{"id":57820,"date":"2013-08-16T00:17:02","date_gmt":"2013-08-16T06:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/back-to-school\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T16:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:05:17","slug":"back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/back-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"
Sam Green\/Cortez Journal<br><br>Harley Brace visits with the Kemper Elementary mascot while her mother,<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cEveryone comes back knowing that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Montezuma School District Re-1 superintendent Alex Carter said he likes best about the first day of the school. He gave a 45-minute motivational \u201cBack to School Celebration\u201d address to the district\u2019s 400-plus educators Wednesday morning at the Montezuma-Cortez High School auditorium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what we did last year,\u201d said Carter, who is entering his second year as superintendent. \u201cWe\u2019re all exactly in the same spot right now with a chance to be the best that we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a bubbly enthusiasm much like that of a student on the first day of school, Carter said he not only wears new clothes on the first day of classes, he also wears a new attitude and a new sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs educators, we get to reinvent ourselves every year, and that\u2019s what I hope our teachers do as we enter the 2013-2014 school year,\u201d he added. \u201cI love this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overseeing some 220 teachers and 450 support staff, Carter said all play a vital role and impact a child\u2019s life. Whether it\u2019s the bus driver dropping students off at school, the teacher in the classroom with chalk and eraser, the lunch lady ladling out a hot meal or the custodian buffing the hallway floor, all are key in helping to develop and shape a child\u2019s future, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some of our students, the best place they can be all day is at school,\u201d Carter said. \u201cIt\u2019s the cleanest, safest, happiest and most hopeful place they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addressing the district\u2019s educators, Carter challenged them to look into the mirror to fully understand and discover who they are and why they are in the profession. Armed with that insight, teachers can create a culture and climate for personal and group success, much like a family, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA raised hand is emblematic of an engaged student body,\u201d Carter said. \u201cWhen teachers, parents and the community also raise their hands, then we\u2019ll be able to achieve high expectations. We\u2019re all in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attentive audience seemed to be on board with the remarks, giving Carter an optimistic round of applause midway through his address.<\/p>\n

One impressed educator, Dan Porter, said he has long been a proponent of developing relationships with his teachers and staff, despite common beliefs that administrators shouldn\u2019t fraternize with employees. Porter serves as principal at both Lewis-Arriola Elementary and Pleasant View Elementary schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe we should get to know the teachers and students,\u201d Porter said. \u201cI have a staff that truly is a family, and that allows us to get through the rough times together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter also warned teachers that setting extremely high expectations for success could sometimes lead to disappointment when failing to hurdle those high bars. Yet, setting low or mediocre hopes for success generally always means that\u2019s all that\u2019s ever achieved, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers are the solution,\u201d Carter said. \u201cBe an innovator in the classroom. If you fail, then get up, dust yourself off and try again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montezuma-Cortez High School Principal Jason Wayman was most impressed with Carter\u2019s belief in putting children first, saying educators should consider all of a student\u2019s needs rather than simply focusing on core curriculum content standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure the kids\u2019 needs are met on a more encompassing basis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wayman also applauded Carter\u2019s commitment to get to know every teacher and educator on a personal level, and said it was good advice that he, too, plans to implement this school year and for the remainder of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people know and trust you, then I think they\u2019re willing to go the extra mile for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In closing, Carter revealed a new school year campaign: \u201cBe present. Every day counts.\u201d Aimed at both teachers and parents, Carter said that even with a 90 percent attendance rate, by the time students reach their sophomore year in high school, they\u2019ve already accumulated 180 absences; meaning students would have missed an entire school year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich grade do we want our students to skip?\u201d he questioned in regard to school attendance. \u201cShould we take away third grade? What about fifth grade?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s send our kids to school!\u201d<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s first day of classes is Wednesday, Aug. 21.<\/p>\n

tbaker@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Superintendent is buzzing with energyas classes resume Wednesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,216,762],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-57820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-montezuma-cortez-school-district-re-1","tag-teachers"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57820","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=57820"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62885,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57820\/revisions\/62885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57820"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=57820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}