As the school year progresses through January, Mesa County Valley School District 51 is seeing steady progress in student learning and engagement. Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill highlighted the strong routines and ongoing instruction across schools, noting that students are making strides toward their academic goals.
Dr. Hill emphasized recent achievements in graduation rates, stating, “Our latest graduation rate results, which you can read more about below, are the second highest ever in the history of our district. Not only that, but the past three years have been the highest three years of graduation rates in the history of our district.” He attributed this accomplishment to efforts made during the previous three-year Strategic Plan and expressed optimism for continued success under a new five-year plan. “Thank you to our school and district staff for being laser focused on helping our students walk across their graduation stages, and shoutout to our D51 students for showing up and putting in the effort,” Dr. Hill said.
The week also featured student recognitions tied to career exploration and civic engagement initiatives. One notable event was a collaboration with Mesa County Commissioners and Mesa County Clerk Gross to honor winners of the “I Voted” sticker contest. Dr. Hill commented on this event: “It was a fun way to honor the creativity of our students while also promoting the importance of voting. Join me in once again congratulating Alayna, Amora, Jacob, and Rhett for their winning submissions, and look for their artwork on stickers the next time you vote!”
District leadership encourages both staff and students to maintain focus as they move into the spring semester with hopes of further increasing graduation numbers.
