Colorado District Holds Top Rating, 12 Schools Excel

When Colorado released its 2026 school ratings last week, Roaring Fork Schools had something to celebrate. The district retained its "Accredited" status for the second straight year, with nearly all its traditional schools earning top marks.

Twelve of the district's 13 schools earned "Performance," the highest rating the state gives. That's not just holding steady. Three schools have climbed from "Improvement" to "Performance" since the district launched its five-year strategic plan.

The gains show up clearest in math. Crystal River Elementary School jumped 12.6% year over year. Roaring Fork High School rose 8.1%, and Glenwood Springs Middle School increased 7.3%.

Superintendent Anna Cole credits a new math curriculum the district adopted in 2022. The investment is paying off in ways that matter most: students who've historically faced opportunity gaps are now showing growth above the state average.

The district's median growth percentile on state math tests climbed from 55 to 56. Students made gains in five of the six grade levels tested. On the SAT, math achievement jumped 4 percentage points to 30.3%.

Glenwood Springs Elementary, the district's only school that didn't hit "Performance" this year, still moved up a full rating level from "Priority Improvement" to "Improvement." That's a 6% gain in just one year.

Reading scores stayed mostly flat, dipping just 0.2% from 37.3% to 37.1%. That mirrors a statewide trend. But there's promise here too: third and fifth graders beat statewide performance in reading, and all middle schools showed strong growth in both subjects.

Why This Inspires

What makes this story encouraging isn't just the numbers. It's what they represent: proof that when schools commit to evidence-based changes, students respond.

The district isn't declaring victory. They're using these results to identify what's working and spread those practices to every classroom. Multilingual learners and students from lower-income families are outpacing state averages in growth, showing that good teaching can help close longstanding gaps.

"The bright spots we're seeing show us the pockets where our work is producing the outcomes we want for students," Cole said. "Now our task is to scale and amplify what's working so all of our students experience that same growth and performance."

Progress isn't always a straight line up, but Roaring Fork Schools is proving that steady, strategic effort creates real results for real kids.