How a rigorous school review grew into a year-long partnership for change at one small, rural campus

Yampah Mountain High School sits in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, serving 182 students across grades 9-12 as the alternative education campus of Colorado River BOCES. Many of its students would qualify for Tier 2 or Tier 3 support in a traditional public school. The campus also houses a Teen Parenting Program with on-site childcare and Project Rebound, a program for students with serious emotional disabilities. It’s the kind of school that does hard, essential work for kids who need something different — and in early 2026, it was also navigating a leadership transition, with a new principal, Dr. Zoe Stern, named just days before TeachUNITED’s coach arrived on campus.

This is the story of what happened next: a comprehensive review grounded in evidence, a coach who earned the trust of a wary community, and a partnership that didn’t end when the final report was delivered.

A Review Built on Evidence, Not Assumptions

TeachUNITED’s relationship with Colorado River BOCES began with a grant. The district’s team was writing an application for Colorado’s EASI grant program and needed a scope of work fast. TeachUNITED delivered a comprehensive, high-quality scope on a tight timeline, and that early responsiveness set the tone for what came next.

Once the grant application was in, Colorado River BOCES asked TeachUNITED to lead a Comprehensive School Review of Yampah Mountain High School, aligned to the Colorado Department of Education’s Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: Leadership, Talent Management, Instructional Transformation, and Culture & Climate.

TeachUNITED Instructional Coach Stewart Bellina led the review over three weeks, including:

• Stakeholder surveys distributed to staff, students, families, and community members, with strong response rates across every group
• A multi-day, in-person site visit in early April with classroom observations, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups
• Attendance at a Colorado River BOCES board meeting
• Analysis of achievement data (CMAS, PSAT, WorkKeys), the School Performance Framework, the Unified Improvement Plan, and prior diagnostic reviews

That triangulation across several data sources is what turned the review into something administrators could act on, not just a narrative summary.

What the Data Showed

The review confirmed real strengths: a “Performance” rating on the CDE’s Alternative Education Campus School Performance Framework, immediate and widespread staff and student support for newly appointed principal Dr. Zoe Stern, and, above all, deeply positive, familial relationships between staff and students. One student told the review team, “This is one of the first schools where I felt like adults actually cared whether I succeeded.”

It also named clear opportunities for growth: modernize a Student Information System that was losing grades and attendance data, rebuild trust between the school and Colorado River BOCES administration, strengthen relationships with feeder districts to support enrollment, and invest in structured instructional coaching. Each finding came with a specific, actionable recommendation and a 30/90/180-day timeline for implementation.

What TeachUNITED’s Coach Saw on the Ground

Stewart Bellina, the TeachUNITED instructional coach who led the review, described her initial impressions: “What immediately jumped out at me while visiting Yampah Mountain High School was the familial community amongst staff and students. I also quickly noticed the support of the new principal, Dr. Zoe Stern. She had only been named principal a few days before I arrived, but it was quickly apparent that she had the support of the entire staff and student body behind her as she began her work.”

She also pointed to something administrators evaluating a review process should pay attention to — how the school and district responded to hard feedback: “Both of these teams of leaders were extremely welcoming to TeachUNITED staff and willing to hear all of the recommendations set forth in the report. There was zero defensiveness or deflecting behaviors, and all were genuinely grateful to receive the feedback and hear the ideas to move forward.”

That openness matters because reviews only create change when leadership is willing to act on what they find. Bellina is optimistic about the pace of that change, in part because of the school’s size:

“Yampah Mountain High School is small enough that changes can occur much more quickly than in a school of 500 students or a district with 3 or more high schools. I am most excited for the teachers to hit the ground running in their Welcome Back week this August, where Dr. Stern will outline her strategic objectives for the year, which reflect TU recommendations.“

Bellina noted that coaching and feedback cycles for teachers, family communication, and the new Student Information System will all be areas to watch. The SIS in particular will give the school its first reliable baseline data on attendance and grades to measure whether the changes are working.

The District’s Response

Colorado River BOCES Director of Programs Dr. Nicolette DiPietro described the experience in a letter of reference for TeachUNITED: “Although we know they support numerous schools and districts, they consistently made us feel like we were their only client.”

She also credited TeachUNITED’s approach to coach matching, sharing, “They were intentional about matching us with the right coach for our organization and were willing to go back to the drawing board until we found the best fit.”

Dr. DiPietro also acknowledged that this review process could have gone very differently. Both the Yampah Mountain community and the district leadership team are deeply invested in the success of the school. She credited Bellina’s professionalism with turning what could have been a contentious process into an opportunity:

“Instead, Stewart and the TeachUNITED team allowed us to take this review process as an opportunity to show transparency, vulnerability, and ultimately the trust that is necessary for us to put this review into practice with our stakeholders.“

From Report to Action

The review wrapped in May 2026, and TeachUNITED presented the findings to Yampah Mountain and Colorado River BOCES leadership. But the partnership didn’t stop at the final report. In June, Phase 2 officially launched: Dr. Stern, the Colorado River BOCES team, and TeachUNITED kicked off a full year of implementation support based upon the review’s recommendations, including stakeholder engagement, strategic leadership planning, and instructional coaching.

By July, TU Coach Bellina was already working directly with Dr. Stern to translate those recommendations into a strategic plan ahead of the new school year, the same plan she’ll present to staff during Welcome Back week of the 2026-27 school year.

Why This Matters for Other Districts

Administrators considering a school review or a professional development partner are usually trying to answer one question: Will this actually change anything, or will it just produce a report that sits on a shelf? Yampah Mountain High School’s experience points to a few things worth naming directly:

The review process itself was rigorous — grounded in Colorado’s own Four Domains framework, built on data from staff, students, families, and the community, and delivered on a firm timeline. The recommendations were specific enough to act on immediately, with a clear 30/90/180-day sequence. And the relationship didn’t end at report delivery. The same coach who led the review is the one now embedded in implementation, working alongside the principal to turn findings into a working strategic plan.

For small, rural, and alternative schools in particular, this kind of partnership can make an outsized difference. Colorado River BOCES had unique circumstances — a leadership transition, a small staff of 41, and a student population with significant needs — and needed a partner who could adapt to that context rather than apply a generic playbook. That flexibility, paired with follow-through, is what turned a school holistic review into the start of a lasting improvement effort.