Carbondale Middle School is a public middle school serving roughly 365 5th-8th grade students. Nestled in downtown Carbondale at the base of Mount Sopris, CMS has a long standing tradition of excellence. Winner of the Colorado Succeeds prize, CMS has maintained a strong academic excellence, low teacher turnover, and a positive student culture that is cultivated through teachers’ attention to individual students and their collective commitment to common routines and expectations.
CMS’s programming includes core academic content delivered through rigorous curricula including Illustrative Mathematics and EL English Language Arts. Our English as a Second Language program is taught by award winning educators, and our social studies and science programming is anchored in evidence-based thinking. Essentials classes include STEM, physical education, and art, with opt-in band and Spanish language opportunities. Our social emotional program is delivered through Crew, an advising structure that provides every student a time to connect with a teacher.
CMS is committed to safety, student belonging, and joyful learning, delivered through tight instruction and common student expectations and routines that create an environment of predictability and consistency. We make CMS a joyful place for students and teachers by celebrating the uniqueness of every student. Fun is built into our programming through Crew, experiential education trips, and Color Games, a year-long friendly competition fostering teamwork and character education.
Most importantly, at CMS, our mission is simple: Increase academic, social, and emotional growth of all students. To see direct evidence of our commitment to student growth and excellence, see our TLCC survey results, which is an anonymous statewide survey of licensed, school-based educators to assess teaching conditions at the school, district and state level.
