How We Invested in Education in 2021

As individuals, as families, and as a community, we are just starting to feel the full impacts of the pandemic. Last year, we focused on meeting the critical needs of Boulder Valley students and families by providing food, internet access, school supplies, child care and more. 

This year, their needs are even greater. Students and educators need mental health support, targeted tutoring, and access to academic opportunities. Here’s a look at how we invested in public education this year.

January – May 2021

• Accelerated the LiveWire internet rollout, ensuring all BVSD students could access the internet at home (and at no cost if they are eligible for free & reduced lunch.) Read more >>

• Partnered with the City of and County of Boulder to purchase 450 hot spots for BVSD students to ensure they had adequate service for remote learning. Read more >>
• Ensured all BVSD students were able to access emergency food distribution while school was both remote and hybrid learning.
• Completed a pilot of Couragion, an online career discovery platform, at 5 middle schools, allowing students to access information about a wide range of careers. Read more >>
• Celebrated the outstanding contributions of all BVSD educators with Impact Awards Community Edition. Read more >>
• Funded targeted tutoring for 44 high risk elementary students. Read more >>
• Distributed $24,000 in college scholarship funds to deserving students, including first-ever Earl & Barbara Bolton Scholarship awardee. Read more >>
• Started a video interview series, What I Know Now, with 13 community leaders (watch the interviews)

June – August 2021

• Surveyed BVSD parents and educators, and conducted focus groups with educators to inform our 2021-22 priorities
• 31 preschoolers living in public housing attended our kindergarten bridge program and 70% of the children made at least one point of growth on the BVSD TS-Gold Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. Read more >>
• 11,000 backpacks filled with school supplies were distributed to students in BVSD and SVVSD through our Crayons to Calculators program. Read more >>
• Funded credit recovery for 1272 HS students Read more >>
• Facilitated summer learning for 161 students in grades K-8 by providing full day child care. Read more >>

September – December 2021

• Provided mental health training to  64 BVSD after-school caregivers. Read more >>
• Launched the Academic Opportunity Fund and invested $100,000 to support educators and over 8,500 students. Read more >>
• Selected our first cohort of students to participate in our new Career Readiness Academy
• Co-hosted a forum for BVSD School Board candidates
• Convened a Parent Partnership Summit, bringing together parent leaders from most BVSD schools. Read more >>

Your support is critical

There is a long road ahead, and it takes ALL of us working together to create lasting change for the students in our community. If you haven’t made a tax-deductible gift to support our work in 2022, there is still time. And if you’ve already given this year, THANK YOU for being a part of our team!