D 49 schools earn state distinction

By Deb Risden

El Paso County School District 49 is moving closer to its goal of becoming a District of Distinction after 14 schools earned the Colorado Department of Education’s Accredited with Distinction designation during the 2024 and 2025 school years.

Schools earn an Accredited with Distinction classification by scoring at least 74 points on CDE’s School Performance Framework. The framework measures school performance using criteria that includes academic achievement, student academic growth; and, at the high school level, graduation rates, college and career readiness and postsecondary matriculation. Alternative schools such as GOAL Academy are evaluated using additional measures such as attendance and student re-engagement.

D 49 Superintendent Peter Hilts said the district recently recognized schools from both the 2024 and 2025 school years because the state revised its evaluation criteria just before that period. Beginning this year, schools earning distinction will be recognized annually.

Hilts said the recognition represents more than individual school accomplishments. It reflects the district’s long-term goal of becoming a District Accredited with Distinction.

“Our vision is that we will be able to achieve that by 2030, and the pathway to being a District of Distinction is operating and authorizing schools of distinction,” Hilts said.

Today, D 49 operates and authorizes 43 schools.

Hilts said the district will reach that goal when about two-thirds of its schools earn Accredited with Distinction.

Rather than focusing first on districtwide recognition, he said D 49 is concentrating on helping individual schools succeed. “When we focus on individual schools, there will come a point where enough of our schools are performing that it lifts the whole district into that level,” Hilts said.

District 49 schools will receive banners recognizing each year they earn distinction. Hilts said schools earning distinction in future years will add another year to the same banner, similar to championship banners earned by athletic teams.

The 14 schools recognized include elementary, middle and high schools, charter schools, a technical high school and an early college program. Hilts said this demonstrates that high performance can be achieved across a wide range of educational models.

Hilts credits part of that success to D 49’s zone leadership model, which gives schools more local leadership and support than a traditional centralized district structure.

“I sometimes refer to the zones as the United States of District 49,” Hilts said. “The different zone superintendents are more like governors. They have local insights and they get to know those principals really well.”

Brian Smith, Falcon Zone superintendent, said the approach has helped strengthen all seven schools in his zone.

“While each school maintains its unique identity and culture, our collective focus on student growth and achievement creates a powerful system of support that benefits learners across the entire zone,” Smith said.

As a result, all Falcon Zone schools earned a performance rating on CDE’s School Performance Framework. “This marks the first time that every school in the Falcon Zone has achieved this distinction,” Smith said.

Smith credited the zone’s success to a shared commitment to high-quality instruction and continuous improvement.

“We strive to ensure that balanced instruction is taking place in every classroom through a combination of strong Tier I direct instruction, targeted small-group learning opportunities and personalized learning experiences. This approach allows us to meet students where they are, support their individual learning needs, and help them demonstrate meaningful academic growth year after year,” Smith said.

Hilts said he also believes low staff turnover has played an important role in the district’s success. “We enjoy an extraordinarily high rate of return by senior leaders, principals and veteran teachers,” he said. “Their commitment and the continuity they provide by committing to District 49 is essential to our growth toward distinction.”

Leadership stability helps schools continue improving, he said. “When you don’t have that disruption, you can maintain momentum. When you have that disruption, it interrupts momentum and then you have to recover.”

Those districtwide efforts can be seen in individual schools.

Vista Ridge High School recently earned the highest School Performance Framework score ever achieved by a traditional high school in D 49.

VRHS Principal Tom Payne said improving academic performance began with improving the school’s culture. “You have to start with culture,” Payne said.

When Payne became principal four years ago, VRHS had experienced frequent leadership turnover. He said teachers were doing good work, but they often worked independently instead of together. “We had a lot of great teachers teaching in silos,” Payne said.

The school focused on a shared vision and strengthening collaboration among teachers, as well as having a safe school environment and giving students opportunities to relearn material. Payne said the goal was to build systems that continue regardless of who is leading the school.

Payne also credited the schools investment in new math, English, science and social studies curricula. “It’s been a huge lift and has given us enormous gains,” he said.

Woodmen Hills Elementary School earned distinction by pairing strong instruction with a supportive school culture. Principal Bethany Stegman said the school returned to a back-to-the-basics approach following the pandemic, emphasizing strong core instruction while using student data to meet individual learning needs.

“We all share a strong belief that every student can succeed when provided with the right support and learning opportunities,” Stegman said.

She said lasting improvement comes from building relationships, maintaining a clear instructional focus and creating an environment where staff members are empowered to do their best work.

“Every kid deserves to go to a school where they are loved, safe and with staff who genuinely enjoy their work and do whatever it takes for our kids,” Stegman said. “And with that, learning comes.”

At Liberty Tree Academy, Headmaster Harold Siegel III said the school’s distinction reflects teachers’ commitment to a rigorous curriculum while renewing the school’s mission as an American classical school through implementation of the Hillsdale K-12 curriculum.

Hilts said he hopes the banners will one day tell the story of a district that built “a legacy of excellence” one school at a time.

Other Accredited with Distinction schools in D 49

The following D 49 schools earned Accredited with Distinction based on Colorado Department of Education criteria in 2024 and/or 2025

Grand Peak Academy Middle School

Liberty Tree Academy High School

Mountain View Academy – elementary and middle school

Patriot Applied Learning Campus (High School)

Pikes Peak Early College

Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning – 1^st charter at D 49

Power Technical High School

Remington Elementary School

Ridgeview Elementary School