The Steamboat Springs School District has been recognized by the Colorado Department of Education as “Accredited with Distinction,” the highest accreditation a district can receive in the state, and marking the second consecutive year the district has received the honor, according to a statement released Monday.

Only 12 Colorado school districts received this accolade, placing SSSD among the top 7% of districts in the state. 

To earn this rating, districts must achieve a minimum of 74% of possible points on the state’s performance framework. SSSD earned 77.9%, demonstrating “strong results in academic achievement, academic growth and postsecondary and workforce readiness,” according to the statement.  

Performance highlights include 76.4% at the elementary level, 81.1% at the middle school level and 74.7% at the high school level. 

Over 65% of district students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, significantly outpacing the state average of 44.7%. In mathematics, nearly 56% of district students met or exceeded expectations, relative to 37.3% statewide. 

Eighty-six percent of ninth-grade students met or exceeded English Language Arts benchmarks on the PSAT 9, compared to 66% statewide. 

Additionally, in English Language Arts and mathematics, multilingual learners and students with individualized education programs 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 Superintendent Kristin Drury in the statement. “We are incredibly proud of our students’ outstanding growth and achievement, particularly across all student groups receiving targeted support.”

Preliminary ratings for the 2025-26 school year are at Ed.CDE.State.Co.Us/Accountability/PerformanceFrameworks/Results.