The Dolores RE-4A school board on Monday approved the superintendent contract for three years, heard from math teachers on new strategies and discussed their building project.
The district's math teachers told the board about a math convention they attended in Santa Fe in March. The teachers said they have already implemented the strategies and ideas in their classrooms and have already seen improvements.
In a nutshell, the teachers explained that 93% of U.S. adults have “math anxiety,” which starts in elementary school. The new strategies shift class culture to exploration and risk-taking, giving students chance to learn from their mistakes rather than a hard and fast focus on right and wrong answers.
Instead, teachers use “thoughtful questioning” to teach critical thinking and that struggles are progress toward better understanding.
Following the math presentation, teachers were presented with Above and Beyond Awards and Longevity Awards.
The Above and Beyond Award went to Elaine Medina, Mike Neilson and Reggy Haase. The Longevity Award went to Shirley Tourjee (24 years), Kevin Vaughn (23 years), Mary Koskie (16 years) and Scott Gee (14 years).
The district also received a $10,000 donation from Dolores State Bank for the installed scoreboard.
Matt Prinster, project manager for Artaic Group, gave a presentation as well, providing the board with its monthly update on the building project and where they are in the process. He also reminded the board that there will be a DAG and community meeting for the project on April 21 and April 22.
He added that they are about 30% through the school design and construction should start this summer, as planned. The commons foundation is set to be laid in the fall, with high school move-in tentatively set for winter break of the 2026-27 school year. Once move-in is complete, the renovation of the old high school will begin. The renovated high school will become the middle school.
The board then discussed how to get the word out to community members and help prevent misinformation around the project. The board noted that groups like Montezuma County Democrats, Montezuma County Republicans, Kiwanis and others would be a good place to start.
Board member Casey McClellan also expressed his disappointment in the “unpolished concepts” that they had received from architects at the last DAG meeting, saying he hoped to see more complete concepts in the next round. President Maegan Crowley thanked McClellan and urged board members and those in attendance to bring their honest opinions.
In discussion items, the board went over the 2025-26 school calendar and next year’s graduation date, as well as discussing buying the land across from the elementary school for $40,000.
They also discussed a bid they had received for the heating and cooling system for the cafeteria and noted that the bid wasn’t detailed or itemized. In action items, they decided to reject the bid until it could be revised to include line items.
In action items, the board approved buying the land across from the elementary school and approved Alesa Reed’s superintendent contract for three years.
Now that the contract has been approved, the board and Reed expressed their desire to go over the strategic plan this summer.
The next Dolores school board meeting is Monday, May 12 at 6 p.m.
