Dear Salida Schools Families and Friends,
As the 2025-2026 school year begins, the Salida School District is ready for another year of progress and student success. Our vision is clear: to know each student by name, by need, and ensure they have a relationship with a trusted adult, creating a personalized and supportive educational journey for every child. This vision has led us year after year to academic success within the state.
Last year the Salida School District Board of Education finalized several guiding documents that will set the roadmap for coming years. They include:
A complete review of the entire policy manual to ensure all policies meet current laws, community expectations, and are being implemented consistently. This included a significant overhaul and improvement to the Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to best support staff needs and continue to offer competitive benefits.
Policy revisions now benefit both new and current experienced staff by retroactively adjusting initial placement, aiding in staff attraction and benefiting those who started at lower placements.
Updated Strategic Finance Plan - Adopted in the 2023-2024 school year, it is the cornerstone of our fiscal responsibility and transparency. This framework allows us to measure financial expectations within our budget, provide transparency with how monies are allocated, improve staff pay and benefits, support student needs, and prepare for future growth. For the 2025-2026 year, we anticipate to further increase teacher salaries driven by our strong financial management, changes to the school finance formula for the State of Colorado, as well as modest student growth.
Strategic Facility Plan - Approved in December 2024, this plan is designed to accommodate the district's continued growth in both educational programs and facility capacity. We are committed to maintaining our current facilities while also planning for our future needs to support the growing community. A recent example is the Oak Street facility development, which now houses our administration offices, Crest Academy, and Horizons Exploratory Academy. This has allowed us to avoid additional taxes and stretch the capacity of our existing facilities.
Strategic Communications Plan - Approved in June, this plan guides our work for improved communications throughout the community from the District for greater transparency. We will celebrate the successes of the District due to the incredible people who make Salida Schools the heart of our community.
A comprehensive Social Emotional Learning framework was developed in 2024. This framework will help guide all students in the District better navigate their personal growth and development from preschool through high school. We aim for a balanced approach, ensuring while we address social and emotional needs, we do not compromise the academic development central to our mission.
This year, we are focused on the development of 5-year plans for activities, wellness, and technology. This complete collection of guiding documents is the framework for our strategic planning, and supports the mission of the district to provide a safe educational environment for all students and staff. Meaningful opportunities and innovative educational programs are necessary for all students so they reach their learning potential, including the attainment of content standards, through partnerships between home, school, and the community.
Academically, Salida Schools continues to perform at the top of the state. While the District continues to succeed, we strive to do more. This year, the District invested in two new positions dedicated to improving curriculum adoption and instruction along with staff professional development in order to continue to improve.
Our strong partnership with Colorado Mountain College (CMC) continues to provide incredible opportunities for our students. Programs like concurrent enrollment and ASCENT allow students to earn college credits tuition-free, giving them a significant head start on their higher education journey. Over 500 students have earned one or more credits from CMC. We also collaborate to offer over 175 business internships throughout the community, providing real-world experience and workforce development for our students. Our high school matriculation rate improved by 20%.
The Salida School District is entering the 2025-2026 school year with clear priorities, strong foundational plans, financial stability, and a deep commitment to our students, staff, and community. We are excited about the progress we’ve made and look forward to continue providing an exceptional educational experience for every student.
Joe Smith
Salida Schools, School Board President