After a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Department of Education released its 2022 School and District Performance Framework, designating Lewis-Palmer School District 38 as one of just 11 districts to earn Accreditation with Distinction status.
The honor is awarded to just six percent of Colorado’s 184 school districts, which is down from 11 percent in 2019 when the last rankings were released.
“We have much to be proud of, and we are grateful to be named as Accredited with Distinction,” said D38 Superintendent KC Somers, Ed.D. “Our staff have worked tirelessly through some incredibly difficult times over the past two years as our district remained open through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our educators are committed to serving every student, and that bears out in our students’ scores.”
Accredited with Distinction is the highest designation awarded by the state on its accountability performance framework, and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 is one of just four school districts to have earned the designation every year since the first framework published in 2009. Only D38, Telluride R-1, Cheyenne Mountain 12 and Academy School District 20 meet this criterion.
“This is cause for celebration among our families and our community, and it deserves our attention. Still, this does not erase the challenges our district faces. Performing among the top 11 school districts in the state, but paying our teachers last in the region is a challenge we must overcome, and we must overcome it in partnership with our community,” Somers said. “A turnover rate nearing 30% is a recipe for disaster as we seek to continue performing as one of the best districts in Colorado and in the nation.”