Southwest Open Charter School (8133)

High school

401 NORTH DOLORES ROAD
CORTEZ, CO 81321

Charter School.
Alternative Education Campus (AEC).

105

Total Students Served

Grade 9 - Grade 12

School District:
Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 (2035)
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School Profile

About Southwest Open Charter School (8133)

A MESSAGE FROM:

Southwest Open Charter School

2025-2026

As a CDE-defined Alternate Education Campus, SWOS works to integrate evidence-based best practices to offer a comprehensive educational program combining academics, character education, project based learning, outdoor education and expeditionary learning approaches that nurture the success of the whole student. We are proud that at this point, SWOS is not only a second chance school but a school of choice for the non-traditional learner. Students report that they like the school because they fee… l respected by staff and peers, that their voices are heard, an example ?I fit somewhere for the first time in my life?. SWOS was created in 1986 by the Southwest Board of Cooperative Services as a second chance school for teen parents and students who were not successful elsewhere. After reorganization in 1999, SWOS became a charter school with the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school district serving as its authorizing agent (LEA). Currently, SWOS serves approximately 134 students, grades 9-12, 94% of whom are defined as ?high risk? according to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). SWOS serves students from four school districts in the Four Corners area: Montezuma-Cortez RE-1, Dolores RE-4A, Dolores County RE-2J, and Mancos RE-6. SWOS also serves students from the Ute Mountain Ute and Navajo reservations. SWOS serves young people who live in Montezuma County and the surrounding area in which 24% of youth live in poverty (County Health Rankings, 2021). SWOS serves a large population of Native and Hispanic students (42.5%). Additionally, SWOS has many students who identify as non-binary. SWOS is one of the only alternative education campuses in the region, with more than 90% of their students defined as ?at-risk?. SWOS has a 38.8% student mobility rate with many students unhoused or living in foster care (CDE, 2022). 77.12% of students at SWOS are eligible for free and reduced lunch. Due to the sheer size of our county, economic hardship can be more difficult to manage as resources are not always easy to access, and resource scarcity affects the majority of students and families at SWOS. SWOS? primary academic program integrates into the CDE requirements several unique components: character education, expeditionary learning, personalized pathways, and learning to maintain social, emotional and physical health.

Enrollment

105

School Year: 2025-2026
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Student-Teacher Ratio

12:1

School Year: 2024-2025
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Final 2025 Performance Rating

What do these ratings mean?

Unified Improvement Plan (UIP)

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Attendance Rate

76.6%

School Year: 2024-2025
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4-Year Grad Rate

34.3%

School Year: 2024-2025
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Dropout Rate

7.6%

School Year: 2024-2025
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Average SAT & PSAT Scores

SAT Grade 11:

- -

PSAT Grade 10:

- -

PSAT Grade 9:

- -

School Year: 2024-2025
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Chronically Absent

78.6%

School Year: 2024-2025
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