There are many ways to define a winning school district.

You can look at test scores. Graduation rates. Attendance. The opportunities available to students. You can look at whether students are growing academically, earning college credit, learning a trade, or graduating prepared for what comes next.

A single measure can not provide the whole picture of how a child, a school, or a district is doing. I believe you have to look at the whole picture.

Garfield Re-2 has a lot to celebrate.

Last month, the Colorado Department of Education named Garfield Re-2 one of just 18 Attendance Challenge Champions in the state. Over four years, our chronic absenteeism rate dropped from 40.1% to 17.8%, a 55.6% reduction.

Then came another milestone.

Garfield Re-2 earned its highest score on record on Colorado’s preliminary District Performance Framework. Our score has climbed 8.7 points since 2022, and for the second consecutive year, Garfield Re-2 earned an “accredited” rating. All four of our traditional middle and high schools earned the state’s Performance rating, and all four improved their scores from last year.

The progress extends beyond the state performance framework.

Three years ago, our Strategic Plan challenged us to increase the number of students participating in Career and Technical Education by 25%. We doubled it.

CTE participation has grown from 342 students to 685. During that same period, students earned professional certifications, increasing from 61 to 117, and earned 2,773 college credits last year.

Those are big wins, and they didn’t happen by accident.

Four years ago, our community told us what it wanted from its schools. Students, families, staff, and community members helped build a Strategic Plan and Graduate Profile that gave Garfield Re-2 a direction. Since then, our teachers, support staff, administrators, students, families, and community partners have gone to work.

That work is paying off. Does that mean we have arrived? Absolutely not.

Academic achievement remains an area where we need to improve. Too many students still miss too much school. We still have work ahead in reading and math, and we must keep expanding the opportunities available to students after graduation.

Winning doesn’t mean pretending everything is perfect. It means knowing where you are, knowing where you want to go, and continuing to get better.

That’s why our word this year is “Aspire.”

We should be proud of how far Garfield Re-2 has come while we continue to aspire to something greater for our students and our staff.

This November, Garfield Re-2 voters will consider two school funding questions. 4A is a $4.7 million annual mill levy override dedicated to improving employee pay. It is a $38 per $100,000 of assessed valuation increase per year. We know that investing in our people is an investment in our students and the future of our communities.

4B would not raise taxes, and would extend the district’s existing bonds to address school facilities and learning spaces, including career and technical education (CTE), early childhood education, staff housing, technology infrastructure, and improvements at Rifle and Coal Ridge high schools. 

These are separate measures – one invests in people, and the other builds buildings.

When our community identified attendance as a priority, attendance improved. When we committed to stronger academic performance, our district performance score climbed. When our Strategic Plan called for more career pathways, participation doubled.

That isn’t the work of one superintendent, one Board, or one school. It’s the work of a team.

Students who show up. Teachers who challenge them. Bus drivers who get them there. Paraprofessionals who provide support. Families who make education a priority. Community partners who create opportunities. And thousands of people across Rifle, Silt and New Castle who believe strong schools matter.

Garfield Re-2 has momentum. Now we aspire to see how far this team can go.

Kirk Banghart is superintendent of Garfield Re-2 School District.