Our School

Home to approximately 80 students, 15 teachers, and 10 staff, our story begins in a mountain valley surrounded by jagged peaks, a tiny oasis nestled at 9,318 feet. The surrounding mountains tell the tale of Silverton’s history and its present. The sinuous tracks of backcountry skiers glide by historic mine portals. Ornate Victorian buildings surround the newly constructed greenhouse and community garden. The boom and bust cycles of a western mining town are evident in the cracked facades of brick buildings, the junked cars in front yards, and the shiny plate glass windows of the restaurants and souvenir shops.

In the mining days, Silverton had a booming economy and a population in the thousands, with outlying communities scattered throughout the surrounding valleys. Now, it has a year round population of 500 and is the only town in the county. When the mines closed in the early 1990s, the people of Silverton faced a tough decision: stay in this economically depressed town, or head for places where the living was easier. The hardy souls who chose to stay did so in spite of the hardships that face so many rural towns: poverty, lack of opportunity, isolation. They stayed because they saw the potential in this valley, and they wanted to build their lives among these mountains.

The train tracks leading down the Animas River valley recall the past, when the railroad was the only link to the outside world, as well as represent the present, in which the train brings the loads of tourists who are the lifeblood of the town’s economy. While mule and coal-fired train are no longer the only access to Silverton, it’s still one of the most isolated towns in Colorado. It’s 50 miles to the nearest grocery store, hospital, and movie theater. The roads leaving town in both directions cross high mountain passes with winding hairpin curves and precipitous drop-offs and are closed for avalanche danger and adverse weather throughout the winter.

Now, it’s late winter, and snow blankets the town. The piles of snow are so high that only the second stories of the houses are visible from the street. The only thing moving on the streets is a stream of kids, making their way through the snow on skis, kick sleds, or on foot, converging on the three-story brick building at the center of town: Silverton School.