Colorado Department of Education presents 371 awards to Colorado schools and districts

News Release 

DENVER  – The Colorado Department of Education held a ceremony today to recognize and celebrate 63 school districts and 292 schools that won performance awards in the 2024-25 school year.

State Board of Education members Lisa Escárcega, Kathy Gebhardt and Kathy Plomer and Colorado Education Commissioner Dr. Susana Córdova presented the awards to about 40 school and district representatives during the event at the Denver Art Museum.

“Each of these awards reflects a deep commitment to students and a shared belief in what they can achieve,” said State Board Chair Rebecca McClellan. “We’re proud to recognize the schools and districts across Colorado that are creating meaningful opportunities for every learner to succeed.”

“Across Colorado, we’re seeing schools and districts turn bold ideas into meaningful action for students,” Córdova said. “These awards highlight the real progress happening in classrooms every day—where strong teaching, thoughtful leadership, and a clear focus on student engagement and outcomes are helping more young people build the skills, confidence, and readiness they need for what comes next.”

The event celebrated schools and districts across Colorado that received awards in 2024-25 school year under the following categories: Centers of Excellence, John Irwin School of Excellence, Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award, High School Academic Growth Award and Districts Accredited with Distinction.

View the complete list of award winners.

The Colorado Department of Education presented a total of 371 awards to 63 districts and 292 schools:

• The Centers of Excellence Award - established by the Colorado Legislature - recognizes schools with the highest sustained rates of student longitudinal growth as measured by the Colorado Growth Model among those with at least 75% at-risk students. In 2025, 18 schools earned this award.
• The John Irwin Award recognizes schools that demonstrate excellent academic achievement on the school performance framework by “exceeding” expectations on the indicator related to academic achievement over three years receive the John Irwin Award. In 2025, 242 schools earned this award.
• The Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award recognizes schools that demonstrate excellent student growth on the School Performance Framework by “exceeding” expectations on the indicator related to longitudinal academic growth over three years. In 2025, 84 schools earned this award.
• Districts recognized as Accredited with Distinction have earned 80% or more of the possible points on the District Performance Frameworks that measure academic achievement, academic growth, and post-secondary and workforce readiness. Eighteen districts received this award in 2025.
• The High School Academic Growth Awards recognize high schools that demonstrate the highest levels of students’ academic growth in reading, writing, and math within each classification used by the statewide association for high school activities for the sport of football. Nine Colorado high schools received this award in 2025.

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The Colorado Department of Education’s vision is to create equitable educational environments where all students and staff in Colorado thrive. Our role is to improve student outcomes and ensure students and families across Colorado have access to high-quality schools by serving, guiding, and elevating our state’s 178 school districts and BOCES.