GARFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. Re-2

Encourage, nurture and challenge every student, every day.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Garfield Re-2 School District has decided to transition the district to 100% distance learning for one week following Thanksgiving Break. This means all students in the Garfield Re-2 School District, at all levels, will participate in distance learning from November 30 through December 3. Garfield Re-2 plans to return to 100% in-person learning for those students that choose to be in person beginning December 7, 2020.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Garfield Re-2 School District and Highland Elementary administration have transitioned Highland Elementary to 100% online learning effective Monday, November 16 through November 19. School will resume with in-person instruction on Monday, November 30.

Over the weekend, Garfield Re-2 School District was made aware of positive or presumed positive COVID-19 cases that resulted in transitioning nearly 100 students to distance learning across five Re-2 schools. These cases directly impacted students from Kathryn Senor Elementary, Elk Creek Elementary, Riverside Middle School, Coal Ridge High School and Rifle Middle School. Many of those quarantined received their exposure on the bus. ​

At the Thursday, March 19, 2020 Special School Board Meeting, the Garfield Re-2 School Board officially named Interim Superintendent Heather Grumley as the only finalist for the Superintendent position.

The Garfield Re-2 School District calls for nomination of candidates for school directors to be placed on the ballot for the regular biennial school election to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2019.

Tom Slappey appointed to Garfield Re-2 School Board in District A

Re-2 welders headed to Skills USA Nationals This year, Hailie Trujillo and fellow senior Titans Daniel Monroy and Josh Martin, have combined with Rifle High School senior Kaden Abernathy, and junior Caleb Gieselman to create a Skills-USA welding juggernaut.

Rifle High School Sophomore Emma Self carefully plucked the small brown tipped leaf from the basket of flowers. “I love being in the greenhouse. I would have our class out here all day, every day,” she said, returning to her work of preparing the vibrant flowers and vegetables for this weekend’s plant sale.

The idea for the school’s bi-weekly newspaper was born out of COVID from Kyra Hills, Rylan Donohoue, Paislee Fields and Jaime Barragan.

When Garrett Robinson and Stephen Jones graduated from Rifle High School and Coal Ridge High School, respectively, they didn’t intend to return so soon. But all throughout this eventful year, they’ve lended a hand as substitute teachers at Wamsley Elementary School and Coal Ridge High School.

The Fravert Reservoir is both a special place and a neglected place. While it’s a popular spot for the community to go running, shooting and birdwatching, it’s also a spot that’s been subjected to littering and illegal dumping. Bearing witness to this combination of appreciation and abuse during their time at Rifle High School, seniors Jocelyn Abbott, Karisa Coombs, Katelyn Mentink, and Lily McCann-Klausz have taken it upon themselves to help reconcile the disconnect.

Doors have opened for Joseph Thompson. “It really does just give me lots of options school wise,” he said of receiving the Daniels Scholarship. “I thought that was really awesome, that I can kind of make a decision based solely on where I want to go, instead of how much it costs to where I want to go.”

Both students and teachers alike are grateful to attend school in-person during the pandemic, but having a plethora of pets in the halls makes it even better. Thanks to the school’s experiential education program, students at Wamsley are learning to care for a variety of animals including a turtle, frogs, geckos, hermit crabs, millipedes and some huge cockroaches. Yes, they are in fact giant hissing cockroaches from Texas.

With striking visual representations displayed on her whiteboard at Riverside Middle School this year, 8th grade teacher Mrs. Espinoza shows us that there’s more than one way to teach Social Studies across the Garfield Re-2 district. From the systems of government to the Civil War, her detailed designs help students visualize the past in an effort to absorb more information in the present.

March 12, 2021 It’s been a year since COVID-19 rearranged the 2019-20 school year and everything came to a halt. The Garfield Re-2 School District took a moment to reflect on all of the things that we have been able to accomplish despite the continual changing COVID-19 landscape and the impacts of the virus on our families and our staff all in addition to the everyday events that impact our lives.

RIFLE - The Garfield Re-2 School District and Riverside Middle School have transitioned the New Castle 6th - 8th-grade school to 100% online learning effective Monday, February 1 through Thursday February 4. School will resume with in-person instruction on Monday, February 8.

Garfield Re-2 administrators have received information from local health care providers that pertains to the health and wellbeing of any child participating in athletics over 12-years of age. We are sharing this information with you so that you can make an informed decision about the health of your child.

We know that families are excited to watch their children play their chosen sport. Athletics are a valuable part of the educational experience, and vital to the academic success and social/emotional wellbeing of some students. We want to provide as many opportunities for our families to support their children both in-person and online while following the CHSAA and Garfield County Public Health protocols and recommendations.

When Cactus Valley Elementary music teacher Jennetta Howell opened up her email from the Denver Broncos, just before school let out for break, she wasn’t expecting much.

We appreciate your patience while our administrative staff and athletic directors have been working to develop guidance for off-season open gyms and workouts. ​ The Colorado High School Activities Association does allow for open gyms/workouts over break if they are open to all students, voluntary, and not a condition for making the official team. As counties transition into orange and red COVID levels, CHSAA advises school districts to work with county health officials and district administrators to provide plans that work within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s capacity and participation limitations.

Hello Garfield Re-2 Staff and families, On Wednesday, December 9, the State of Colorado advised Garfield County that due to the rapid increase in cases, they were moving Garfield County to red on the State’s Coronavirus Dial. What does this mean for Garfield Re-2 School District?

Today, the superintendents from the three Garfield County school districts, Rob Stein from Roaring Fork School District, Heather Grumley from Garfield Re-2 School District, and Brad Ray from Garfield County District 16, in conjunction with Garfield County Department of Public Health, presented their plan for the return to athletics for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year before the Board of County Commissioners. All three districts have been working toward the opening of the Colorado High School Activities Association Season B, including boys and girls basketball, wrestling, competitive spirit, ice hockey, and girls swimming. Season B is scheduled to begin Monday, January 4.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Garfield Re-2 School District, Wamsley Elementary and Rifle MIddle School administration have transitioned Wamsley Elementary and Rifle Middle Schools to 100% online learning effective Monday, November 16 through November 19. School will resume with in-person instruction on Monday, November 30.

The Garfield Re-2 School District and Graham Mesa Elementary School have transitioned the school to 100% online learning effective Monday, November 16 through November 19. School will resume with in-person instruction on Monday, November 30.

Can a child with a cough quarantine a school? The short answer is that, no. One child with a cough will not trigger a quarantine in our schools. Recently, there have been questions about quarantining events within the Garfield Re-2 School District and specifically, how a quarantine may be triggered.

Hello Garfield Re-2 Families, I want to begin by saying what a privilege it is to have your children in our schools, or online, learning and growing in the Garfield Re-2 School District. When we began the mission to re-think, re-develop, and re-imaging what learning would look like for the 2020-21 school year, we were not sure how long we would be able to sustain it.

Riverside Middle School transitions to online learning; Garfield Re-2 temporarily suspends bus route Substitute and bus driver shortage contribute to impacts of COVID-19 positives RIFLE - The Garfield Re-2 School District and Riverside Middle School have transitioned the New Castle 6th - 8th-grade school to 100% online learning effective Monday, November 2 through Tuesday, November 10. School will resume with in-person instruction on Wednesday, November 11.

From Monday, October 19, and Wednesday, October 21, Garfield Re-2 collected responses to a brief, three-question “pulse poll.” A pulse poll is a survey or poll that is very short, designed to give high-level data only, and intended to be replicated to see if there are trends. Because the learning platforms look different at each grade level, we sent out three polls: elementary, middle, and high school families.

Tonight, Garfield Re-2 School District has transitioned some students at Rifle High School to online instruction based upon individual(s) who has been confirmed to have COVID-19, or who have COVID-19 like symptoms or illness.

Garfield Re-2 School District has transitioned several classes in three schools to online instruction based upon individual(s) who has been confirmed to have COVID-19, or who have COVID-19 like symptoms or illness.

Today, Garfield Re-2 School District was made aware of a positive COVID-19 case that resulted in the transitioning of some students at Riverside Middle School to distance learning. This exposure impacts approximately 56 students and five staff members who are being asked to make this transition and quarantine for 14-days.

Garfield Re-2 School District, in collaboration with Garfield County Public Health, is offering free flu shots to all Garfield Re-2 staff, students and community members.

Thursday, September 17, the hallways at Coal Ridge High School were a little more joyful, a little louder and a little fuller than the day before. Just over 100 students and ten teachers returned to school after a 14-day COVID-19 exposure quarantine. “It felt very nice to go back to school and see people in person and have my teachers be able to provide lessons where I can ask questions and they can respond in real-time with an answer,” said Coal Ridge Junior Brandon Smith.

This week, the Colorado High School Activities Association’s (CHSAA) was given conditional approval to provide schools the option of playing football this fall provided they follow extreme safety restrictions. Schools were asked to choose whether to offer football in the fall or in the spring according to the COVID schedule announced last month. The timing of this notice provided our District three school-days before the beginning of the optional season. The Garfield Re-2 School District is choosing to continue the plan to offer football during CHSAA’s Season C in the spring from February 22 through May 8. for several reasons: (This decision does not impact Cheer/Spirit season that begins on Monday)

The Garfield Re-2 School District and Coal Ridge High School take the health, safety and welfare of our students and staff as our top priority. We are contacting you to let you know that over the weekend, the Garfield County Department of Public Health notified us that a Coal Ridge High School student has tested positive for COVID-19.

. . .EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY. These four words are the anchor of the Garfield Re-2 vision statement. It has been the mantra of Garfield Re-2 for nearly two decades.

Return to Learning 2020 We will continue this work in July to work on the specifics. Below are the commitments we are able to make now: Garfield Re-2 views the opening of the 2020-21 school year as a great opportunity to better connect, and work together as a community to support the learning of ALL of our children;

Ryan Fideldy to be the next leader at Elk Creek Elementary effective July 1, 2020. Mr. Fideldy began his teaching career in the Garfield Re-2 School District in 2006 as a fourth-grade teacher at the former Roy Moore Elementary in Silt, CO. He then taught at Cactus Valley Elementary and in 2012 transitioned to an academic coach at Graham Mesa Elementary school.

Information regarding the return to summer athletics 2020

We know that families, communities, and staff want to know what the school year will look like for the 2020-21 school year. We do too. Our District administration must adhere to the guidance from the State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Garfield County Public Health, and Colorado High School Athletics and Activities Association. As their guidance changes - and it does quickly - we will be able to do more planning, preparing, and communicating about what the future looks like.

Now that we have a week and a half of distance learning behind us, and as the closure of school remains in effect until at least April 30th, we need to begin thinking about Phase 2 of our distance learning plan. We know every family wants to see their child be successful, and we are grateful for our families as they join us on this journey of distance learning.

The coronavirus cannot keep the Class of 2033 from furthering their education. The Garfield Re-2 School District has officially opened the online kindergarten enrollment portal.

Beginning April 6, the Garfield Re-2 School District will be offering grab-and-go drive through meals at three locations across the District in addition to the mobile meal delivery. Beginning Monday, April 6 families will be able to drive through at Wamsley Elementary, Cactus Valley Elementary and Elk Creek Elementary to pick up breakfasts and lunches for the number of children under the age of 18 they have in their household.

The Garfield Re-2 School District, from the administrative teams to each and every custodian, takes the safety, health and wellbeing of our students seriously. We have been keeping a careful eye on the emerging COVID-19, commonly known as novel coronavirus, outbreak world-wide. There is currently only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Colorado to date at this time, and we want families to know that the Garfield Re-2 School District is coordinating with the Garfield County Public Health Department & Environment (GCPHE) as we all monitor the progress of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

RIFLE - At the February 11, 2020 school board meeting, the Garfield Re-2 Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate the contract of Superintendent Brent Curtice immediately and unilaterally per section 12 b of the Superintendent’s contract, no cause. Curtice, was officially retiring at the end of the 2019-20 school year, and his duties with the District have concluded.

At the February 11, 2020, School Board meeting the Garfield Re-2 Board of Directors accepted the 2018-19 audit as presented by Paul Backes from the accounting firm McMahan and Associates. The audit shows the finances of the District in excellent shape with a $53.2 million general fund and a $14.9 million fund balance.

Denny Reyes and Keren Segovia don’t know who Virginia French Allen is or how her contributions to teaching English as a second language has impacted instruction for decades. What Denny and Keren know is that they love Sarah Clayton’s laugh, her smile and learning to read and speak English at Elk Creek Elementary.

The Garfield Re-2 School District invites the community to be a part of the superintendent search process in the new year. With the pending retirement of Garfield Re-2 Superintendent Brent Curtice at the end of the 2019-20 school year, the Re-2 Board of Directors are beginning the superintendent search process.

Jesus Gonzalez likes to play Minecraft, the blocky, virtual world where gamers can build castles, fight dragons, and create anything they can dream of. He never imagined that he would get stuck in his own Minecraft game. That is exactly how Rifle Middle School student Laykin Godeski imagined a world for Jesus, as she created an adventure storybook just for him.

The Garfield Re-2 School District swore in four new school board members and reorganized the officers at the Tuesday, November 26 School Board meeting.

In the corner of Rifle Middle School’s front entrance sits a growing mountain of cardboard boxes filled with canned vegetables, soup, breakfast items and cases of ramen noodles. Every morning, the Rifle Middle School students and RMS PALS make it grow a little bit bigger. PALS stands for Providing Assistance, Leadership and Service. These eighth-grade students provide assistance to teachers, students and their school where needed.

A significant number of people experiencing norovirus-like illness in Mesa County prompted the recent closing of Mesa County Valley School District 51 schools. Garfield County Public Health has received calls from childcare centers and workplaces reporting individuals with similar symptoms. Public Health is monitoring the outbreak; and encourages everyone to help prevent the spread of illness. People who are ill should stay home and parents should keep sick children home for 24-48 hours or until all symptoms resolve.

Winter Sports Schedules are online

Rifle High School senior Mariana Sauceda wants to work in a body shop - a human body shop of the future. “I want to focus on biomedical engineering. What interests me is the idea of creating artificial organs,” explained Mariana.

On Monday, November 18 all of our schools and the district office will begin using the Air Phone security systems at the main entrance.

Like any child, Coal Ridge High School senior Aidan Boyd has gone through his share of phases. For a while, space, rockets and the stars captured his imagination and then, then he became more interested in the countries of the blue planet.

Drivers in the Garfield Re-2 School District may be doing double takes with the roll-out of the new Meal Monkey food truck.

n the early morning hours, as kids are just waking for their school day, a team of quiet champions is already at work preparing school buildings for days filled with learning. When the students and staff leave for the day, the evening shift comes in and gets things ready to do it all over again. October 2 was National Custodian Day, but custodial crews in school districts - and buildings across the country - keep things running smoothly at all hours.

Cactus Valley Elemetnary's music teacher Justin Bankey was named one of seven finalists for Colorado's Teacher of the Year!

Find out who are the final candidates for the Garfield Re-2 School Board.

Results from the 2019 statewide assessments recently released by the Colorado Department of Education show the hard work of Garfield Re-2 teachers, staff and students and are the point of many celebrations.

Tanto los estudiantes como los maestros están agradecidos de asistir a la escuela en persona durante la pandemia, pero tener una gran cantidad de mascotas en los pasillos lo hace aún mejor. Gracias al programa de educación experimental de la escuela, los estudiantes de Wamsley están aprendiendo a cuidar una variedad de animales, como tortugas, ranas, geckos, cangrejos ermitaños, milpiés y algunas cucarachas enormes. Sí, de hecho son cucarachas gigantes de Texas.