By Karen Antonacci

Noah Mollerstuen officially became an adult just two weeks before he will graduate from Boulder High. Before he reached either of those milestones, however, Noah helped the Boulder Valley School District leadership navigate an unprecedented pandemic.

Noah was convinced by his friend and fellow Student Advisory Board member Jasper to join the board and ended up serving for three of his four high school years.

“It seemed like a pretty good opportunity to get some leadership experience and help improve the school district,” he said. “I signed up not knowing what to expect, but I’ve stuck with it and it has been a great community these last three years.”

Noah said he was proud to be a part of the Student Advisory Board’s work, especially giving the School Board feedback on how to remedy inequities in public education and close the opportunity gap for historically disadvantaged groups of students.

“Inequality is a pretty major issue in the Boulder Valley school district, so my work with the Board will allow me to be a bit more aware of those problems in the future and how I impact them and how they impact me,” he added.

Those gaps became starkly apparent when the COVID-19 pandemic forced students into virtual education. The Student Advisory Board’s work on civic engagement had to be put on pause to work within the school district and with nonprofit organizations such as Impact on Education to make sure each student had the equipment and technology they needed to succeed.

“I signed up not knowing what to expect, but I’ve stuck with it and it has been a great community these last three years.”

Noah Mullerston, Senior at Boulder High School

COVID also fundamentally changed the way students experienced high school this year. Noah said for him, he was able to weather the pandemic as he is an introverted online native anyway, but he noticed the social effects of not seeing his peers in person everyday.

“It was definitely hard to keep in touch with friends that I didn’t know as well. The number of friends I had probably decreased while I intentionally kept contact with people I know well,” he said. “Like the people you would just say hi to in the hallway, you don’t see any more.”

Luckily, Noah’s other hobbies adapted well to meeting people online or distanced. Besides the Student Advisory Board, he also spends his time on his school’s Robotics Club and was able to keep playing tennis with friends. He serves on the board of management for his church, the First Congregational Church of Boulder. In his free time, Noah likes to play board games and video games.

Noah received a J. Perry Bartlett college scholarship and will study computer science and robotics at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio this fall.

Overall, he said that he would recommend other BVSD students consider serving on the Student Advisory Board to broaden their perspective. “I’m definitely glad I’ve been on the board. It has been pretty interesting to see the different perspectives that the people from the different schools are bringing to the table,” Noah said. 

Thanks to a new partnership with the Arly Kruse Educational Foundation, Impact on Education is facilitating an additional $30,000 investment to catch up groups of elementary students at two BVSD schools with targeted academic tutoring this spring. This tutoring is part of the broader catch-up plan, offering supplemental learning opportunities to high needs students experiencing academic setbacks due to the pandemic. 

Literacy and math tutoring

Alicia Sanchez Elementary School and Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer Elementary, both in Lafayette, identified students in need of tutoring using literacy and math assessment data as well as teacher recommendations. 

“This is fantastic! Thank you so much for advocating for our students. Their parents are so grateful for and supportive of the opportunity.” 

Anabel Rafoul, Assistant Principal of Escuela Bilingue Pioneer Elementary

Targeted tutoring is now in place for 44 high needs elementary school students. Students at both schools receive two hours of tutoring per week in literacy, math, or both, to improve their academic skills and future success. Teachers are already seeing the growth and are reporting increased student confidence as well as noticeable improvement, specifically in reading. 

About the Arly Kruse Foundation

The Arly Kruse Educational Foundation aims to enhance the education of children from diverse backgrounds through academic support and tutoring free of cost to Boulder Valley School District families.

The Foundation’s namesake was a retired teacher with a belief in the power of tutoring. Her husband and organizational Founder, Jack Kruse, shared, “We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Impact on Education to provide supplemental and targeted literacy instruction to students in need.” 

As the Foundation for Boulder Valley’s public schools, Impact on Education was uniquely positioned to identify schools with specific needs and partner with the Arly Kruse Educational Foundation to bring those resources to the students who needed them most. We are so grateful to be able to provide high quality supplemental instruction to students whose learning has been disrupted.

We’re offering a forum for our Student Advisory Board members to share their voice through guest blog posts. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Impact on Education.

Reflecting on the Centaurus High School Lockdown

By James Clemson

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, just before 10 a.m, Centaurus High School went into lockdown after a teacher thought they heard gunshots fired within the school. The school was in lockdown for roughly 3 hours while police searched the building before, thankfully, it was declared a false alarm. Afterward, Centaurus returned to normal operations. 

The swift response of multiple police departments demonstrated BVSD’s good planning and the dedication of our local law enforcement to keeping kids safe. However, the emotional aftermath of such an event highlights some areas for improvement.

One student perspective

As a Centaurus student myself, I have friends and family who were in the building at the time of the lockdown, although I was fortunately learning remotely at the time. 

One 9th grade student I know was outside the building, studying with friends, when the report came in. Her first impression that something was very wrong came when a police woman pulled up with a large gun and talked to a staff member outside. The staff member then yelled at the students to “RUN!” She and her friends ran to a nearby gas station, unsure where to go or what was happening. She admitted that it was mostly adrenaline that kept her moving and a sense that the decisions she made could very much be life or death. Arriving at a friend’s house, they reached out to family and peers in the building and over the course of an hour and a half, started to learn what had been going on at the school. 

After Centaurus announced that they would be returning to normal activities, this student and her friends returned, still understandably distraught. Classes were half empty, and in those that remained, teachers and students didn’t talk about the events of the morning. She said it felt like a sort of group denial. Personally shaken, she felt the need to work through her feelings before she could return to her classes. Although trauma counselors had been made available, information on when and where to seek these resources was scarce, and announcements that it was ok to leave school if that was needed were late in coming. All in all, this student felt that Centaurus’s emotional and trauma support was “too little too late”.

Better guidance

In an age where school shootings are an all too common possibility, and especially in light of the recent mass shooting at the King Soopers in Boulder, it is important to have a plan. The events on March 3rd demonstrated the strength of BVSD’s lockdown procedure but also made clear some weaknesses, and it is important to learn from this experience to make students feel as safe as possible in their schools. 

As this 9th grader pointed out, she would have known what to do, were she in the classroom, thanks to numerous drills. But outside, with her only direction being “RUN,” she was left largely on her own to make decisions that could have meant life or death. Better guidance on safe spaces near a school, and how to get to them, would have been very helpful, according to this student. Furthermore, the actual event is not the whole issue. 

Emotional support

The emotional fallout requires better guidance and communication from the school. BVSD has many exceptional mental health resources, as a district and through partnerships with the community. Beyond school counselors, which form the backbone of BVSD’s student support systems, community partnerships with Mental Health Walk in Crisis Clinc, Colorado Crisis Services, Community Reach Center, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and Mental Health Partners are all intended to provide needed mental health services. 

While these are important and impactful, it is also vital that information about how to access them, as well as more traditional school counselors, is made readily available, so that students can easily find the support they need. This should be done in a clear, direct manner, be it through the PA system, teachers, or whatever other method is deemed most effective at reaching students. 

Events like these can not be ignored; they must be acknowledged. Even if it was a false alarm, the experiences and emotions of those involved are very, very real, and should be addressed as such. I hope BVSD takes the events of March 3 as a chance to reflect and improve and make school safer and more supportive for everyone.

Alenka Žnidaršič started volunteering with Impact on Education over two years ago after volunteering with her son’s school. She first helped review grant applications before becoming more involved with our fundraising and events. 

Originally from Slovenia, Alenka received a Masters in Information Technology before obtaining her PhD in electro-technical engineering from the University of Ljubljana. She started working with artificial intelligence (AI) technology and became fascinated by the connection between people and technology.

Through her education and travels, Alenka learned four languages and is quadrilingual, speaking Dutch, English, German and Slovenian. She moved to Colorado 10 years ago alongside her husband and son. Her son was 5 when they moved which gave Alenka the opportunity to volunteer in his classroom during his early education.

Why she values education

During her own early education in Slovenia, Alenka’s school placed great emphasis on developing critical thinking skills and an appreciation for others’ differences. The latter was not something she saw being valued in the U.S. education system and one of the reasons she is so passionate about early childhood education. She would like to bring some of the values from her home country to help improve education in the U.S., particularly the awareness and acceptance of differences and diverse identities. 

Alenka’s family was another element that drove her commitment to education. Coming from a family of educators, she started helping out in her mother’s classroom as a child. She says, “technology has my heart, but teaching is a close second.” After obtaining her degrees, she taught computer science to elementary school students. She also mentored children through the Scouts of Slovenia, helping to foster a curious learning environment.

“Technology has my heart, but teaching is a close second.”

Alenka Žnidaršič

Her work with Impact on Education

Alenka first started volunteering with us two years ago, helping review applications for our Classroom Innovation Grants. These awards go to BVSD teachers focusing on instructional innovation to enhance student learning in the classroom. She loves watching these applications turn into classroom innovations. 

In addition to the grant reviews, she now supports our Fundraising & Special Events Committee, helping our staff plan and orchestrate events. Alenka’s educational and career focus of bringing people together through technology is especially helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic, where we’ve seen a heightened need for virtual events and interactions.

A love for adventure

Outside of her work as a leadership development coach and volunteering, Alenka is passionate about spending time outside. She particularly enjoys skiing, hiking, climbing and kayaking. Alenka and her family love traveling and have an appreciation for meeting people from and experiencing different cultures and perspectives. With the pandemic making traveling more difficult, they’re enjoying playing strategic and collaborative family games, such as Settlers of Catan.

Premier Members Credit Union is passionate about supporting education in our community. Growing from a small financial institution serving teachers in the Boulder Valley School District, to one that serves tens of thousands of members throughout Colorado and nationwide, they recognize the importance of financial literacy and responsibility as a critical educational tool.

Bringing banking to high schools

In 2009, PMCU partnered with Boulder High School to open the Panther Student Credit Union. Their partnership offered unique and valuable hands-on learning experiences for students to dip their toes into the world of finance and business. After the initial success of the Panther Student Credit Union, Premier Members created similar programs in three other high schools in the Boulder Valley School District. In 2010, Fairview High School launched the Knight Student Credit Union, and Monarch High School launched the Coyote Student Credit Union, while Centaurus High School opened the Warrior Student Credit Union in 2011. Each of these credit unions are primarily student run with oversight from Premier Members’ team members.

The student experience

High school students are recruited in the spring to work at their school’s respective credit union for the following academic year. After completing two training sessions at a Premier Members branch during the summer, students are equipped with the skills needed to run their school’s credit union. Each student receives similar training to the professional tellers in Premier Members’ branches.

“Promoting financial literacy, and operating the high school branches exemplifies Premier Members’ commitment to building lasting relationships that strengthen the communities that we serve. Providing educational opportunities and supporting the financial literacy of our youth is a staple of the “Premier” experience.”

Susan Finesilver, AVP Community Relations at Premier Members Credit Union

While school is in session full-time, students working at their school branches are well-equipped to independently operate the credit union. Students are responsible for setting up daily, managing the cash box, helping members and prospective members with their accounts, and working with confidential information. Student interns receive both an hourly wage and elective business credits throughout the school year.

Real-world financial skills

Each student working at a student credit union engages with real-world personal finance situations during their high school experience, allowing them to build financial literacy in a safe and structured environment.

All student members develop money management skills and come to understand the importance of saving for the future. They gain experience managing their own debit card and checking account and finding appropriate ways to establish and maintain good credit for future use. Not only do student interns successfully learn financial management skills, they experience committing to a position for an extended period of time. The students get to experience being professional and working with a business in a structured and secure environment. They develop unique cash handling skills as they deposit money into different accounts with larger transactions while keeping member information confidential. In addition to the cash handling skills, students learn and use other bank teller skills, as well.

“The student interns are learning critical skills that are applicable to anyone, not just those interested in finance.”

Steve Carr, Student Branch Liaison at Premier Members Credit Union

This is a rigorous program that both requires and instills student commitment and responsibility. Students leave the program with a toolkit full of self-initiative, responsibility, and critical financial and business skills. While it is not required, students often stay with the credit union until they graduate, and train younger students for their position.

The next step for Premier Members’ student credit unions

When schools shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, the four student-run credit unions were forced to temporarily close as well. Premier Members is exploring ways to relaunch the program amidst our new high school environments.

We’re offering a forum for our Student Advisory Board members to share their voice through guest blog posts. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Impact on Education.

A Teenager’s Journey to Connect Through Letter Writing

By Emery Jansen

The past year has been horrific in countless ways; tragedies hit all communities one after the other, and it has been challenging to keep ourselves afloat. In the beginning, there was an aura of surrealism that encapsulated everyone. It was an enjoyable kind of unprecedented fun even. No one we knew had COVID in those first few weeks when everyone learned how to make double- and triple-layered masks; it was just an extended spring break and a hefty dose of dysregulation. Signs reading, “We will get through this together,” and “This too shall pass,” littered our cities and social media feeds. Unfortunately though, those days of pandemic glory wore off quickly; this still has not passed. The past year has been one of distance and each-man-for-himself sentiments; more than 12 months in and some self-entitled citizens still refuse to consider someone, anyone, other than themselves. 

Despite these collective grievances and our own individual sufferings, not everything was negative. In March of 2020, I found myself grappling with the loss of my life as I knew it, as all of us did. Everything was unknown, and I spiraled as the uncertainties around me swept me up with them. As a member of the generation deemed conceited and overly-absorbed in the online world, I sat in a resounding inability to feel, to connect, to do anything other than simply survive. I’m sure many of my peers can attest to this: even those who weren’t textbook-compliant with the various COVID mandates and were still socializing felt the shift. By chance, I came upon an opportunity to keep myself afloat and, as I found out later, cultivate intimate relationships with those who compose my world.

My letter-writing empire began on March 29, 2020, when a friend of mine got an envelope in the mail, covered in haphazard, pen-drawn hearts. It was sent by one of their friends wanting to bring a smile to the faces around her. I contemplated this occurrence for a while, realizing just how grateful I would be and important I would feel if someone did the same for me, even with simple communication. So, I determinedly drafted a list of 13 people to write to, pen on paper, a stamp in the upper-righthand corner, the whole lost art of letter writing. I wrote my favorite memories I shared with each person, lamented about what I would miss the most about them in our time apart during lockdown (unfortunately, I am still missing these traits of the people I love). I asked them questions about what we would typically be discussing in-person. Twelve out of those original 13 letters arrived at their destinations, the vast majority bound for friends and teammates, though two meandered their way to Wisconsin with my cousins’ names on them. The last was vacuumed into the space-time continuum and still hasn’t been delivered.

Now, almost exactly one year since I wrote my first letters, I have sent and received over 200 letters, with a group of people who have morphed only slightly since 12 months ago. I wrote letters to my best friend daily, passed a travel-destination list back and forth with other friends, traded music suggestions, laughed at terribly embarrassing anecdotes, stared in wonderment at my friends’ calligraphy talent, became acquainted with my aunt as the human she is, reconnected with a middle school friend to support her through intense tragedy, tantalizingly listed the most arbitrary tidbits about myself, learned more about friends I’ve made recently, and, most regrettably, stamped and sent an unfortunately colorful letter to my crush at the time. I wish I were kidding on the last one. However, all the others sent me running to the mailbox almost daily in hopes that I would find a response waiting for me. This may sound cheesy, a 16-year-old writing letters to stay connected when there are virtual ways to communicate instantly, but I have found this lost art to be the epitome of what I need right now: an unmatched opportunity to express myself creatively, encouragement to stay patient, and finally, an ability to ground myself in the present and in found moments to forget the world’s realities of the past year.

About the author

Emery Jansen is a junior at Fairview High School and a member of our Student Advisory Board. She is passionate about all things creative–including embroidery, photography, drawing, writing, and running her own business. Emery is also a vehement advocate for social justice and mental health awareness, valuing the connections she holds with those around her more than everything else in her life.

When the COVID-19 pandemic required schools to close, we jumped into action, raising more than $600,000 to meet the critical needs of students, families, and schools in the Boulder Valley School District.

One year later, we’re sharing an update on how our Critical Needs Fund and Student Academic Support Fund addressed vital needs for our students including food security, the digital divide, and supplemental learning. We are proud of the work we’ve accomplished and hope you are too.

How funds were invested

$265,000 invested in supplemental instruction

• Targeted tutoring for 3rd-8th grade students
• ACT/SAT preparatory courses for high school juniors
• Funding for all BVSD high school students needing to retake failed or incomplete coursework
• Additional instruction, technology and curriculum to keep students engaged and on grade level

$165,000 to ensure families have food on the table

• Supported emergency food distribution of nearly 2 million meals through BVSD Food Services
• Delivered grocery gift cards to 450 high needs families

$100,000 to provide a safe and stable place for students to learn

• Eliminated child care debt for 53 BVSD families in financial need
• Providing supervised care before and after 2021 summer learning to ensure all students who qualify can participate 

$60,000 to enable access to remote learning

• Provided 1,500 families with internet access through BVSD IT
• Supported the distribution of 6,000 chromebooks
• Deployed hotspots to families in need of more reliable service

$12,000 to equip elementary students with supplies

• Acquired and distributed 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies for elementary school students when remote learning began 

$10,000 to keep kids reading at home

• Purchased thousands of books to distribute to families so students had reading material at home during the lockdowns in spring 2020 
• Collected and distributed thousands more books in the fall that reached students before winter break

On the horizon

We will continue meeting the critical needs of BVSD students this spring and summer and are committed to ensuring students facing opportunity gaps receive the support they need to stay engaged in learning.

A recent study by McKinsey & Company estimates that “students on average could lose five to nine months of learning by the end of June 2021. Students of color could be six to 12 months behind, compared with four to eight months for white students.” This translates to an average loss of “three months of learning in mathematics and one-and-a-half months of learning in reading.”

We are planning ways to provide supplemental instruction next school year and are committed to making sure that the disruptions to student learning in 2020-21 do not lead to long-term or permanent deficits for the students in our community, especially those who are traditionally underserved.

By Karen Antonacci

Carly Hare’s Pawnee name <i kita u hoo <i ]a hiks — which translates to “kind leader of men” — turned out to be prophetic as the Impact on Education board vice chair has made a career of navigating the intersections of philanthropy, identity and equity.

A family that values education

Carly is a citizen of the Pawnee nation and grew up in rural tribal Oklahoma. Her family placed immense value on education.

“Both of my grandfathers — one was full-blood Pawnee and one was full-blood Yankton — they were college graduates in the 1940s,” she said. “My grandma that married my Pawnee grandfather … she went back to school in the 1960s because my grandfather said it was the best insurance policy she could have, to have an education and be independent and support herself and the family if she needed to.”

Building a career

Carly started at Colorado Mesa State College (now Mesa State University) on a full-ride scholarship as a biology major. By the end of her freshman year, she had lost her scholarship.

“It took me three semesters to figure out how to study and I made a major shift,” she said. “I switched my major to mass communication and a focus on public relations and it took five years before I graduated. But it was a good shift, because I knew I could be a science communicator and I could understand math and science in a way that a lot of people don’t have easy access to.”

Carly had to work three jobs the rest of her college career to continue her education.

When she graduated, she started a long track record of working for national native nonprofit organizations including the Council of Energy Resource Tribes, the Native American Rights Fund and serving as executive director of Native Americans in Philanthropy.

She became aware of Impact on Education when she worked as a program director at the Community Foundation Boulder County. Additionally, Carly has served on the boards of numerous nonprofits and advised and educated philanthropic professionals about improving diversity and inclusion.

Focusing on the underserved

“Predominantly the last 11 years professionally I’ve been working on this movement that is asking how do we change philanthropic practices and relationships to center on traditionally underinvested-in communities,” she explained.

Carly uses that expertise as the vice chair of the IOE board by leading on diversity, equity and inclusion work. That dovetails nicely with IOE’s work to fill the gaps for BVSD students to make sure they have all the resources they need to succeed.

“I hope to be able to bring those resources, skills and frameworks into IOE around our internal culture and climate change we’re going through with priority and commitment work, and then externally we are thinking about the evolution of how we are supporting students and the district at large,” she said. “It is a really great way to bring what has been strategy and theory into actual practice.”

In her career, Carly said she has learned that successful nonprofits go to the communities they serve for solutions to problems.

“We can’t find a solution for other people and expect it to stick. No matter how well-intentioned and resourced we are, it won’t be as successful as when we’re in actual communication and partnership and discussion and active community building with the impacted and affected communities.”

Helping students find their path

In terms of big-picture goals for Impact on Education, Carly draws from her own public school and collegiate experiences. She feels it’s important that students have access to education that encourages critical analysis as well as offers opportunities for them to explore their passions.

“Education should allow students to be fully present, so the arts and culture and athletics are high priorities for me. I want to bring forward that really robust access to fully engaged students to see where they can thrive and the tools they need to succeed in the future,” she said.

Setting students up to succeed in the future means supporting them as they transition to a postsecondary educational journey, whether it’s a trade school, courses in leadership and small business management or a traditional college experience, Carly added.

“Those pieces I don’t think were offered as readily or accessible 20 years ago,” she mused. “Now, we can think about how we help people find their passion and pathways and outline what those could actually look like so you don’t feel like you’re stumbling through it all.”

For the past 28 years, we’ve honored individuals in the Boulder Valley School District at our annual Impact Awards. This celebration recognizes one person from each of Boulder Valley’s 56 schools making an extraordinary impact on student learning because of their exceptional collaboration, innovation, and dedication to students. We also award one educator with the Blake Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award and another with the Imogene Maxon Early Teacher Award.

This year, we’re seeing so many people stepping up for our students, we decided to recognize  the entire BVSD community through the Impact Awards: Community Edition.

Why we’re celebrating you

Every single person involved in education—teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and students—has gone above and beyond this school year, demonstrating their commitment to education and our students. So this year, in the most extraordinary school year we’ve faced thus far, we’re recognizing the entire BVSD community with an Impact Award.

• Educators, thank you for engaging students and families and keeping them at the forefront of decisions.
• Students, thank you for adapting and staying committed to learning through this difficult year.
• Parents, thank you for your patience and flexibility during a very challenging school year.
• Supporters, thank you for standing with us to show the strength of our community.

How we’re saying thank you

We didn’t let an historic snowstorm get in the way of saying thank you. We hope you were able to see our messaging throughout the community this week. Here’s what you might have missed:

• Our BIG thank you in the Daily Camera on Sunday, March 14, 2021
• Banners and yard signs at every BVSD school
• Posters and stickers at schools and local businesses
• Emails and posts of gratitude on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

We’re thankful for our presenting sponsor, Premier Members Credit Union, in addition to Google, Comcast and the Boulder Valley Education Association for allowing us to recognize our incredible BVSD community through this gratitude campaign.

Special discounts through the end of the school year

We’re thrilled to partner with 25 businesses offering special discounts for the BVSD community through the end of the school year. It’s been a tough year for our small business community as well, and we’re grateful so many were able to join us in saying thank you.

From coffee shops to bookstores to local restaurants, we hope something on the list brings your family some extra joy.

Looking ahead

It’s too early to say what next year’s Impact Awards will look like, though we sure hope to celebrate with you in person. Regardless of how many educators we’re able to recognize each year, please know: we appreciate you!

We’re offering a forum for our Student Advisory Board members to share their voice through guest blog posts. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Impact on Education.

A New Pandemic: Teen Overdoses

By Abby Cohen

As we approach the one-year mark of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, a new pandemic is coming to light: the opioid crisis. Obviously, this is nothing new to any American. Drug overdoses have been a major cause of death among citizens for years. But in Boulder County, an alarming and abnormal number of opioid overdoses among teens in our community have occurred within the last few months.

Teen overdoses in Boulder County

On February 6th, Boulder County released an article warning of fentanyl-laced Xanax and Oxycodone pills, two drugs popular among recreational users. Even without coroner reports for recent teen deaths, there is substantial evidence that laced drugs are circulating the streets of our county.

The only way to reverse an opioid overdose is by using a drug called Narcan, also known as Naloxone. This drug is easy to use; it’s administered by nasal spray. However, Narcan is expensive and often requires more than one dose to revive someone. Narcan can be provided by pharmacies for free to someone with Medicaid, but it tends to cost around $120 if bought at a pharmacy. This makes Narcan hard to obtain. Local rehabilitation facilities such as Natural Highs offer free Narcan and training on how to use it. This is an amazing aid to our community, but it still doesn’t reach everyone at risk for drug overdoses. 

How BVSD can address the opioid crisis

I’m confident drug overdoses among my fellow teens would decrease if there were a location where BVSD students could anonymously pickup Narcan for free. A petition was started by a Colorado high school student to require schools to provide students with Narcan, drug testing strips, and training sessions on how to assist someone who is overdosing. At the time of the writing of this blog, the petition has 4,819 signatures.

4,819 is more students than the total enrollment of Boulder High School and Fairview High School combined. Clearly, there’s a consensus among my peers and me that change is necessary, but I’m concerned this petition won’t be enough to make change.  

In order for this petition to create positive change, we need the support of BVSD educators and parents.

If the people paying taxes to fund the schools demand change, the district is much more likely to listen. We need more parents, teachers and staff sharing and signing this petition, and we need them to communicate their complaints directly to the schools and to our district leaders. Every voice makes a difference, as we cannot afford to lose another classmate due to drugs, when we have the power to save them.

Abby Cohen is a graduating senior at Fairview High School and a member of Impact on Education’s Student Advisory Board.

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