Durango Big Picture High School Home

One student at a time.
Exterior Big Picture High School

About Us

BPHS is a part of the Big Picture Learning Network, a large, international network of schools started in 1995 in the United States. The Durango school has about 90 students, each developing personalized learning plans that include independent projects, content-specific experiences, and comprehensive internships each year. 
students do community service work
Where we’re located
Durango School District map
Ribbon cutting at the new Big Picture High School location

Mission

The mission of Durango Big Picture High School is to empower students to use their interests and passions to drive their learning through real world application and experiences in order to reach their personal, social and academic goals.

School & District News

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Spring Break is March 17-21

Spring Break for Durango School District schools is Monday, March 17, through Friday, March 21. All schools will be closed. Regular class schedules will resume on Monday, March 24.
Abre logo

Big news: Abre is coming soon

We’re thrilled to announce that after Spring Break, families of secondary students will have access to Abre – a powerful tool designed to bring all your student’s important school information together in one place. From grades and assignments to key updates, Abre makes it easier than ever to stay connected and engaged in your student’s education.
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Samantha Tower

Principal's Message

Big Picture's rigorous and highly personalized approach to education combines academic work with real-world experiences that prepare them for what is next after high school. Students choose their own adventure, with highly personalized and experiential learning tailored to their interests. – Samantha Tower, Principal

Events

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Engineer Mountain

Quality of Life

Durango is a beautiful place to live and work. It is located at 6,512 feet elevation in Southwest Colorado near the Four Corners region. Families who live here enjoy a historic steam train, ski resort, rivers, vibrant downtown, bike trails, sky-high “fourteener” mountains, and four distinct seasons with an average of 266 sunny days per year. We welcome new families and new staff members, and we offer excellent benefits and competitive salaries. 
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Accessibility Statement

It is the goal of Durango School District 9-R that the information on this website be accessible to individuals with visual, hearing, or cognitive disabilities. Good faith efforts are being made to ensure that our website complies with web accessibility standards.

Most pages on our site are available in HTML format, which can be read by screen readers. Some documents are in Adobe PDF format, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website. Additionally, some documents are in Google Docs, and Google Forms. Most modern browsers and screen readers can access Google-based documents. More information about Google web products accessibility can be found on the Google Accessibility website.

In order to ensure that Durango School District websites are accessible to everyone in our community, including those with disabilities, we are using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

If you cannot access any page(s) on our site, please email us at [email protected]. Include the location of the webpage/document, your name, email address, and phone number so we can provide the information in another format, and address the issue.