Working collaboratively with the vision in mind is a big part of the PPOS culture. What is applied with students is also applied at all levels within the school…
Author: Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is School Director at Pagosa Peak Open School, the first District-authorized charter school in Archuleta County. Prior to her appointment as School Director, Emily filled various roles at PPOS including Project-Based Learning advisor, instructional coach, and assistant director.
Pagosa Peak Open School Displays Models of Future Playground
The Playground for the People received a $25,000 grant through the Colorado Health Foundation to begin planning a new playground space…
PPOS Middle School Get ‘Hands On’ with Water Study
“When students have choice within guidelines the learning becomes active, applicable and real for them…”
A Poetry Reading at the Tennyson Event Center
“What really brought this project to life for the kids was visiting the planetarium at San Juan College in Farmington…”
Charter School Kindergarten Celebrates The Weather
Exploration with weather instruments and documenting local weather brought this project to life for these young students…
Charter School Receives $25,000 Playground Planning Grant
The space will be designed to serve not only PPOS students but also the entire Pagosa community after school hours…
Pagosa Peak Students Go Camping to Learn Civics
Students in grades 4-5 were sitting amongst piles of camping gear while Ms. Rue ran through the checklist. “Show me your socks! Show me your flashlight!…”
‘Back to School Night’ Has a Special Meaning for Pagosa Peak Students
“It feels like a real school!” remarked middle schooler Shayanne…
Pagosa Peak Students Begin Summer ‘Intensives’
While the theater group addresses many art, writing, reading, speaking and listening standards, other groups have different focuses this month…
Charter School Students Reflect on COVID Era with Inaugural Art Show
Students spent the semester looking at how the COVID-19 Pandemic influenced the art world, and how people used creativity and artistic talents to make COVID times more bearable…
PHOTO ESSAY: PPOS Students Tackle the Ninja Warrior Course
“This event was a great way to get our students outside and promote our school values of Whole and Healthy Humans and Community…”
PHOTO ESSAY: Charter School Students Make ‘Waves’ During School Celebrations
Students earned ‘waves’ for things like cleaning up trash on a class walk, saying please and thank you in line for lunch, completing draft after draft of writing work…
Pagosa Peak Open School Hosts ‘Community Heroes’ Dinner
The students considered the local heroes in their lives: the people of Pagosa Springs who support them and their community each day…
PHOTO ESSAY: Pagosa Peak Open School’s First ‘Color Run’
Middle school students filled bottles and buckets with colored cornstarch, as the school filled with students dressed in all white…
Pagosa Charter School Partners with Arts Initiative, Forge Martial Arts
Beginning this month, Pagosa Springs youth has increased options for after school programming, with a new space for The Pagosa Arts Initiative and The Forge…
Charter School Students Create American Revolution Podcasts
After reading about and researching the American Revolution, students learned to create a podcast and were assigned jobs in small groups…
Charter School Seeks Feedback on Uptown Community Playground
“We have hopes of making a beautiful community space for the whole family. While this space supports PPOS; it also supports the Forge, the Arts Initiative, and all our neighbors uptown…”
PPOS Kindergarten Families Celebrate ‘Life Cycle Learning’
Parents quietly filtered into the room and waited for the festivities to begin. Minutes later the group broke into song…