December 2023 Update:
EFAA release their second annual Community Well-Being Dashboard that captures the most recent data available for Boulder County on issues like poverty, income, employment, wages, food security, housing stability and family homelessness. Take a look:

• Community Wellbeing Dashboard 2023 – English
• Community Wellbeing Dashboard 2023 – en español

How much does it cost to live in Boulder County?

Impact on Education exists to provide support and resources to the students overcoming the greatest obstacles. We work to raise both awareness and funds to eliminate the economic and learning barriers facing our students.

Right now, everyone in our community is experiencing increased costs for food, fuel and other basic necessities. Rising prices mean families across our community are struggling to make ends meet. Every school in the Boulder Valley School District includes families facing financial challenges, and the more people who recognize this, the more we can help those in need.

The cost of living in Boulder County

The federal poverty line for a family of four is $30,000 annually. While the threshold to qualify for BVSD’s free and reduced price meals program is considerably higher at $51,338, it’s still less than half of the estimated cost of living in Boulder County. The Self Sufficiency Standard, a measure that calculates how much income a family must earn to meet basic needs, is $107,462 for a family of four in Boulder County.

One way we’re able to identify students and families in need is through the Boulder Valley School District’s free and reduced price meal program.

Free and reduced price meals

Within BVSD, students receive free meals regardless of their income if:

• their household is enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• they qualify as homeless, runaway, foster, and/or migrant children
• they live with a parent in a car or hotel 

Students may also qualify for free or reduced price meals based on their household income. For the 2022-23 school year, 25% of the BVSD community – 7,180 students – qualify for free or reduced price meals:

• 21% of students qualify for free lunch
• 4.4% of students qualify for reduced lunch

What this means for BVSD students and families

We are committed to ensuring that every student has access to the same opportunities regardless of uncontrollable factors like their economic status. Enrollment in BVSD’s free and reduced price meal program, and families impacted by the Marshall Fire, are two ways we’re able to identify students who need additional support.

But how many BVSD families don’t qualify for free and reduced lunch or other benefits and still struggle to make ends meet?

BVSD administrators, educators and staff often come to Impact on Education when they’re unable to meet student needs. We continue to explore how we can effectively and discreetly identify and offer resources to all BVSD students and families that are struggling financially in Boulder County. Our strong partnership with BVSD ensures we can provide direct resources that enable our schools and educators to support students.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to nearly 30,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Why our Marshall Fire support continues

In early 2022, we began supporting the immediate and long-term recovery of the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) students and educators affected by the Marshall Fire. Our work has provided:

• Mental health services, including funding to enable BVSD to hire four additional Mental Health Advocates to support the most impacted students and schools
• Direct support for students and families, including transportation stipends and funding for school lunch fees, after school care and tutoring.
• Direct support for educators and schools, including $500 checks for each of the 98 displaced staff members
• Replacement academic materials, including $40,000 to replace academic and sports supplies, including graphing calculators, athletic gear, spirit wear, library books, and more

To see a full summary, please visit our Crisis Response page.

Prioritizing mental health

Immediately after the fire, mental health professionals from surrounding school districts came to BVSD to work with impacted students and families. During this time, we saw that providing students with mental health support during the school day was the most effective way to support their recovery. 

We worked closely with BVSD staff to continue providing an additional level of support. Impact on Education quickly enabled BVSD to hire four additional Mental Health Advocates (MHAs).

The new MHAs were hired in the spring of 2022 to support BVSD’s most impacted schools. They provided over 130 consultations and direct support to 93 families and 359 individuals and directed families to additional resources from Impact on Education, BVSD, and community partners, including:

• RTD bus passes and reimbursements for transportation expenses
• Referrals to and application support for the Free and Reduced Price Meal program
• Referrals to McKinney-Vento Specialists, BVSD staff members who help students and families who are facing housing crisis
• Access to medical supplies
• Referrals to school counselors for assistance to students with learning disabilities and in need of Individual Educational Plans
• Referrals to other community mental and behavioral health professionals

Our partners with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy shared that six months after a disaster is often when the financial and emotional realities begin to sink in. Knowing these important moments would happen over the summer break, we allocated funding to ensure two MHAs could work over the summer to support 330 students.

Providing support during the 2022-23 school year

Mental Health

The MHAs continue to provide services at our most fire-affected schools. They provide students with consultations, family support, individual counseling, and support groups. MHAs also support the district Trauma Response teams and facilitate Resilience in Schools and Educators (RISE) sessions for educators and staff.

Financial and academic support

Early in the school year, we learned that families were continuing to experience or experiencing new financial challenges. We worked with BVSD to provide a way for families to request additional support, and are providing funding to cover the costs of school meals, transportation expenses to and from school, free virtual tutoring, and after school care.

Our work is not done

We know the needs of our community will continue and change through the 2023-24 school year. We are currently working on multiple ways to continue expanding the mental health services and resources available to both students and their families.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Staff Spotlight: Ali Cortez

Our Community Partnerships Manager, Ali Cortez, has been involved with Impact on Education for many years. Her first foray into our work was attending our gala, then known as Razzle Dazzle, in 2018. She started volunteering with us soon after, helping us plan future galas and special events.

After the Marshall Fire, our staff team of four was working hard to support everyone impacted throughout the BVSD community. Ali raised her hand to lead a key project in January 2022 that we came to call, “Comfort Kits.” She did everything from finding an available warehouse, to managing donations from JanSport, the Boulder Bookstore, AAA – The Auto Group, and Grandrabbit’s Toy Shoppe, to managing over 40 volunteers who helped assemble and distribute the Comfort Kits to over 900 students.

Having volunteer support in the weeks after the Marshall Fire was an important part of our ability to respond swiftly to the needs of our community. It also helped us realize that having a staff member focused on building community partnerships would be a great addition to our team. We created a new Community Partnerships Manager role that spring and were thrilled when Ali submitted an application.

Why Ali believes in our mission

After spending the majority of her career as a project manager in high tech, Ali always felt she was missing opportunities to give back to the community. She chaired numerous school fundraising events over the course of 10 years and fostered strong relationships within the community.

After volunteering with Impact on Education for four years, she knew that she could put her professional leadership, communication and relationship management skills to use at the foundation. Ali says, “I felt like I hit the jackpot when the Community Partnerships role at Impact on Education enabled me to shift into a career that would allow me to support the students in our local public school system.”

“Education goes far beyond shaping us as individuals, it helps us become better citizens and helps us build better societies. Our teachers guide our students through academics, while also cultivating a lifelong desire to learn and grow, in a safe environment. I am in awe of the teachers and staff in our District, and want nothing more than to support them in any way I can.”

Ali Cortez, Community Partnerships Manager

More about Ali

She’s a Colorado native, and head over heels in love with our beautiful State. She lived in the Bay Area for over 16 years, but knew it was time to come home when she married and had children. Her family moved to the Boulder area in 2016, and they’ve embraced all that Colorado has to offer. She loves the outdoors and enjoys skiing and hiking, but her favorite outdoor activity is cheering her kids on at their baseball and softball games. Ali and her husband have two incredible children, three cats, one english bulldog and two hermit crabs. There is never a dull moment in their home, and she absolutely loves it!

What makes her smile
Listening to my children’s laughter, spending time in the mountains, giant snowflakes on a winter day and spending time with my family. 

Ask her about
Her favorite Peloton instructor, her favorite sourdough bread recipe, and how music runs in her family.

Connect with Ali

• Send her an email
• Find her on LinkedIn

3 ways we’re making a difference in 2023

Last year held many challenges for our community and our organization, but our commitment to creating opportunity for success, from preschool through graduation, supported BVSD students furthest from resources. If you haven’t already flipped through our 2022 Impact Report, we encourage you to see what we accomplished last year.

While we’re continuing to support recovery from the Marshall Fire, gearing up to recognize educators at the 2023 Impact Awards, planning our summer school supply distribution Crayons to Calculators, and preparing another round of our Academic Opportunity Fund, there are three important areas we’re excited to invest in this year.

We hope you join us this year in supporting nearly 30,000 students in the Boulder Valley School District. Our work addresses systemic barriers and prioritizes those furthest from resources in order to equalize opportunity and bolster academic success.

Thank you for being part of our community and making investments to help us drive lasting change for students, educators, and our public schools.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Our most impactful stories of 2022

As 2022 comes to a close we’re looking back on our most-read stories of the year. From our crisis response efforts after the Marshall Fire to introducing new board members and scholarship awardees, we’re sharing what inspired our community most this year.

We also encourage you to take a peek at our 2022 Impact Report to see what we’re most proud of. Read the report here.

2022 Year in Review

1. Responding to the Marshall Fire

January 5, 2022

The magnitude of the Marshall Fire tragedy was unimaginable, but so was our community’s willingness to help. In less than a week after the fire we raised over $200,000 from over 400 supporters through our Critical Needs Fund. Those dollars were immediately deployed to fund the distribution of backpacks, headphones and school supplies to nearly 600 students at 22 affected schools in BVSD.

Read the Story

2. How our Critical Needs Fund will support the BVSD community

January 12, 2022

The outpouring of support from the community was uplifting to see, and we’re incredibly grateful to the 800 donors that helped us raise $500,000 in just two weeks. The funds directly supported the immediate needs, long-term recovery, and mental health of BVSD students and staff.

Read the Story

3. Meet our 2022 Impact Award Honorees

May 13, 2022

Meet 58 impactful educators nominated by their school community for demonstrating exceptional collaboration, innovation, and dedication to our students.

Read the Story

4. Five ways we are supporting recovery for the BVSD community

January 31, 2022

Thanks to a generous outpouring of support, we raised over $700,000 to support BVSD students and staff in the month after the fire. The funds provided gift cards for students, checks for educators, transportation stipends, replacement instruments and athletic equipment, and more.

Read the Story

5. Announcing our 2022 college scholarship awardees

May 26, 2022

We’re excited to share that we’ve awarded up to $40,000 in scholarships to seven graduating high school seniors in BVSD. From an aspiring doctor to an innovative mechanic, meet this year’s scholarship awardees.

Read the Story

6. IOE funding expands mental health support for BVSD students and staff

May 6, 2022

We raised over $800,000 to support the ongoing mental health needs of students and staff throughout the Boulder Valley School District. This funding allowed BVSD to hire four additional Mental Health Advocates to be deployed year-round in BVSD’s schools most impacted by the Marshall Fire, and to provide mental health professional development to School Age Care (SAC) staff.

Read the Story

7. Increasing mental health support for students most affected by the Marshall Fire

February 25, 2022

Impact on Education actively sought funding to facilitate the hire of four additional Mental Health Advocates to be deployed in the BVSD schools most impacted by the Marshall Fire. Within BVSD, Mental Health Advocates provide prevention and intervention services for students, supporting their social-emotional and behavioral development, student achievement, and crisis intervention.

Read the Story

8. Impact on Education welcomes four new board members

September 8, 2022

Our Board of Directors plays an important role in our work to empower students, engage the community and help the Boulder Valley School District evolve. To support our work and further our mission, we brought four new community members – Jennifer Sterling, Jann Oldham, Cathleen Kendall, and Tanya Santee – onto our Board in September.

Read the Story

9. Four ways we’re driving change in BVSD classrooms

August 3, 2022

Over the years, we’ve catalyzed change in the Boulder Valley School District by piloting initiatives and accelerating innovation in classrooms and schools. This year we saw four recent investments drive lasting change for students.

Read the Story

10. How BVSD Community Liaisons support families in need

February 18, 2022

We often refer to the team of community liaisons at BVSD as our front line workers. We placed over $50,000 of assistance into the hands of community liaisons, those who work most closely with BVSD students and families in financial need, in the form of youth bus passes, mindfulness books, and gift cards.

Read the Story

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Schools and educators receive $245,000 in Academic Opportunity grants

Providing opportunity to BVSD students reduces the economic barriers to success. Our Academic Opportunity Fund provides resources to educators and schools through grants that enable all students to fully engage in learning.

Highlights of our second 2022-23 funding round

In the second round of the school year we received 65 applications to our Academic Opportunity Fund. So far we’ve been able to fully or partially fund 47 applications, distributing $68,000 to educators across the district, while we explore district and partnering funding options for some additional applications.

If you include our final round from the last school year, you’ll see that in 2022 we’ve:

• funded 145 grants
• awarded over $245,123 
• supported 38 schools

What our schools are requesting

From the latest round, we received a variety of classroom- and school-based applications from schools across the district, including funding requests for:

• a field trip to the Boulder Philharmonic’s Discovery Concert
• social justice books for a classroom library
• wobble stools to provide flexible seating and help high school students focus
• metal and jewelry supplies for an art class
• diversity, equity and inclusion e-book collections for the BVSD digital library

A strong tie to our mission

The Academic Opportunity Fund directly supports our mission, allowing us to provide supplemental funding and resources to students and educators in order to expand what’s possible in education. 
Keep an eye on our Academic Opportunity Fund webpage for future funding rounds.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Over 60 high schoolers joining this year’s Career Readiness Academy

This month we launched our 2022-23 Career Readiness Academy, a series of after-school workshops that help Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) high school students find and communicate their strengths in order to attain professional opportunities.

Tripling our impact

While last year’s academy was hosted at the BVSD Education Center and served 20 high school students, this year we’re expanding the program and reaching students directly at their schools. We have over 60 students enrolled in three cohorts at Centaurus High School, Boulder High School and New Vista High School.

The program targets students from low-income families as well as those who are historically marginalized, but each cohort welcomes a mix of students from varied backgrounds. Each student brings an openness to learn and explore, and a desire to gain professional skills that will serve them well into the future. 

“The next few months will be a really fun and rewarding time for these students. I’m excited to get to know our students and help build their confidence and professional skills.”

Denise Zapata, IOE Career Readiness Academy Coordinator

Gaining self knowledge and professional skills

So far the students had an orientation and their parents or guardians participated in a family session, so everyone knows what to expect and how to get the most out of the academy. Next year’s sessions will cover:

• exploring student interests, possible paths
• job identification
• interview preparation
• professional communication and interview skills
• mock interviews
• application and resume help

“As the workplace continues to evolve, it’s more important than ever to help students find their purpose and communicate their value to potential employers. Impact on Education is committed to helping all BVSD students find their path to success.”

Amy Batchelor, Anchor Point Foundation

The importance of college and career readiness

Our Career Readiness Academy supplements district programming to help high school students to learn about possible career pathways after graduation and gain professional soft skills in order to land a job, internship or other opportunity for growth in the near future.

The academy is one part of our work to empower BVSD graduates by providing College and Career Readiness opportunities.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 29,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

BVSD students need you more than ever

For every student who confidently raises their hand in class, another has trouble keeping up. When a team roster is posted at school, most players are overjoyed, but some wonder if their family can afford the fees or uniforms. And in every classroom across the Boulder Valley School District, there are students quietly in crisis.

Our students worry about these learning, financial and emotional struggles; they’re so attuned to everything that’s happening around them. Can you imagine how the COVID pandemic, a mass shooting, and Colorado’s most destructive wildfire have impacted their mental health? Every student carries these experiences with them, and decades from now this will be a turning point.

You can help create a lasting legacy of mental well-being and compassion for others that our whole community carries forward.

Your gift ensures we’re able to continue focusing on the mental health of students, their families and our valued educators. Our greatest strength is our ability to adapt to meet emerging needs, and we hope we can count on your support today!

After the Marshall Fire we provided students, educators and families with direct financial support, school supplies and replacement academic materials. A critical part of our response was providing funding for BVSD to hire four new Mental Health Advocates to support the most impacted students and schools. These investments happened alongside an expansion of our summer learning program for rising Kindergarteners, launching a new Career Readiness Academy for underrepresented high schoolers, and awarding grants to schools and educators.

The gift you make to Impact on Education enables us to make these targeted long-term investments and to meet immediate needs that surface throughout the year.

“Impact on Education is there for us in our moments of greatest need.”

Dr. Rob Anderson, BVSD Superintendent

Our partnership with BVSD includes the voices of our educators, from counselors to administrators to classroom teachers, and many others. These are the people who know what students and families need, and they trust Impact on Education to help. 

When you make a gift to Impact on Education you’re helping to drive change for local students, public education and our whole community.

Five ways we’re supporting the mental health of BVSD students and educators

Supporting the mental health of our students and educators is a critical need for our community. Impact on Education is committed to helping the Boulder Valley School District provide mental health support for students from kindergarten through graduation, and providing opportunities for educators to help both students and themselves. Having school-based support is critical to navigating mental health struggles and we’ve made five key investments in mental health so far this year:

Professional development for BVSD School Age Care staff

November 2021 and August 2022

School Age Care (SAC) supervisors and assistant supervisors serve a diverse group of students daily at 32 sites throughout Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). From grade levels to academic ability levels to emotional and behavioral health levels, SAC staff must manage each student’s needs and create a safe environment outside of school hours for students and staff. 

Impact on Education worked with Calming Kids to provide targeting professional development to 72 SAC staff who work with students before and after school. Participants gained self-regulation skills and learned how to better equip themselves to provide social-emotional support for all students.

RESeT Fairview Day

January 2022  |  Daily Camera article (paywall)

Fairview High School paused instruction for one day (January 7, 2022) and offered a day of conferences that focused on four areas: prevention/education, mental health, self care and leadership.

RESeT Fairview Day was a student-led conference funded by Impact on Education that allowed students to engage in a variety of training and learning activities. There were five sessions of over 40 presentations throughout the day making the content accessible to over 2,000 students. 

Four new BVSD Mental Health Advocates

May 2022  |  Daily Camera article (paywall)

Impact on Education provided funding for BVSD to hire four mental Health Advocate positions in the spring of 2022, a few months after the Marshall Fire. Within BVSD, Mental Health Advocates provide prevention and intervention services for students, supporting their social-emotional and behavioral development, student achievement, and crisis intervention.

Mental Health Advocates can also provide both group and individual counseling support and work directly with students, parents, and staff members. For more acute counseling needs, they help families access external resources for mental health. As a direct result of the Marshall Fire and the mental health impacts this is having on our community, we are working to immediately increase the mental health services available to BVSD students.

The four new Mental Health Advocates are assigned to the seven schools most directly impacted by the Marshall Fire, supporting 6,061 students. They’ve collectively expanded access to mental health services by 35%, providing over 130 consultations and offering direct support and services to 93 families and 359 individuals. 

Professional development for BVSD educators

November 2022

The mental health of educators and school staff directly impacts the students in their classrooms. Through our Academic Opportunity Fund we were able to fund two school requests to support mental health needs at their schools.

At Monarch PK-8, Beth Kelley, author of Teaching, Learning and Trauma, will conduct two professional learning sessions focused on helping‌ ‌teachers‌ ‌respond‌ ‌to‌ ‌students‌ ‌who‌ ‌are‌ ‌dysregulated‌, strategies‌ ‌to‌ ‌avoid‌ ‌retriggering‌ students‌, and identifying ‌‌where‌ ‌students are ‌in‌ ‌their‌ ‌own‌ ‌transition, grief, or trauma‌. Beth also joined sessions for students dealing with trauma and worked directly with students experiencing higher levels of trauma.

We also provided funding for Centaurus High School to improve school wide behavior interventions targeted at addressing school culture, supporting psychological needs and addressing truancy through the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) lens. 

All Advocates for All Youth program 

Program launches in 2023

In partnership with Dr. Jill Kaar, a behavioral epidemiologist at CU-Anschutz Medical School, Impact on Education is supporting the implementation of the All Advocates for All Youth (ALLY) program in several Boulder Valley middle schools. 

The ALLY program pairs community volunteers with middle school students for six 1:1 sessions. The discussions will provide students with a mental health curriculum that includes a common vocabulary around behavioral health, destigmatizing mental health intervention, and supporting emotional wellness.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 30,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

What do GradPlus and Ballot Measure 5A have in common?

Did you know the Boulder Chamber has identified workforce development as a priority need for local employers? Expanding career and college readiness opportunities for BVSD students will give them the credentials they need for success and will bolster our local workforce. 

What is GradPlus?

The Boulder Valley School District GradPlus program aims to expand each graduate’s skill sets by providing every student with learning opportunities and credentials that offer a head start on a career, postsecondary education, or both.

Grad Plus is intended to break down barriers between traditional academics and career and technical education, allowing students to maximize the credentials they earn across multiple quadrants. By their high school graduation, every BVSD student will complete one or more: advanced placement course, international baccalaureate course or concurrent/dual enrollment course; a seal of biliteracy; an industry certification; or an internship, apprenticeship, or other work-based learning experience.

Our investments in GradPlus

Impact on Education has been supporting BVSD in the creation and implementation of GradPlus behind the scenes for several years. For the 2022-23 school year, Impact on Education investments will support students in financial need and may include:

• Fees for students to access industry certifications
• Fees for students to take language placement tests and earn college level foreign language credits or tests so they can earn the seal of biliteracy
• Textbook and material fees for students to concurrently enroll in college level classes at CU, Metro State or Front Range Community College
• Subsidizing Front Range Community College courses being offered after school hours to BVSD students
• Fees for students to take AP or IB tests to earn college credit

How Ballot Measure 5A will support GradPlus

Our secondary schools lack learning spaces, experiences and programming to adequately prepare students for  future careers in vocational trades. BVSD must catch up to peer districts like Cherry Creek and St. Vrain Valley, whose Innovation Centers provide paid work experiences, coursework and industry certifications. In a rapidly changing world, our students are missing out on these important experiences that go beyond the traditional classroom environment. 

Ballot Measure 5A includes renovating our secondary schools, which alongside the GradPlus program will allow BVSD to continue providing the high-quality education our students deserve. Students will be able to work with educators and local companies to leverage their talents and join the skilled labor workforce immediately after high school, and they’ll also have a competitive advantage when applying for higher education. 

Allowing students to build their own path to success is important, and GradPlus enables a skills-based curriculum where students don’t have to choose between learning a skilled trade or further academic pursuits.

BEFORE YOU GO …

Impact on Education is a nonprofit organization, and we depend on our community to help us put our mission into action. We need your help to to provide opportunity and resources to 30,000 students and 4,000 educators in the Boulder Valley School District.

Connect with Us