Karen Cheser, superintendent of Durango School District 9-R, has received the 2025 EmpowerED Digital Superintendent of the Year Award for her leadership and innovative use of technology across the district.
The award is presented by the Consortium for School Networking and the School Superintendents Association.
“While this may have been the Superintendent of the Year national award, it really is a reflection of what our teachers and staff and leaders and kids are doing every single day in our schools,” Cheser said.
According to Cheser, she is the first woman to receive the award.
Cheser assumed the role of superintendent in July 2021. Since then, she has spearheaded several initiatives aimed at integrating technology into classrooms.
In the past two years, the school district has implemented generative AI across all spheres of K-12 education.
Students are taught how to effectively and responsibly use AI tools, and teachers have access to technology support personnel who help them integrate AI into their work.
“Dr. Cheser created the Instructional Technology Specialist role, which is key to connecting teaching and tech,” said Justin Duncan, the district’s director of technology, in a video congratulating Cheser on her award.
Cheser also facilitated the introduction of robotics programs across the district.
Robotics programs are now offered at all elementary and middle schools, and the high school has an award-winning robotics team, Cheser said.
Additionally, she played a key role in establishing makerspaces at all elementary, middle and high schools – an accomplishment Cheser said she is most proud of.
The makerspaces are equipped with educational tools such as robots and software that allow students to engage in computational thinking and creative problem-solving, Cheser said.
The EmpowerED award recognizes not only Cheser’s leadership in Durango School District, but also her decades-long career in education.
Before coming to Durango, Cheser taught graduate courses in information science and helped start more than 150 robotics teams. She was also involved in the creation of the Ignite Institute, a STEM school sponsored by Toyota, and serves as Colorado’s representative on the Consortium for School Networking’s superintendent advisory board.
Throughout her career, Cheser said her mission has remained the same: to ensure every student finds a career that blends their passions with their skills.
She said that mission aligns with the goals of Durango School District 9-R.
“We want every student, once they know what they want to do in their life, to be fully equipped … so that their opportunities are limitless,” Cheser said.
For Cheser, that mission includes expanding access to classroom technology, particularly for girls, low-income students and students who are not identified for gifted programs early in their education.
Girls who don’t believe they’re good at technology by fourth grade typically do not pursue STEM careers, especially in tech, she said.
Students who go on to pursue careers in tech typically do not come from underrepresented populations, such as racial minorities or low-income backgrounds, Cheser said.
Research suggests the gap exists because many of those students lacked early exposure to technology, and therefore didn’t have the confidence to pursue tech-related careers.
To combat that trend, Cheser said the district has worked to integrate technology into the curricula, beginning in elementary school, to ensure it is not reserved only for students who show early aptitude.
The award affirms that work and recognizes the school district is on the right track, Cheser said.
“Sometimes people have misconceptions about rural, remote areas,” she said, “and so it's good to be able to get the word out about the district.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
