Sunnyside Elementary Home

Kind, safe, responsible problem-solvers

girl at teacher's desk

About Us

Sunnyside Elementary School is located in La Plata County, Colorado. We offer a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on Colorado Academic Standards to approximately 109 students in preschool through fifth grade. Sunnyside is a small, rural school that has all the services offered in larger schools, while still providing a family environment.
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Where we’re located
Durango School District map
school building

Mission

Here at Sunnyside, we believe that the improved academic achievement of each student is a shared responsibility among all the adults in the child's life and the child.  By working together, we provide our students with a strong foundation for success.

School & District News

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Did you receive the emergency message on April 22?

On Tuesday, April 22, at 12:39 p.m., Durango School District sent out an emergency message to our entire school community about Boys and Girls Club closing that afternoon due to a power outage. If you did not receive the message, please complete the following steps to ensure you receive emergency messaging in future.
A group of friends laughs together

Cook Center Mental Health Series: May 2025 classes + watch recordings on your own schedule

Need help in supporting your child's well-being? We are offering FREE live webinars on Monday-Thursday evenings throughout the school year, and you can always watch previously recorded classes on your own time by visiting the Cook Center's full content library. Live webinar topics in May include: how to motivate your child, mindfulness for improved mental health, suicide prevention, protecting your child on social media, emotional regulation, video game addiction, stopping bullying cycles, and more.
A young child focuses intently while stacking colorful wooden blocks to build a structure during playtime.

Rising kindergarteners: Register now for 2025-26 + sign up for Kindergarten Readiness Screening

If your child is entering kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year, be sure to register soon so you don't miss out on vital information over the summer. We also welcome you to participate in our Kindergarten Readiness Screenings this month, so you can learn more about your child's unique developmental strengths and areas for growth, plus how to set your child up for kindergarten success in the fall.
A group of friends laughs together

Cook Center Mental Health Series: April 2025 classes + watch recordings on your own schedule

Need help in supporting your child's well-being? We are offering FREE live webinars on Monday-Thursday evenings throughout the school year, and you can always watch previously recorded classes on your own time by visiting the Cook Center's full content library. Live webinar topics this month include: effects of screen time, helping your child succeed, substance use and vaping, building confidence, depression, school avoidance, talking with your child about pornography, and much more.
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Sunnyside Principal Mary Ebens

Principal's Message

Welcome to Sunnyside Elementary School! We are inspiring and equipping our students to make a mighty impact on their world, both now and in their future, by explicitly teaching them how to become “Bulldog Scholars.” Our scholars are engaged in active learning by opening their minds, taking educational risks, persevering through struggles, and reflecting on their learning and themselves. 

Events

SIPTA Meeting

Time: 8 AM – 9:30 AM
Location: Sunnyside Library
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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.