On behalf of the staff, I take pleasure in welcoming you to Hotchkiss (Pre) K – 8 School.  We are honored to have the opportunity to educate your child at our school.  Hotchkiss K-8 School is unique as we serve students as young as 4 years old (preschool) to 14 years of age (8th graders) all in one building. We provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum to approximately 400 students.  We are located on the Western Slope of Colorado.  We are surrounded by gorgeous views of the West Elk Mountain Range and are closely located to the Grand Mesa.  At HK8 we expect all our students to follow our three basic rules of expectations, believe in their possibilities by following our “fish philosophy”, and to follow Hotchkiss Pride everyday.

Students and parents may rely on the three basic rules of expectations, on which our school operates to guide them in any situation. These expectations are:

1. •Safety, Order, Rights
   

2. •Hands Off Policy,
   

3. •Responsibility to Report.
   

In addition, we follow the “Fish Philosophy”.  This philosophy is derived from the “Fish Market” in Seattle, Washington.  There are four premises of this philosophy which guide our school culture:

CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE:  You get to choose how your day is going to be so make your attitude a positive attitude.

PLAY:  since you have to be at school, you need to enjoy what you are learning.

MAKE THEIR DAY:  Respect and taking care of one another is a necessity in our society.  At HK8 we model this daily.

BE THERE:  It is imperative that we are at school everyday.  We need to be focused and ready to learn.

Lastly, we believe in HOTCHKISS PRIDE - “BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO”!  We instill in our students the fact that they must be proud of all they do everyday.

I sincerely hope each student is challenged by a variety of learning experiences at HK8.  We are proud to be a high performing school with exceptional teachers, students, parents and community.  We take alot of pride in being a HOTCHKISS BULLDOG!  It is truly a great place to be everyday! 

We do foster an open door policy, so if you are in town stop by and we would love to treat you to a cup of coffee and show you around our fantastic school!

With gratitude,

Carrie Coats, Principal