Mustang Musings

Happy New Year, West Grand! It is crazy to think that the first month of 2026 is over. Traditionally, January is one of the coldest months here in Grand County. However, just because it is cold outside, that is not reflective of the temperature inside our schools!

Past newsletters are posted on our district website.

Also, if there are specific items or questions you have, please reach out to Mrs. Bauer at bauere@wgsd.us or 970-724-3217.

We are Grand Today. Greater Tomorrow.

Go Mustangs!

The West Grand Board of Education recognized our Profile of a Learner trait of Inquisitive at the regular Board meeting on January 27, 2026. Staff and students are nominated and recognized by other staff and students when they see them demonstrate our profile skills.

Those recognized included:

1. Students: Spero Hagerdine, Mason Withrow
2. Staff: Andrew Mericle, Emmylou Harmon, Amy Heid

The Board also recognized several groups of Mustang Athletes with both recognitions for the Fall Academic All-State awards and Fall CHSAA State Competitors, including:

1. Fall Academic All State: Gracie Hast, Lydia Johnson, Heaven Vail, Solea Luna, Brooke James, Matti Hayes, Karla Gonzalez Mendez, Sky Paeglow, Jadyn Castillo, Adaline Pedersen, Amber Williams, Tally Harthun, Teagan Bruchez, Jacob Trail, Ethan Barr, Landon Lockhart, Conner Stone, David Janssen, Marina Gonzalez Gomez, Lena Harms, Nitzy Munoz Sierra

2. HS Cross County: Tearri Luna, Coach Tripicchio

3. HS Spirit Team: Lena Harms, Marina Gonzalez, Nitzy Munoz-Sierra, Adaline Pedersen, Quincey Harms, Amara Miranda, Coach Ratcliff

January is also School Board Appreciation Month. West Grand staff signed some thank-you posters to present to the board pictured below. We appreciate the leadership, dedication, and service of our board members.

Each month, the Multi-Lingual (ML)Connection Newsletter is also shared. Check out the PDFs of this newsletter below

We are beginning to crank things up in the Post Secondary Exploration Department:

1. College Commitments-

1. Aspyn Frazier - Rocky Mountain College , Billings, Montana to study Veterinary Science
2. Divina Dominguez - Colorado State University , Ft. Collins, CO to study Business Marketing

2. December Intern of the Month - Bianca Ramos, Interned at WGES for Anna Nelson

3. Colorado Northwestern Community College President's Honors List, Fall '25 (Minimum 4.0 GPA)

1. Devon Mahorney
2. Tally Harthun
3. Teagan Bruchez
4. Karla Gonzalez
5. Gracie Hast
6. Matti Hayes
7. Lydia Johnson
8. Addy Pedersen
9. Brooke James

4. University of Wyoming, Department of Education visiting West Grand Campus on February 10th to recruit prospective future teachers !

At semester, we have been able to hire a 7-12 Music teacher. We are excited for our new team member, Caroline Hesford, and the experience and passion she brings to West Grand. We are also excited about the opportunities this opens up for students with having music back in our master schedule with students being able to participate in choir, band, and theater classes.

The choir class shared some of what they are working on. Check out the video below of a snippet of a song they prepared in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day earlier this month:

West Grand students have been completing their Middle-of-the-Year NWEA MAP® assessments. These assessments help teachers and staff understand where students are academically so they can tailor instruction and provide targeted support to maximize student learning.

We are excited to share some of the progress our students have made since the fall assessment window!

District Highlights (Grades K–10)

• Reading Growth: 66% of students met or exceeded growth expectations

• Reading Achievement: Increased from the 46th to the 59th percentile

Junior/Senior High School (Grades 7–10)

• Reading Growth: 59% of students met or exceeded growth expectations

• Reading Achievement: Increased from the 56th to the 62nd percentile

Elementary School (Grades K–6)

• Math Growth: 62% of students met or exceeded growth expectations

  • Math Achievement: Increased from the 43rd to the 51st percentile

• Reading Growth: 72% of students met or exceeded growth expectations

  • Reading Achievement: Increased from the 38th to the 55th percentile

We are incredibly proud of the hard work our students, teachers, and staff are putting in every day.

Students who took a MAP test this winter (kindergarten - 10th grade) were given their "Family Report" to bring home this past week. In the K6, these reports should be in the student's purple folder. Students in the Jr/Sr High were given these to bring home. Ask your student about them and reach out to your student's classroom teacher if you have specific questions!

The West Grand District Accountability Committee (DAC) planned a family and community seminar night this month to connect with our communities and help ensure our community understands the different things throughout the district.

Attendees were able to go to different breakout sessions of their choosing to learn about various aspects of the district happenings including: ParentSquare tutorial, Resources for families, Behavior & Expectations, Preparing for Life after high school, State standards and curriculum, and District priorities and plan.

A big THANK YOU to our DAC for organizing and providing wonderful food, to our students for providing free childcare, to our attendees engaging with us, and to our West Grand staff who prepared and presented.

Below are a few pictures of the night.

Several resources for families and community were shared throughout the night. One of the biggest resources for both parents and our community is our school district website as a lot of what we are doing is there. Check it out at: www.wgsd.us

Also, linked below is a reference sheet for various things happening throughout the district. It is full of information and links.

We look forward to seeing how we can expand this seminar night in the future.

West Grand High School junior, Landon Lockhart, earned his 100th mat win in wrestling earlier this month at the Westminster tournament. Way to go, Landon!

photo courtesy: Christina Lockhart

The Jr./Sr. High starting off the semester with positive encouragement for students:

The Dance Collective, a competitive dance team in with students from both Summit and West Grand, performed the other night at a home basketball game. The performance included dancers from all grade levels and competition teams.

We love to see our students perform even outside West Grand athletics. Great job!

The gym has been heating up with some blacklight dodgeball in the elementary grades. Students show balance, strength, and teamwork with this activity. The lights add the extra challenge and fun!

Our district website has a plethora of information for staff, students, and families alike! Most of the information you would need is linked somewhere on this website.

Potential items you might check out on the website include:

• Calendars (see next post for example) -- Google calendar of events and year long school calendar
• Handbooks
• Alma information and "How Tos"
• ParentSquare information & "How Tos"
• District Strategic Plan
• Student Centered Accountability Program (SCAP) -- improvement planning
• Board of Education Information -- including agendas and minutes
• WGSD Policies
• Employment Information -- come be a part of the West Grand team!

As mentioned above, if you go on the District Website, you can go to "Calendar: Events" and it will take you to the K6 and Jr/Sr High School Public Events Google Calendars. You can choose to see one or both buildings. This is the best way to stay up-to-date regarding events and schedules as they often change.

ParentSquare is an application that we have used for several years now communicating as the entire district, separate buildings, each classroom, and with individuals.

You can set up your account to go directly to an email, a phone number text, or the app (free download).

The "Week at a Glance" is sent out each Sunday afternoon via ParentSquare. It gives you an update of events happening during the week, note from building principals, and other pertinent information for the upcoming week as well as resources and general information.

We received positive feedback from this last year and are continuing to share it. Make sure you are signed up for ParentSquare so you don't miss out!

WGSD has a Facebook page where we post information, highlight classrooms and students, and share highlights via social media. Follow us: District Page

The West Grand Booster Club also does a great job sharing pictures and athletic updates every week on Facebook. If you are a Mustang fan, following their page is a great way to have athletic updates from all of Mustang sports: Booster Club Page

WGSD partners with Colorado AeroLab for after school and summer programming. There are a lot of great opportunities for students outside of the school hours with this collaboration. While the school shares out information regrading AeroLab, you can also visit their website at: https://www.coloradoaerolab.org/

Here are the numbers and administrator emails for each office:

1. District Office
1. 970-724-3217
2. Superintendent Bauer, bauere@wgsd.us
2. Elementary Office
1. 970-724-1000
2. Principal Winter, winterb@wgsd.us
3. Jr/Sr High Office
1. 970-724-3425
2. Principal Stuart, stuartj@wgsd.us