The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 received an “Improvement Plan” rating for the 2025 school year, marking a slight decline from its 2024 performance.
Colorado’s accountability system shows the district’s overall score dropped to 46.9%, down from 51.2% in 2024, according to the latest performance framework from the Colorado Department of Education.
According to a letter from Superintendent Tom Burris, only 35% of students are reading at grade level “across the board,” and “math is even more difficult.”
“What are we doing about this? Our first line is principals, as they need to be a coach for teachers,” Burris said. “We have guidelines that the principals will be in the classroom at least 60% of their day. They are to help teachers with classroom presentation and content.”
Ratings are based on academic achievement, growth and postsecondary readiness. Schools are placed in categories from “Performance,” the highest tier, to “Turnaround,” which prompts state intervention. Lewis-Arriola Elementary School maintained its Performance rating, rising from 70.2% to 74.2%.
Montezuma-Cortez High School remained in Improvement Plan territory at 48%, showing slight growth from 2024’s rating of 46.7%. In 2023, the school was labeled as Priority Improvement.
Just last year, the district celebrated gains on 2023 CMAS test results. Two schools jumped two performance levels after facing possible state intervention. The notable improvements came from Kemper Elementary, Mesa Elementary and Montezuma-Cortez Middle School. Mesa was removed from the state clock and advanced two levels after being on the clock for five years. In 2019, the school had a 46.5% Improvement Plan rating before dropping into the red with a 28.6% Turnaround Plan.
On the latest round of test results, however, Kemper Elementary, Mesa Elementary and Cortez Middle School saw declines.
Kemper Elementary slipped 14 points from an Improvement Plan rating of 50.2% in 2024 to a Priority Improvement Plan rating of 36.4%.
Mesa Elementary fell from a Performance rating of 57.5% in 2024 to an Improvement Plan rating of 42.5%. Cortez Middle School dropped from a Performance rating of 61.7% to an Improvement Plan rating of 48.3%.
In 2022, both Mesa and CMS had a Turnaround rating of 28.6% and 32.1%, respectively.
At the Sept. 16 RE-1 Board of Education meeting, Cortez Middle School staff said unfilled teaching positions and scheduling challenges are hurting student performance. They also cited impacts on classroom management and program sustainability. Counselor Robyne Cote told board members that as class sizes increased, failing grades increased too.
“The district’s failure to fill open middle school positions is already weakening many student outcomes,” she said. “Failing grades are rising, difficult behaviors are rising, test scores are falling – none of which have been the case in the recent past.”
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. Pearson and his assistant principals are now working as substitute teachers daily.
Burris compared the rise and fall of ratings to the stock market.
“While we wish we could show solid growth year over year, this process is more like a stock market curve,” Burris said. “It’s imperative that we analyze our data and make adjustments as we move into this school year. We have done this. The district held steady in the ‘Improvement’ category. This is three years in ‘Improvement.’ In my research of the district, this is the first time as a district we have been in ‘Improvement,’ let alone three years in this category.”
The district’s three charter schools – Battlerock, Children’s Kiva Montessori and Southwest Open School – were not included in the core ratings provided by the district.
In his letter, Burris shared a side note about student attendance, saying that attendance at Montezuma-Cortez High School was only 84% three years ago, but it is now 93%.
As of this writing, the performance plan ratings for 2025 have not been released to the public on the CDE’s website.
