Steamboat Springs School District Recognized as “Accredited With Distinction” by Colorado Department of Education

District earns the state’s highest rating for second year in a row

Steamboat Springs, Colo. - August 31, 2026 - The Steamboat Springs School District (SSSD) has been recognized by the Colorado Department of Education with an “Accredited with Distinction” rating, the highest accreditation a district can receive in the state. This marks the second year in a row the district has received this accolade. Only 12 districts in Colorado received this honor, placing SSSD among the top 7% statewide.

To earn this honor, districts must achieve at least 74% of possible points on the state’s performance framework. SSSD earned 77.9%, reflecting strong results in academic achievement, academic growth, and postsecondary and workforce readiness.

Performance Highlights:

• Elementary Level – 76.4% (Distinction)
• Middle School Level – 81.1% (Distinction)
• High School Level – 74.7% (Distinction)
• Districtwide Indicators:
  • Academic Achievement – 80.3% (Meets)
  • Academic Growth – 73.5% (Meets)
  • Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness – 81.4% (Meets)

State Assessment & Academic Outcomes

• CMAS English Language Arts (ELA): 65.2% of district students met or exceeded expectations, significantly outpacing the state average of 44.7%.
• CMAS Mathematics: 55.9% of district students met or exceeded expectations, compared to 37.3% statewide.
• Secondary Benchmarks: 86% of ninth-grade students met or exceeded ELA benchmarks on the PSAT 9, compared to 66% statewide.
• Equity and Subgroup Growth: In CMAS ELA and Math, Multilingual Learners and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) achieved median growth percentiles well above state averages. 

“Earning ‘Accredited with Distinction’ for the second consecutive year is a direct result of the hard work and commitment of our students, teachers, and staff,” said Kristin Drury, superintendent of SSSD. “We are incredibly proud of our students' outstanding growth and achievement, particularly across all student groups receiving targeted support.”

The preliminary 2025-26 ratings are available on the Performance Frameworks Results webpage. Performance frameworks are part of the state’s accountability system and are calculated by combining student academic growth, students' academic achievement, and postsecondary and workforce readiness data, such as graduation, dropout, and college matriculation rates.  

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Media contact:
Laura Milius, Director of Communications (lmilius@ssk12.org)