Musicians Reach for Magnifying Glasses at Rifle Middle School

Housing challenges create recruitment hurdles and inspire creative solutions at RMS

When students returned to Rifle Middle School after winter break, they expected to resume band class as usual. Instead, an unexpected staffing change interrupted traditional music instruction. Staff responded with a creative solution: a forensic science and crime scene investigation class, the first of its kind at Rifle Middle School.

Just days before the start of the new semester, school leaders were faced with a challenge familiar across the Western Slope: how to ensure students continue to have meaningful learning opportunities when workforce housing makes it difficult to recruit and retain educators.

The result was the launch of a new Forensic Science course, created mid-year to meet student needs and address a staffing challenge shaped by housing constraints.

When housing affects hiring

In August, Rifle Middle School’s band teacher went on maternity leave. Isa Oliver, a long-term substitute who has worked at the school for more than two years, stepped in to support band classes during the first semester. When the teacher later decided to remain home with her newborn, the school posted the position, knowing that mid-year hiring can be especially challenging.

Principal Rob Dean identified a qualified candidate who was prepared to begin the second semester. After accepting the position, however, the out-of-town candidate began searching for housing.

“He wasn’t able to find suitable housing in the area,” Dean said. “On January 1, he let me know he couldn’t take the job.”

Rifle Middle School’s experience reflects a broader trend across Garfield Re-2 and Garfield County. According to a recent NBC News report, Garfield County is ranked the most difficult county in the nation to buy a home in, driven by intense competition and limited supply. Forbes has also reported that home values in Rifle have increased more than 330 percent over the last 20 years, placing the community among the fastest-growing housing markets in the country.

“These pressures don’t just affect families trying to buy homes,” Dean said. “They affect our ability to recruit and retain educators and staff.”

Turning expertise into opportunity

Rather than asking Oliver to continue teaching outside his formal training, Dean posed a different question: If you could teach any class you wanted, what would it be?

Oliver’s answer was immediate - Forensic Science.

“My undergraduate degree is in criminology and criminal justice with a focus in anthropology and crime scene investigation,” Oliver said. “Forensics is my passion, and it’s where I feel most confident.”

Oliver drafted a course proposal, which was approved, and within weeks, students were exploring fingerprinting, DNA analysis, skeletal identification, and crime scene investigation in a hands-on, inquiry-based learning environment.

“So far, the class has gone better than I could have hoped,” Oliver said. “The class sizes let me work closely with students, and they get to interact with real materials. I love watching them discover interests they didn’t know they had.”

At the same time, Oliver acknowledged the loss of direct music instruction for students.

“There was a bittersweet feeling when I heard that the band teacher had decided to decline the position and the forensics class would move forward,” he said. “On one hand, I was regretful that students were losing band time. Between having a substitute the first semester and no band the second semester, their year was greatly interrupted. On the other hand, forensics is my passion.”

For Oliver, the timing carried personal significance. While teaching the class, he was applying to a master’s program in forensic archaeology and anthropology.

“Being able to say I created and taught a forensics course helped my application,” he said. “Finding out I had been accepted while teaching a class of seventh graders will always be a memory I hold close.”

Supporting band students

Dean emphasized that the forensics course is not a replacement for a full band program and that students did miss out on traditional music instruction during the semester.

To help maintain continuity for interested students, Jacob Schuelke, band director at Rifle High School, began offering an After-School Band Club for middle school students once a week.

“The goal is to keep students engaged and playing together so they don’t lose momentum,” Schulke said. “We’ve also had strong participation from high school students who come down to help mentor the younger kids.”

High school band students earn points toward lettering by participating, and the shared rehearsals have strengthened relationships across grade levels. The After School Band Club plans to perform as part of the high school band program’s pop concert on May 18.

“Helping others is part of the culture we’re building,” Schulke said. “Seeing our older students show up for the younger ones has been really powerful.”

Innovation and a bigger conversation

While the forensics course is a temporary solution, it represents a creative and collaborative response to an urgent situation. Dean is clear that innovation alone cannot solve systemic challenges.

“There is a struggle to attract highly qualified teachers and paraprofessionals to Garfield Re-2,” he said. “The two main reasons we hear are housing costs and salaries compared to neighboring districts.”

That challenge is not unique to Rifle. National reporting shows that resort-adjacent and rural communities across the country are grappling with workforce housing shortages, prompting cities to explore new housing developments and partnerships to support essential workers, including educators.

The forensics course has opened doors to new interests and potential career paths, while middle school students continue to pursue music through collaboration with high school mentors. Together, the experience underscores a growing reality: housing is no longer separate from education—it is directly connected to student opportunity.