•Early Childhood Education courses are offered at Southwest Colorado Community College and scholarships are available.
•Of the four school districts in MECC’s service area three were either accredited with distinction or accredited, had high graduation rates, and 100% of children attended full-day kindergarten.
•The largest district, Montezuma-Cortez RE-1, was classified as low-performing by CDE with a Priority Improvement Plan.
•Only 29.4% of Montezuma-Cortez’s children attended full-day kindergarten.
•The district had only a 63% graduation rate.
•Two elementary principals reported that many kindergarteners lacked basic skills at entry.