Ridgway School District

August 11, 2026

At Ridgway School District, we work together to provide a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning community and authentically connect our curriculum to a changing world.

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Dear Ridgway School District Community:

It is my pleasure to welcome new and returning families to the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. I would like to provide some back to school details for both the Ridgway Elementary School (RES) and the Ridgway Secondary School (RSS) and introduce our new staff.

I also would like to open with appreciation for our Ouray county emergency responders and fire fighting teams along with all the state/national fire fighters and Red Cross volunteers involved in mitigation efforts for this summer’s Gold Mountain Fire.

I know we have some school families that have endured unprecedented hardship. Our mental health counselors, Helene Discoe (secondary) and Sharon Brown (elementary) are here to support our student needs as our young people continue to process trauma from the summer events. We are working hard to create a safe, welcoming and happy school environment for the new school year.

Fall Registration

• Our online PowerSchool registration for new families opens today, Tuesday, August 11th.
• New students to the district will need to contact the school’s office managers to receive access to PowerSchool:
• Elementary Office (970) 626-5468
• Secondary Office (970) 626-5788.

• Our returning family registration opens on PowerSchool on Thursday, August 13th.
• All returning families MUST complete registration.

After signing into PowerSchool, click on Forms to complete registration.

• As a reminder: Please use a computer or laptop to access PowerSchool. Using the PowerSchool mobile app or a phone browser does not support all required registration functions.

Ridgway Elementary School (RES) and Ridgway Secondary School (RSS) Orientations:

• RES: All families are welcome to stop by RES on Thursday, August 20th between 2-3 PM to meet their teachers and drop off their supplies. A formal Back to School Night will take place on Wednesday, September 9th from 5-6:30PM.
• RSS: Tuesday, August 18th (RSS Commons) - High School Student/Family Orientation @ 6-6:45 PM followed by HS Open House (High School Only) from 6:45-7:30 PM
• RSS: Thursday, Aug 20th (RSS Commons) - Middle School Student/Family Orientation @ 6-6:45 PM followed by MS Open House (Middle School Only) from 6:45-7:30 PM

School supply lists for 2026-2027

• Elementary School Supply List
• Middle School Supply List

School Start & End Times:

• First Day of School for grades K-12: Monday, August 24th
• RES School Hours: M-F, 8 AM-3 PM and RSS School Hours: M-F, 8:10-3:10 PM
• Preschool starts August 25 & 26 (in 2 groups–teachers will send details)

Health & Safety Updates:

• Administration works closely with our local law enforcement and emergency services for a strong and safe school opening. All staff receive a number of safety training during our Back to School Week. School safety information is also available on our website.
• Our district nurse, Kelly Kamm can be reached at districtnurse@ridgway.k12.co.us for any questions about health plans and registration.

Food Service:

• Lunch will be provided at no cost to all students as part of the Healthy School Meals for All Program. We will also offer a free breakfast program at RSS before the start of the school day.
• In order to fully qualify for the state program, we still need families to fill out the paperwork for federal free and reduced lunch programs located on our food service website page.
• Our lunch menu for the new school year is forthcoming.
• We are excited to welcome two new food service employees: Rob Diaz and Nicole Guck. Mr. Bud will be transferring full-time to the maintenance team.

Bus Route Registration and Routes:

• Families that plan to ride the bus need to sign up as a part of registration.
• Our three (3) routes and bus stop information is located on our transportation website link.
• Contact Shane Ayer, Transportation Director at sayer@ridgway.k12.co.us with any questions.

Community Connections:

• Please join our hard working 4-H students at the upcoming Ouray County Fair. The August 13-15th schedule can be found at this link: Ouray County Fair Schedule
• Support our students and sign up to run in the (Aug 15th) Mt Sneffels ½ Marathon or the (Aug 23rd) Log Hill Hustle.

Summer Construction:

• The Ridgway Secondary School (RSS) has brand new HVAC throughout the school! (Nothing like choosing a year of fire to replace your HVAC system).
• Bud Hawken, with support from the Ayer team has built a wonderful new storage container on Cimarron Athletic Field.
• The landscaping work at RSS is still underway despite some challenges with staffing impacted by fire and floods. Any areas not completed by the start of school will be securely fenced.
• Work on the elementary field started in August after Ouray County Baseball season and will include new trees and improved outdoor learning spaces.
• I cannot begin to list all the summer work of custodial and maintenance staff! In between their summer work, they were juggling outside use of our buildings as an evacuation center, an evacuee meeting place, fair board meeting location, Gold Mountain Fire community meeting space, Voyager Youth program fresh air play space and the relocated Montrose Health Fair.

Introduction of New Staff & Other Staffing Updates:

• I would like to offer a warm welcome to our new staff as they join our team for the 2026-2027 school year.
• Specifically, Preschool Paraprofessional-Jenny Armstrong, Elementary Music Teacher-Mariana Satterly, Cooks- Rob Diaz and Nicole Guck, Secondary Learning Specialist & Athletic Director-Bethany Geist, MS Science Teacher-Jenny Brown, HS Science Teachers- Kristen Bushaw and Daniel Wade, Secondary Special Education Teacher-Kelly Teitelbaum Wade, Secondary Art Teacher-Katherine Orpet; MS Volleyball Coach Sierrah Smith.
• All the best to returning staff entering new positions as well: Andrya Brantingham- Elementary Special Education Teacher and Bud Hawken-Maintenance & Grounds.

School Board & Committee Partnerships:

• As Superintendent, I am fortunate to work in partnership with our wonderful school board: Aimee Quadri (president), Brian Patton (vice-president), Jill Hepp (secretary/treasurer), Greg Zimmerman and Doug Unfug. The school board, staff, students and school community continues to work hard on our 2023-2027 District Strategic Plan.
• Our District Accountability Team, led by Chair, Johanna Wasser, is focused upon building school-family-community partnerships. If you are interested in joining this team please visit our District Accountability Committee webpage. We are also forming a Family Community Engagement Committee to help support school events and the first meeting information will be forthcoming.
• I also extend our appreciation for our Uncompahgre Board of Cooperative Services (UnBOCES) neighbors. Our Executive Director, Brittany Picard and her amazing team of special service providers help all our students successfully learn.

We are very fortunate to have such a strong team of educators, staff, students and families in our community. Together we will ‘aspire to inspire’ as we teach and learn this year.

Please take time to visit our website at www.ridgway.k12.co.us for lots of information and don’t forget that we have a school district App for your phone [App Store or Google].

All the best for a wonderful school year,

Susan Lacy

Superintendent

slacy@ridgway.k12.co.us

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

Family update emails are sent out every Friday with important announcements, upcoming school and community events from Ridgway Elementary and Ridgway Secondary. Be sure to check your inbox each week to stay connected.

Our online calendar is the best place to find up-to-date information on upcoming events, important dates, and school celebrations. Stay connected with everything happening across Ridgway schools!

We are excited to welcome Ms. Bethany Geist to Ridgway Secondary School as our new Athletic Director. In addition to leading our athletic programs, Ms. Geist will also serve as a Learning Specialist at RSS. She joins us from Woodland Park, where she taught secondary English Language Arts and coached middle school cross country and track. We are excited to have Bethany join the Ridgway community and know she will be a wonderful addition to our school and athletic programs. You can contact her at athleticdirector@ridgway.k12.co.us

Please review the practice schedule for your sport, and don't hesitate to reach out to Ms. Geist, Mr. Randolph or your coach with any questions. If you're new to Ridgway Athletics, especially our incoming 6th graders, we're here to help. If you're unsure what to expect or have questions about your first day, please let us know so we can make sure you're ready to go.

Season schedules are available on our Athletics & Activities webpage. Please note that schedules are subject to change throughout the season, so be sure to read our weekly athletics emails for the most up-to-date game schedules, departure times, and other important announcements.

Sports Physicals

All student-athletes must have a current sports physical on file before they can participate in practice. There are no exceptions.

If your physical was completed over the summer, please bring a copy to the first day of practice or email it to us before Monday. If you're unsure whether your physical is current, just ask and we'll be happy to check.

If you still need a physical, we recommend visiting Urgent Care in Montrose, which typically offers walk-in sports physicals. Most local medical offices become very busy this time of year, so don't wait until the last minute.

Medical Release Form & Athletic Handbook

On the first day of practice, coaches distributed a medical release form. Please complete and return the form as soon as possible. We keep these forms with us at all practices and competitions to ensure we have important medical information readily available in the event of an emergency.

Please review the Athletic Handbook and sign the acknowledgment during school registration.

Thank you for your support of Ridgway Athletics. We're looking forward to an outstanding fall season. Go Demons!

Benefits include 100% paid health/dental insurance, optional vision and supplemental insurances, paid sick, personal, bereavement, parent leave and holiday days; PERA, life insurance policy, and professional development opportunities.

Activities & Athletics

• Middle School Cross Country Coach
• Middle School Boys Basketball Coach
• Middle School Girls Basketball Coach
• Middle School Girls Volleyball Coach

Support Staff

Custodial

• Custodian Substitute

Transportation

• Bus Driver (Part-Time)
• Bus Driver Substitute

Your continued partnership helps us create strong learning experiences and a supportive environment for every student.