Grand Junction, CO – The Colorado Department of Education has released the 2026 School Performance Frameworks and District Performance Frameworks (SPF/DPF), which serve as an annual “report card” for Colorado schools and districts, measuring academic achievement, student growth and, at the high school level, postsecondary and workforce readiness.
For the third consecutive year, D51 earned an Accredited rating, with 14 schools also making gains in this year’s SPF scores. Bookcliff Middle School and Central High School both moved from Improvement to the highest level of Performance in 2026, while New Emerson STEAM LEAD, Shelledy Elementary, and Bookcliff Middle School posted double digit gains on their SPFs.
New Emerson STEAM LEAD, Bookcliff Middle School, and Shelledy Elementary each posted double-digit increases in their overall School Performance Framework scores. New Emerson increased by 15 points, Bookcliff by 11.5 points, and Shelledy by 11.4 points.
Central High School increased its School Performance Framework score by 6.7 percentage points, moving from Improvement to the highest level of Performance for the first time since 2013. Central High School also posted the largest increase in SPF points among D51 high schools.
Bookcliff Middle School increased its School Performance Framework Score by 11.5 points, moving from Improvement to the highest level of Performance for the first time since 2022.
New Emerson STEAM LEAD earned the highest SPF score of 85 with Redlands Middle School scoring the highest among middle schools at 74.1 and Fruita Monument High School scoring the highest among high schools at 75.
With Central High School’s improvement, all of D51’s comprehensive high schools are now rated at the highest level of Performance for the first time since 2013.
Overall, 97% of D51 schools earned a rating in the state’s top two performance levels this year, including 78% that earned the state’s highest rating of Performance.
“These results are about much more than a number,” said Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill. “When we look school by school, we see schools making significant gains, schools moving into Performance, and teams whose focused work is producing results for students. We also see where we have opportunities to grow and where additional support can make a difference. All of that information helps us understand where we are and how we continue moving our schools forward.”
That long-term focus is at the center of D51's new five-year Strategic Plan. While the district's previous plan focused on ensuring all schools reached one of the state's top two performance levels (a goal that was achieved last year for the first time ever in D51), the new five-year plan raises the bar: by 2030, D51's goal is for 90% of schools to earn the state's highest Performance rating.
With 78% of schools at Performance, D51 enters the second year of the new plan with a strong foundation and a clear target for the next four years. Reaching 90% will mean continuing to strengthen schools already performing at a high level while continuing to provide focused support and resources to help more schools reach and sustain the state's highest rating.
“We know where we want to be five years from now, and these annual results give us an important measure of where we are along that path,” said Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill. “There is a lot to celebrate across our schools, and there is still work to do. That's what continuous improvement is about. We use the information we have, learn from it, and keep pushing ourselves to create better outcomes and more opportunities for every student in D51.”
The SPF/DPF results are one piece of that larger picture. Results released earlier this month from the 2025–2026 school year showed continued strength in reading and writing, gains in mathematics across several grade levels, and high school students meeting or exceeding statewide performance in reading and writing across all three tested grades: 9th, 10th, and 11th.
“Last year's results showed us what is possible across District 51, and I'm incredibly proud that our schools continue to meet or exceed state expectations, reaching milestones we had never reached in the past as a district,” said Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill. “At the same time, we're setting our sights higher. We want more of our schools reaching the highest level of Performance and sustaining that success year after year. That's the work ahead of us, and it's exactly what our new Strategic Plan is designed to drive.”
For more information, please contact District 51 Director of Communications Callie Berkson at callie.berkson@d51schools.org or 505.217.6435