Miller Middle School

10/26/2026

On time for class. Right on target with the slime. 💚

Miller Middle School’s new “4 to the Door” system encourages students to get to class on time (under four minutes) and ready to learn, helping them build good habits and make the most of every class period.

🏅At Friday’s assembly celebrating students who exemplify Portrait of a Graduate traits, names were drawn from “4 to the Door” entries for a memorable reward: sliming Assistant Principal Doug Geygan.

Watch (and listen!) as Mr. Geygan takes one for the team! 🤢

📝School Storytellers: Thanks to Miller School Storyteller Tanaya Sandoval for the story tip and fun video.

10/24/2026

📣 What’s New in Our Schools?
Stay in the loop with the latest updates, stories, and happenings in Durango School District!

📅 Check out this week’s Community Update (Oct. 23): https://t.e2ma.net/message/ed311i/mj98ulec

This week’s top stories:
🏛️ State of the District update Oct. 27
🗣️ 7th graders debate justice in Socratic seminar
🚫 Keep Red Zones clear during pickup/drop-off
🏗️ Three Springs Elementary progress continues
👻 DEF event raises $45k for classrooms

👉 Don’t miss out—subscribe today: https://ow.ly/AI0u5100GIQ

Let us keep you connected!

10/22/2026

⚖️ What can ancient laws teach us about justice, fairness, and respect today? Seventh graders at Miller Middle School tackled that question in a student-led Socratic seminar, comparing Hammurabi’s Code with modern approaches to school discipline.

🗣️ For Social Studies Teacher Sarah Whitehurst, the lesson was about more than history. It was about the power of human-to-human connection. Through face-to-face discussion, students practiced listening, thinking critically, showing empathy, and respectfully disagreeing with their peers.

In a world increasingly shaped by technology and AI, Whitehurst believes these skills are more important than ever. 🌎

Read how Miller students are learning to make their voices heard while respecting the perspectives of others: https://ow.ly/ZAsI5100kv3

10/17/2026

📣 What’s New in Our Schools?
Stay in the loop with the latest updates, stories, and happenings in Durango School District!

📅 Check out this week’s Community Update (Oct. 16): https://t.e2ma.net/message/m7zl1i/mj98ulec

This week’s top stories:
📅 No Classes: Conference Day Oct. 19
🥔 AVE Hosts First Garden Harvest Day
🏺 DHS Ceramics Students Craft Art Projects
🎟️ Bid on DEF Online Silent Auction
🏫 School Board Meets Oct. 20

👉 Don’t miss out—subscribe today: https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1720193/1714944.4612864/?v=a

Let us keep you connected!

10/16/2026

Monday, Oct. 19, is Conference Day. There will be no classes, but schools will be open for scheduled parent-teacher conferences. Classes will resume Tuesday, Oct. 20.

10/08/2026

🍂 Fall Break is Oct. 9-12. All schools will be closed on Friday, Oct. 9, and Monday, Oct. 12. We hope all our families enjoy this beautiful time of year!

10/05/2026

At Durango Big Picture High School, learning is personal, purposeful, and rooted in community — and so is the way they end each week!

Every Friday, DBPHS gathers the entire school for "Kick Me Out," a joyful send-off tradition adopted from the Big Picture Learning model. Whether it’s student karaoke or a competitive game of musical chairs, "Kick Me Out" gives students and staff a chance to celebrate their achievements, laugh together, and build the strong sense of belonging that makes DBPHS so unique.

Want to see what makes Durango Big Picture High School such a special place to learn and grow? Come celebrate with us!

🎉 Durango Big Picture High School Grand Opening & Ribbon-Cutting
📅 TONIGHT: Monday, Oct. 5
⏰ 5:30–7 p.m. (Ribbon-cutting at 5:30 p.m.)
📍 281 Sawyer Drive, Suite 400 (Top floor of the Columbine Building)
✨ Join us for speakers, live music, campus tours, student demos, and a chance to meet our amazing staff!

🏡 Schools are at the heart of our community. Stay connected with Durango School District through our free weekly Community Update—featuring student successes, district news, upcoming events, and stories that matter to our community.

📬 Sign up here: https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1720193/1714944.4612864/?v=a

10/01/2026

Seventh-grade science students at Miller Middle School (MMS) got a firsthand look at air-quality monitoring during a special visit from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Air Pollution Control Division.

Using handheld air-quality sensors, young scientists tested theories and measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) both inside their classrooms and outdoors on campus. The data offered plenty of surprises — including how local plant life interacts with surrounding air quality!

Read the full story on our website: https://ow.ly/6SNX50ZTJfo

School Storytellers: Many thanks to MMS Science Teacher Leigh Gillette for sharing this story tip.

🏡 Schools are at the heart of our community. Stay connected with Durango School District through our free weekly Community Update — featuring student successes, district news, upcoming events, and stories that matter to our community.

📬 Sign up here: https://ow.ly/Vob350ZTJfm

09/13/2026

📣 Help us make school communication easier!

Families receive a lot of information throughout the school year, from schools, teachers, coaches, activities, and the district. We want to make it easier for you to know what you need to know, what you need to do, and where to find information when you need it.

We invite all current DSD families to take about 3 minutes to tell us what’s working and what could be better. Your feedback will help Durango School District (DSD) improve how we communicate with families.

Take the 3-minute Family Communication Pulse:

Families receive a lot of information throughout the school year, from schools, teachers, coaches, activities and the district. We want to make it easier for you to know what you need to know, what you need to do, and where to find information when you need it. Please take about 3 minutes to tell us...

08/10/2026

🎬 What does the Sundance Film Festival, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Adobe and Sony Pictures have to do with students in Durango? Potentially, quite a lot.

💰 A new $250,000 state grant will help connect Durango School District’s creative Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs with professionals and organizations shaping some of the nation’s biggest creative industries. This can open doors that can be harder to access when you’re growing up hundreds of miles from a major industry hub.

Through Creative Educators Network, DSD teachers will tap into relationships with organizations including Adobe, Warner Bros. Discovery, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Dolby and Avid. This will bring current industry knowledge, connections and opportunities back to students in Southwest Colorado.

And with the Sundance Film Festival moving to Boulder in 2027, the timing couldn’t be better. 🎥✨

For students interested in fashion, digital media, graphic design, filmmaking, business, multimedia production, set design and more, this is about turning creative talent into real career pathways. Our geography won't limit what they can imagine or who they can learn from.

🗞️ Click the link for the full story.






Huge thanks to our partners for opening doors for our students in Durango:
💙 The Colorado Education Initiative
💙 Creative Educators Network

A $250,000 state grant will strengthen career-connected learning in digital media, graphic design, fashion design, business and construction trades.