Florida Mesa Elementary Home

2022 Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award recipient
students work on math project

About Us

Florida Mesa is a thriving school community that serves approximately 280 students preschool through fifth grade. The staff is highly committed to supporting all students reach their maximum potential.
Learn more About Us
1st grade class
Where we’re located
Durango School District map
school building

Mission

The mission of Florida Mesa Elementary, an innovative learning community, committed to integrity and educational rigor, is to inspire, and develop compassionate, open-minded inquirers, who actively contribute to a better world, by guaranteeing equitable opportunities in a safe, healthy, and diverse environment.  

School & District News

teacher and students in circle, talking

Are you a future-builder?

We need your feedback on a potential bond ballot question for this November. We invite you to visit our new interactive website page to learn about potential investments and funding. We encourage you to spread the word and share this page with your neighbors and fellow community members.
girl and dad with bicycle prize

2024 Summer Bridge makes learning fun and prepares students for next year

School’s out, but the Durango School District 9-R is encouraging students to work on learning through the summer – with fun events as a reward. The Summer Bridge program combines free activity books with checkpoints, events, and prizes to continue learning this summer and be ready for the next grade level. The books include engaging activities and practice in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and fitness.
District office front entry

Durango School District Administration Office - Summer Hours

The Durango School District Administration Office summer hours will be in effect June 3rd - July 26. We will operate with regular business hours Monday - Thursday, 8am - 4pm, and be closed to the public on Fridays during this time period.
students with award certificates

Board Of Education Student Awards

On Thursday, April 24, the Board of Education held a Student Awards ceremony, to celebrate students who exemplified the district's Portrait of a Graduate competencies.
potential ballot measure survey

Survey now open on potential ballot measure

Beginning April 18, we encourage everyone in La Plata County – district staff, families, community members – to participate in an important survey regarding public education programs, policies, and a potential ballot measure this November 2024.
graphic of rocket and space walker

DHS Women in STEM club host design sprint event

Durango High School (DHS) Women in STEM club is hosting a design sprint on Sunday, April 21 for grades 4-8 to build interest in STEM fields and to encourage incoming middle and high schoolers to begin or continue to follow a STEM pathway.
drawing of happy people in a field

DHS Green Team coloring contest

The Durango High School (DHS) Green Team is sponsoring an elementary school art contest! The process is simple: choose one of 2 coloring pages to complete with your original design and submit your work for the opportunity to receive a Cream Bean Berry gift card. Submissions are due April 15th.
kindergarten kids around table

Early Access Applications Available February 1

Durango School District 9-R has the opportunity to accelerate highly advanced gifted children under age 5 for kindergarten and/or under age 6 for first grade. This Early Access is for those eligible students if their birthdays fall after October 1. It is intended to support students who are evaluated to be exceptional in aptitude/cognitive reasoning, academics, school readiness, and motivation.
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Principal Shannon Morris with award

Principal's Message

Florida Mesa Elementary School was awarded the 2022 Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award, for demonstrating exceptional student growth.
“We are extremely proud of our students and staff for their hard work, as we have been working to close academic achievement gaps as a result of COVID-related impacts,” said Shannon Morris, principal of Florida Mesa Elementary School. “We have created learning environments focused on growth and academic achievement.”

Events

Student/ Family Check-in

Time: 8 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Florida Mesa Elementary School, 216 Highway 172, Durango, CO 81303

Student/ Family Check-in

Time: 8 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Florida Mesa Elementary School, 216 Highway 172, Durango, CO 81303

Student/ Family Check-in

Time: 8 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Florida Mesa Elementary School, 216 Highway 172, Durango, CO 81303

Student/ Family Check-in

Time: 8 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Florida Mesa Elementary School, 216 Highway 172, Durango, CO 81303

Student/ Family Check-in

Time: 8 AM – 3:30 PM
Location: Florida Mesa Elementary School, 216 Highway 172, Durango, CO 81303
Show All Events
Engineer Mountain

Quality of Life

Durango is a beautiful place to live and work. It is located at 6,512 feet elevation in Southwest Colorado near the Four Corners region. Families who live here enjoy a historic steam train, ski resort, rivers, vibrant downtown, bike trails, sky-high “fourteener” mountains, and four distinct seasons with an average of 266 sunny days per year. We welcome new families and new staff members, and we offer excellent benefits and competitive salaries. 
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Accessibility Statement

It is the goal of Durango School District 9-R that the information on this website be accessible to individuals with visual, hearing, or cognitive disabilities. Good faith efforts are being made to ensure that our website complies with web accessibility standards.

Most pages on our site are available in HTML format, which can be read by screen readers. Some documents are in Adobe PDF format, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website. Additionally, some documents are in Google Docs, and Google Forms. Most modern browsers and screen readers can access Google-based documents. More information about Google web products accessibility can be found on the Google Accessibility website.

In order to ensure that Durango School District websites are accessible to everyone in our community, including those with disabilities, we are using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

If you cannot access any page(s) on our site, please email us at [email protected]. Include the location of the webpage/document, your name, email address, and phone number so we can provide the information in another format, and address the issue.