Future-Ready DSD: Planning together for the next generation

Future-Ready DSD: Planning for what’s ahead

DSD is planning for significant changes in enrollment, funding, facilities, and community needs. Future-Ready DSD brings the facts, planning work, current proposals, and opportunities for community input together in one place. Learn what’s shaping the future of our schools and how you can participate.

Read full story
Don't show again

Sunnyside Elementary Home

Kind, safe, responsible problem-solvers

Teacher assisting two children with a science activity at a classroom table.

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.
Learn more
Young girl running through a finish line with support from two trainers during an outdoor event.
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

Future-Ready DSD: Planning together for the next generation

Future-Ready DSD: Planning for what’s ahead

DSD is planning for significant changes in enrollment, funding, facilities, and community needs. Future-Ready DSD brings the facts, planning work, current proposals, and opportunities for community input together in one place. Learn what’s shaping the future of our schools and how you can participate.
Thumbnail of Future-Ready DSD website page

Future-Ready DSD: Help shape the future of our schools

Change is already happening in public education. The question is: How will we respond to it together? Declining enrollment and birth rates, inadequate funding, rising housing costs, aging facilities, and evolving educational needs are reshaping school districts across the country — including Durango School District.
DSD Board of Education: Upcoming meeting

School Board Work Session is Sept. 8

The DSD Board of Education will meet for a Work Session on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 5:30 p.m. at Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary School (11274 Highway 140, Hermosa). The public is welcome. The Board does not allow public comment at Work Sessions, and the meetings are not livestreamed.
Exterior of Sunnyside Elementary School on a sunny day

Sunnyside consolidation recommendation: What you need to know

DSD has recommended consolidating Sunnyside Elementary with the new Three Springs Elementary School when it opens in fall 2028. The district's Sunnyside Elementary Recommendation webpage brings the recommendation, timeline, supporting information, community feedback, and Board decision process together in one place. The Board of Education is expected to consider the recommendation on Sept. 22.
Show All News
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

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. 
Join our team

Accessibility Statement

Durango School District is committed to ensuring our digital platforms are accessible to everyone, aligning with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and Colorado accessibility laws. If you encounter a barrier or need an alternative format, please contact us at [email protected] or (970) 247-5411.