absorbed several positions, increasing the student-to-teacher ratio from 12.5-to-1 to 16.5-to-1. He cited difficulties recruiting qualified candidates, with some positions still unfilled despite postings.<\/p>\n

Pearson said he reached out to Superintendent Tom Burris multiple times about open positions but received no response.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I will say will possibly get me fired. \u2026 I have been fighting for three months with our superintendent to try to be able to get a schedule,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cMy schedule was approved. Our posted positions did not come around till June. \u2026 We missed the candidacy for teachers. \u2026 I taught a class for three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had multiple conversations with my leadership,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cEach time, when I ask, \u2018Can I post these positions?\u2019 I\u2019ve had zero response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pearson and his assistant principals are now working as substitute teachers daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cMyself and my two assistant principals are subbing classes daily, almost every day, half the day,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult for me. I do not feel we are moving that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board members acknowledged the need to begin filling open teacher positions in spring, if possible, rather than June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Principal cites larger classes, superintendent\u2019s ‘zero response\u2019 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16449","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=16449"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20209,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16449\/revisions\/20209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16449"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}