Superintendent's Corner
March 2019

A Message from Dr. Brad Meeks
Planning for the future is often an emotional experience. Just ask our graduating seniors or the many high school students who will find themselves on college campus tours during spring break. Our efforts as a school district to build for the future are no exception; determining the type of school we should build and where we should build it are issues that people are passionate about.

The fact is, our current schools are at or over capacity. Students are packed into common spaces, traffic around our schools is a growing nuisance and safety issue, and exterior trailers designed to be temporary classrooms have become permanent fixtures. Additionally, we are limited in our ability to adopt new and innovative programming for students because we don’t have the space. These issues affect students, teachers, parents and our community every day. They are problems we cannot solve alone.

We formed an advisory committee in 2018 to bring a variety of people together to devise solutions to benefit our students and serve the greater good. Now, as we inch closer to a solution for current and future students we are keeping the community top of mind. In turn, we hope the community will prioritize Steamboat’s youngest residents in this effort to provide the educational environments our students deserve.

Steamboat has seen a return on its investment in education. A 2017 study by the National Association of Realtors shows that a good home in a good school district fetches a higher price and holds a better resale value. Our schools often factor into families’ home-buying decisions.

When the district acquired the Whistler property in 1980 and then Steamboat II in 1997, it was done with the future intent to educate and serve children. As we work with our future neighbors, we strongly believe that they will understand our commitment to both mitigating and minimizing the impact of a school and co-create a well-designed facility that improves neighborhood amenities and quality of life, while benefiting the entire community.

There are so many things that divide us nowadays, but often times our children unite us. Whether it’s gathering for Sweet 16 Sailor basketball or replacing books for a community devastated by a wildfire, our schools and children are woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods and our community is stronger for it.
Scenes from the  7th & 8th grade Strings School Days Concert
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Celebrations!
Congrats to SSMS National Geographic Bee winners: Asher Komor and Thomas Mauldin 1st place, Isaiah Tieck 2nd place, Xander Dalke and Grady Piva 3rd place. Asher Komor qualified to compete in the state Nat Geo Bee competition at the University of Denver on March 29th.
SSHS Science Olympiad teams had an outstanding performance at regionals in Fort Collins. Both teams qualified for State and a record number of medals were won. Sixty five percent of the students performed in the top 50%. Read more
SSMS students competed in the Northern Regional Science Olympiad in Fort Collins on March 9th and placed 5th overall! The team qualified for the state competition in April.
The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs honored Steamboat Springs High School senior Ryley Claire Traverse as Student of the Month for February. Read more
Steamboat Springs High School boys basketball coach Michael Vandahl was recognized with Coach of the Year honors from the Western Slope League. Read more
Steamboat Springs High School hockey players received all-conference, all-state honors. Read more
SSHS students Cedar Turek and Shane Lambert qualified to compete in the American Regions Mathematics League's annual competition. Shane also qualified with a 99% to go to MathCon Nationals in Chicago.
SSMS sixth grader Merritt Flanigan came in 1st place for her VFW Patriot's Pen Essay on Why I Honor the American Flag. She also received an award for 5th place in the state competition. SSMS student Madeleine Erps received second place honors for her essay and Olivia Golaszewski came in third. Read more
Congratulations to the following SSSD students who were recently selected to perform at the CU Honor Band: SSMS students Katherine Knapp, Michael Lake, and Sophie Flam and SSHS student Arianna Tullis.
News & Notes
Calendar of Events
Read recent Steamboat Pilot & Today articles.

Steamboat Springs High School junior Tanner Ripley has type 1 diabetes and he's a top athlete on the hockey rink and the baseball field. Read more

Opera Steamboat's annual educational outreach program brought opera to our schools. Read more

Steve and Marcia Kaufman left for Paradise, California with 6,400 books weighing 2,725 pounds in 133 boxes. Read more

The Steamboat Springs High School track team, boys and girls lacrosse, girls soccer and girls golf are all sharing space for an unconventional practice. Read more

Steamboat Springs School Board thanks community volunteers for their support in the master planning process. Read more

The Steamboat Springs Education Fund Board has approved an overall budget of $3.8 million to be granted for the 2019-20 grant cycle. Grants are awarded to public schools and nonprofits with school-based programs in Routt County and will be awarded on May 1. Read more

Sailors in the news!
March 25: Strawberry Park Elementary School Positive Action Family Class, 5:40PM

March 26: Steamboat Springs Middle School Track Parent Meeting, 5:30PM

April 3: Soda Creek Elementary School 3rd Grade Recorder Concert, 8:30AM

April 11: Soda Creek Elementary School ELL Game Night, 5:30PM
SSSD will be on Spring Break April 22 - 26