Salida School District
The Education Community
Concurrent Enrollment News - CMC Early Start Date
For Fall 2026 - CMC classes that are NOT taught at the high school will be starting the week of August 10th. This means if you have a CMC online class or an in-person class at Kesner, your first class will start BEFORE SHS/HEA start on August 12th. Classes that meet on Monday/Wednesday will start August 10th and classes that meet Tuesday/Thursday will start August 11th. Online classes will post their Canvas page with their first assignment(s) on August 10th. It is ESSENTIAL that you attend this first class (or log on to your online class and complete the first assignment) as you could be dropped and lose your seat if you miss. Please make a note of these start dates and add them to your calendar.
All CMC classes that are taught at SHS will align with the beginning of the SHS school year - no action needed.
Also note - students must be enrolled in a CMC class before the class begins therefore there will not be an opportunity to add CMC classes for fall semester after August 10th.
The SHS Track and Field will be closed for maintenance to resurface the track from June 15-30, with a planned reopening on July 1. During this time, the turf and track will be closed for all athletic practices and any community use.
All scheduled athletic practices normally held on the turf field will shift to the Kesner field.
The resurfacing project is a planned routine project to maintain the quality of the facilities and resources available to our students, staff, and community. The District looks forward to the completion of this project and being able to open facility with refreshed track surfaces. Any updates or changes to that schedule will be posted on the SHS website and calendar.
Superintendent Dr. Blackburn just got off the phone with SHS Principal Hull. We have reached our needed milestone to declare this Thursday, April 2 a "snow day" - closing all district schools for the day.
Thank you to everyone for your support of the 2026 Varsity Girls' Basketball team during their 3A State Championship season! They will be honored during halftime at the home varsity girls' soccer game against Buena Vista on Tuesday, April 14. That day will also feature a parade and tailgating before the game. Pull out all the purple to celebrate this incredible, historic achievement - honor our state champions, and watch the Spartans take on Buena Vista under the lights of Spartan Stadium. Tickets are still available if you haven't purchased yours yet. We look forward to celebrating this historic win with the community!
Congratulations to Chloe Epperson for receiving a National Scholastic Silver Key Award for her stippling drawing. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are a prestigious national competition recognizing original art and writing in over 28 categories, offering regional and national awards, scholarships, exhibitions, and publication opportunities, so this is a big deal for her. The Opening Reception will take place on Saturday, February 28th, at the Denver Art Museum.
The SHS National Honor Society is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive, on Monday, November 3, 2025 in the main gym at Salida High School from 9 am to 3 pm. To make an appointment or for more information, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code: SalidaCO.
Bring a photo ID or your blood donor car, or two other forms of ID. Donors must check in at the SHS main office and will have an SHS NHS escort take them to the donation site. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit redcrossblood.org/rapidpass for more information.
A message from the SHS NHS: The Salida High School National Honors Society students are planning and organizing an American Red Cross Blood Drive. By participating in this program, we will give students extra community service opportunities that could help save lives! In response to the need for blood in our community and the desire to help our students participate in more community service activities, we are asking for your support and participation in our upcoming blood drive. Besides encouraging your son or daughter (if they’re eligible) to donate blood at our upcoming blood drive on May 1st from 9 AM - 3 PM, we are inviting you to donate blood, as well. By donating blood, you and your student will stand out and set a positive example for other students and their parents to get involved. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of hospital patients in our area and across the nation. This is a community service that is both easy and rewarding! Even if you cannot donate blood, you can still help by encouraging your student to donate.
To be eligible to donate, you must be healthy, at least 17 years old (or 16 with a parental permission slip), weigh at least 110 pounds and not have given blood in the past 56 days. We think that you will agree that this is a wonderful community service opportunity for all of us, and we ask for your full support. Please reach out to SHS teacher Paul Brackmann, or any of our NHS students with questions, or to get a permission slip for students who are 16 years of age.
Bring a photo ID or your blood donor car, or two other forms of ID. Donors must check in at the SHS main office and will have an SHS NHS escort take them to the donation site. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit redcrossblood.org/rapidpass for more information.
A message from the SHS NHS: The Salida High School National Honors Society students are planning and organizing an American Red Cross Blood Drive. By participating in this program, we will give students extra community service opportunities that could help save lives! In response to the need for blood in our community and the desire to help our students participate in more community service activities, we are asking for your support and participation in our upcoming blood drive. Besides encouraging your son or daughter (if they’re eligible) to donate blood at our upcoming blood drive on May 1st from 9 AM - 3 PM, we are inviting you to donate blood, as well. By donating blood, you and your student will stand out and set a positive example for other students and their parents to get involved. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of hospital patients in our area and across the nation. This is a community service that is both easy and rewarding! Even if you cannot donate blood, you can still help by encouraging your student to donate.
To be eligible to donate, you must be healthy, at least 17 years old (or 16 with a parental permission slip), weigh at least 110 pounds and not have given blood in the past 56 days. We think that you will agree that this is a wonderful community service opportunity for all of us, and we ask for your full support. Please reach out to SHS teacher Paul Brackmann, or any of our NHS students with questions, or to get a permission slip for students who are 16 years of age.
The Salida High School Drama Team proudly presents Hadestown - teen edition, by Anais Mitchell.
Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for students
Friday, November 14 at 7 pm
Saturday, November 15 at 2 pm and 7 pm
The Salida School District Board of Education has experienced technical difficulties streaming recent meetings. In an effort to provide a more reliable stream, the meeting on November 11, 2025 will be streamed using Webex and can be accessed using this link.
Attendees won't be able to interact with the board through the feed, which is similar to the previous stream on YouTube. It is still protocol that if individuals want to provide public comment they must attend in person.
This link will be shared directly with staff in the next two all staff emails, has been shared with local media contacts, and the public can access the link on the board's agenda and minutes website page at or find the information on the Events section on the Salida Schools website and app.
We believe this option will be more reliable and allow us to also share any presentations that are given on the screen in the boardroom with those watching remotely. Reach out to Board Secretary Kim LeTourneau with any questions.
A touch of winter weather returned to the valley today. There are a few helpful things for us to remember as we start to think about the coming change of season.
As mountain residents we should be ready for difficult driving. The district will attempt to make any school cancellation decision between 4-5am. The county and city do not respond to snow until there are at least 4" standing on the roadways. Some of us live off of the main roads that receive plow attention. Everyone needs to make their own family decision and stay safe.
Snowy weather is part of the experience of living in the Arkansas River Valley, and preparedness is key. CDOT provides this quick, easy resource to make sure you are ready for winter driving conditions:
https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/winter-preparedness
Remember, if Salida Schools does take a snow day, that notification will come through the Salida Schools App. If you haven't yet downloaded that tool, the links are:
A corresponding notification was sent out via the app. If you have already downloaded the app, please double check that the notification has dropped on your phone. There is a new update to the app - please make sure you have version 5.4.0. If you don't see the message, please contact Kim LeTourneau at 719-530-5225 for support.
And, finally, please be safe, be prepared, and be ready to enjoy the coming winter months.
The Salida Early Childhood Center is participating in the Child Abuse Prevention month (CAPM), in partnership with Family Youth Initiative (FYI). The 2025 theme is powered by hope, strengthened by prevention. The VISION is a world where all children and family are living a purposeful and happy life with hope for the future. By ensuring families have the support they need before challenges become crises, we can create a future filled with hope and opportunity!
For the month of April SECC invites schools and community members to participate in Child Abuse Prevention Month through showcasing youth art projects. SECC invites you to participate in their ART idea this year, KINDNESS ROCKS!
Please encourage youth and families to pick out a rock in their yard and paint it with washable paint (we recommend using the color blue or with a powerful prevention statement or pinwheel painted on it) .
Schools might have kids paint rocks at the school then showcase the kid’s artwork on campus or by sharing photos of the artwork.
Another idea is to play “hide and seek” with the decorated rocks & to share in the joy of PLAY!
Pictures of youth artwork are encouraged to be sent to Savanna at FYI: smoorefield@chaffeecounty.org who will post them on FYI’s social media
Traffic flow around the Crest Academy and Central Admin will be adjusted because of construction. Scott Street (the dirt road behind/to the east side of the building) is closed while the water line is installed. For the rest of this week, buses will drop off and pick up Crest students along the sidewalk in front of the Central Administration Office on Oak Street. There is space to turn around behind Crest on Scott Street. Please treat the parking area on the north side of the building as a two-way street. The Crest Playground will be closed during spring break because of construction activities. Scott Street and the Crest Playground should both be open again when students return from spring break on March 24, 2025.
Hello Crest Families
There will be additional closures on Oak Street in the coming weeks that will impact access to 627 Oak Street (Central Admin and The Crest Academy).
If you will be coming to Oak for something at Central Admin or the Crest Academy, please follow the construction signs down Old Stage Road to Scott Street (map attached).
Parents dropping off/picking up students at the Crest Academy should continue to follow the signs through the unpaved parking area as they have so far this school year.
If you are coming to Admin please enter the paved parking lot from the east side of the building. Please treat the one-way parking area as a two-way driveway during the closure on Oak Street.
We appreciate your patience with life in the middle of construction on Oak Street.
Kind Regards,
Kim LeTourneau
Salida Schools
Communications/School Board Secretary
We are thrilled to announce the new app for Salida Schools! It's everything Salida Schools, in your pocket!
Download for Android at http://aptg.co/_HS595
Download for iPhone at https://aptg.co/F0PmY4
Check it out!
Salida Schools Hosts Local First Responders for Active Shooter Training on 7/10
The Salida School District Board of Education will not be holding their normal monthly meeting for the month of July 2024.
A big shout out to the Horizons Exploratory Academy Graduating Class of 2024!!
The list of graduates includes 16 students who successfully completed the requirements set forth by the Salida School District and State of Colorado - making it the largest graduating class from HEA in at least the last 10 years .
The list of graduates included:
Maddox Arosemena-Hill
Gavin Forrest Barron
Evan Thomas Damon
Steffen Anthony DeLeo
Abram Nathanial Durbin
Emma Scotty Holden
Alyssa Nicole Lenhart
Preston Vaughn Martin
KayLynne Hope Meston-Grindle
Danielle Elizabeth Morgan
Daisy Bear Nichols
Morgan Ann Nichols
Anthony Eugene Scott Schadegg
Remus Marsh Simpson
Eliza Marie Sisneros
Tatiana Nicole Zoberski
HEA math teacher Sue Ceglowski joined her students, also dressing in a cap and gown, as she gets ready to step into the next chapter in her story - retirement! Thank you Sue for several decades of dedication to education and supporting students in the Salida Schools' community!
Thank you to Jodi Breckenridge Petit for the photos!
