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Ongoing Professional Development, High Tech High, San Diego, CA
MA – Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
BA – Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado
Principal Institute, Colorado
Hall of Fame Coronado HS
Hall of Fame Fort Lewis College
Hall of Fame Colorado League of Charter Schools
Executive Director
Mr. Voss grew up in Colorado Springs. He earned his B.A. from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and his M.A. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Mr. Voss brings 29 years of teaching and leadership experience to Mountain Middle School with a focus on change management and progressive elements of project based learning. Mr. Voss has been the Executive Director at Mountain Middle School going on eleven years. He has led our expansion efforts to include 4th and 5th grades along with the construction of our new state of the art facilities in 2016 and again in 2022.
He and his wife have enjoyed raising two daughters in Durango. His passions are rafting, fly fishing, bow hunting, skiing, and traveling with his family.
Mr. Voss has worked extensively with Expeditionary Learning, Buck Institute, Deeper Learning, and High Tech High to effectively lead and implement essential Project Based Learning structures and strategies at Mountain Middle School.
He recently completed ongoing professional development at the Principal Institute. He has participated in programs at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, designed to prepare reflective practitioner leaders to work with colleagues and communities to develop innovative, authentic, and rigorous learning environments. This professional development is designed for experienced educators who aspire to lead an innovative school focused on deeper learning and equity.
The Rocky Mountain Region of Colorado’s Expeditionary Learning headquarters noted Mr. Voss’ intense commitment and unusually steep learning trajectory.
Mr. Voss has been noted for his ability to bring clarity to a vision and his coaching of teachers in a progressive methodologies. He has been a finalist for the Colorado Charter School Leader of the year in 2014,15,16,17,18, 22, 23 and 24. Under his leadership, Mountain Middle School has earned the State’s highest accreditation rating of Distinction in 2014, 2105, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 with the school ranked the top of all public schools in Colorado. The school earned the John Irwin School of Excellence Award in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the top performing academic schools in Colorado. Most notably, their 4th and 5th graders earned the State’s top ranking for public elementary schools in Colorado for academic growth and the State’s top ranking for academic achievement in both math and English Language Arts. Also, their middle school, grades 6th, 7th and 8th, earned the number three ranking for public middle schools in Colorado for academic achievement with ELA scores in the 98th percentile and math scores in the 92nd percentile. Their minority students scored in the 93rd percentile for academic achievement and demonstrated a year and a half worth of growth. State rankings for all public schools in Colorado are based on points earned in the areas of academic growth and achievement from the annual State CMAS testing results. Executive Director, Shane Voss, emphasized; “The vision of Mountain Middle School is to be a distinguished educational community leader that empowers students to own their future by preparing students to achieve their highest academic and social potential. We want to congratulate all of our students and talented teachers for the incredible growth scores and overall State ranking.” In 2024, Shane was inducted into the Colorado Charter School Hall of Fame and was named Colorado’s Charter School Leader of the Year. (Click Here to Read More)
In his first year at Mountain Middle School, Shane led his school to achieve the “Performance with Distinction” accreditation endorsement from Charter School Institute in 2014. This is the highest accreditation rating possible for a Colorado charter school and is an improvement of 2 levels of performance from the prior year. Under his leadership, Mountain Middle School’s accreditation of Distinction has become the norm.
The Distinction accreditation rating recognizes Mountain Middle School in 3 areas of achievement:
Mountain Middle School’s Shane Voss Named ‘Colorado’s Charter School Leader of the Year’ and Inducted into the Colorado Charter School Hall of FameMountain Middle School’s Executive Director Shane Voss has been named Colorado Charter School’s Leader of the Year.Each year, nominations are invited from the charter school community across the state and a committee of reviews submissions. Voss’ nomination included accolades shared by parents, staff and board members, highlighting some of the unique achievements and approaches Voss takes in his position at Mountain Middle School. Mountain Middle School Board President Erin Birt said Voss’ commitment to student growth and success are among the reasons he was likely chosen for the award. She added that his work to create an inclusive environment at the middle school has been a major benefit to the school.
“Mr. Voss has creatively worked with the board to design one of the most competitive staff compensation models in the Four Corners region, including bonuses for staff returning year-over-year, a legacy compensation framework to appropriately reward longevity of employment plus wellness bonuses to promote renewal and recharging of staff health and wellness throughout the year,” Birt said.
Voss said he was humbled by the honor.
He has been with Mountain Middle School for 11 years and has only seen the charter school grow. “That’s what’s really impressive – just to see how much the school is continuing to grow academically and culturally – it’s just seen incredible growth,” Voss said. “But I’m just really proud of our staff and our students for just maintaining such a high level of excellence year in and year out.” The school grew to about 300 students in 2022 when it added fourth and fifth grades. The total student population is around 362 students including students who are home-schooled.
“It’s a tribute to the team of teachers I have, and all of the hard work of my staff, students and the board of directors,” Voss said. “I think everybody’s worked as a team and earned this together. It’s definitely not something I consider an individual achievement.”
Under Voss’ guidance, the school has done particularly well with Colorado Measures of Academic Success testing. Last year, fourth and fifth graders earned the state’s top ranking for public elementary schools in Colorado for academic growth and the state’s top ranking for academic achievement in math and English language arts. The school’s sixth through eighth grades earned the No. 3 ranking for public middle schools in Colorado for academic achievement with English language arts scores in the 98th percentile and math scores in the 92nd percentile. Voss is also working on a proposal to offer a renewal and inspiration fellowship for staff to pursue opportunities, domestically and abroad, to enhance school curriculum.
“Mr. Voss is committed to ensuring professional development for the staff is well funded in our annual budget as he strives to ensure the staff feel they have a career, not just a job at Mountain,” Birt said.
Mountain Middle School and Executive Director Shane Voss are featured as the model school in this 2024 New York Times #1 bestsellerClick the link below to listen to the Podcast
Mountain Middle School and Mr. Voss were recently featured in the award winning documentary “Trust Me”
Mr. Voss was named Charter School Leader of the month by the League of Charter School. September, 2022
