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.

Why a local Target donated their school supply inventory to Impact on Education

En Español

It’s not often that a major retailer offers to donate their entire inventory of back-to-school supplies, but that’s exactly what the Target store in Superior, Colorado did last month. The store was remodeled after the Marshall Fire and ordered school supplies in anticipation of an early August reopening. Unfortunately they had to make room for Halloween merchandise when the store opened after school started and decide what to do with all of the school supplies.

A phone call from Shawn Stratton, the Target store manager, to Ari Gerzon-Kessler, Director of Parent and Family Partnerships with BVSD, led to Impact on Education accepting a donation of nearly $80,000 worth of brand-new school supplies.

Making sure the supplies went to those in need

Our initial conversations were focused on how to get the supplies into the hands of those who needed them the most, which would be difficult to do in a district with 56 schools and 30,000 students. In order to meet this goal we decided to open the first of three shopping days only for:

• McKinney-Vento Specialists who help students and families without stable housing,
• Community Liaisons who work to direct services to high needs students and families,
• staff and educators from the schools most impacted by the Marshall Fire, and
• educators who are new to BVSD

The educators who came through were incredibly grateful and excited to bring the supplies back to their classrooms and students.

“I collected the items that I consider helpful for kids when they start school, like pencils, pens, markers, notebooks, folders, and lunch boxes. Being able to provide these important items to students helps make their experience more exciting and enjoyable.”

Adriana Favila Humara, BVSD McKinney-Vento Specialist

Not including students who were displaced by the Marshall Fire, there are approximately 400 BVSD students that currently qualify for McKinney-Vento benefits, a federal program that serves students experiencing homelessness.

“We picked up a lot of school supplies, mostly for our classroom teachers, but we also grabbed some fun items for our school Giving Tree. Everything will be put in the hands of BVSD students, especially those most in need.”

Candace Garbow, Community Liaison at Fireside Elementary

Over 400 staff and educators came to our pop-up Target store over the course of three days. It’s no surprise that things moved quickly, with only composition notebooks left at the end, which we passed on to our partners at A Precious Child.

The people behind the scenes

It’s hard to visualize the space needed to store 22 pallets of school supplies until you peek into the delivery truck. Thankfully, the FOSS Center, located behind the BVSD Education Center, had some empty warehouse space for us to use, a critical piece of the puzzle!

In addition to Impact on Education staff and a few BVSD staff, we had 22 volunteers dedicate over 43 hours of their time to the donation. We all worked together to unload, organize and distribute the school supplies, creating an easy and fun experience for our shoppers.

We’re so grateful to everyone who helped make this possible and want to give a special thanks to:

• Shawn Stratton, Store Manager at the Superior Target
• Lynn Gershman, Director of Academic Services at BVSD
• Suzanne Williamson, FOSS Center at BVSD
• Brad Cox, Aaron Huffman, Joel Johnson and Ryan Harter from the BVSD Warehouse
• Ali Cortez, Community Partnerships Manager with Impact on Education

While this project was unplanned and went beyond our daily work providing opportunities and eliminating barriers for BVSD students, we also knew that distributing learning tools directly supports our mission and helps expand what’s possible in education.

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Por qué la tienda local de Target donó su inventario de útiles escolares a Impacto en la Educación

No es frecuente que un gran minorista ofrezca donar todo su inventario de útiles escolares para la vuelta a la escuela, pero eso es exactamente lo que hizo la tienda Target de Superior, Colorado, el mes pasado. La tienda fue remodelada después del Incendio Marshall e hizo un pedido de útiles escolares en anticipación de una reapertura temprana a principios de agosto. Desafortunadamente, tuvieron que hacer espacio para la mercancía de Halloween cuando la tienda abrió después del comienzo de las clases y decidir qué hacer con todos los útiles escolares.

Una llamada telefónica de Shawn Stratton, el gerente de la tienda Target, a Ari Gerzon-Kessler, director de Asociaciones de Padres y Familias del BVSD, hizo que Impacto en la Educación aceptara una donación de casi $80,000 en útiles escolares nuevos.

Asegurar que estos suministros lleguen a las personas necesitadas

Nuestras conversaciones iniciales se enfocaron en cómo hacer llegar los suministros a las manos de quienes más los necesitaban, lo que sería difícil de hacer en un distrito con 56 escuelas y 30,000 estudiantes. Para cumplir este objetivo, decidimos abrir el primero de los tres días de compras solo para:

• Los especialistas de McKinney-Vento que ayudan a los estudiantes y a las familias sin un hogar estable,
• Los enlaces comunitarios que trabajan para dirigir los servicios a los estudiantes y familias con grandes necesidades
• Personal y educadores de las escuelas más afectadas por el Incendio Marshall, y
• Educadores que son nuevos en el BVSD

Los educadores que vinieron estaban increíblemente agradecidos y emocionados de llevar los suministros a sus aulas y estudiantes.

“Recogí los artículos que considero útiles para los niños cuando empiezan la escuela, como lápices, bolígrafos, marcadores, cuadernos, carpetas y loncheras.  Poder proporcionar estos artículos importantes a los estudiantes ayuda a que su experiencia sea más emocionante y agradable.”

Adriana Favila Humara, especialista de McKinney-Vento del BVSD

Sin incluir a los estudiantes que fueron desplazados por el Incendio Marshall, hay aproximadamente 400 estudiantes del BVSD que actualmente califican para los beneficios de McKinney-Vento, un programa federal que sirve a los estudiantes que no tienen hogar.

“Recogimos muchos útiles escolares, sobre todo para nuestros maestros, pero también agarramos algunos artículos divertidos para nuestro Árbol de regalos de la escuela. Todo se pondrá en las manos de los estudiantes del BVSD, especialmente de los más necesitados.”

Candace Garbow, enlace comunitaria de la Escuela Primaria Fireside

Más de 400 empleados y educadores vinieron a nuestra tienda temporal de Target en el curso de tres días. Era de esperarse que las cosas se movieran rápidamente, y que al final solo quedaran cuadernos de composición, que pasamos a nuestros socios de A Precious Child.

Las personas detrás de la escena

Es difícil visualizar el espacio necesario para almacenar 22 tarimas de útiles escolares hasta que se echa un vistazo al camión de entrega.  Afortunadamente, el Centro FOSS, localizado detrás del Centro de Educación del BVSD, tenía un espacio de almacén vacío que podíamos usar, ¡una pieza crucial del rompecabezas!

Además del personal de Impacto en la Educación y algunos empleados del BVSD, tuvimos 22 voluntarios que dedicaron más de 43 horas de su tiempo a la donación.  Todos trabajamos juntos para descargar, organizar y distribuir los útiles escolares, creando una experiencia fácil y divertida para nuestros clientes.

Estamos muy agradecidos a todos los que ayudaron a hacer esto posible y queremos dar un reconocimiento especial a:

• Shawn Stratton, gerente de la tienda Target en Superior
• Lynn Gershman, directora de Servicios Académicos del BVSD
• Suzanne Williamson, Centro FOSS en el BVSD
• Brad Cox, Aaron Huffman, Joel Johnson y Ryan Harter del almacén del BVSD
• Ali Cortez, gestora de Asociaciones comunitarias de Impacto en la Educación

Si bien este proyecto no era parte de nuestro trabajo diario proporcionar importantes herramientas de aprendizaje a nuestros estudiantes apoya nuestra misión y expande lo que es posible en la educación.

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.

There are many ways to support student learning

We received over 100 applications in the first round of our Academic Opportunity Fund this year and initial award decisions were shared earlier this month. Thanks to a wonderful team of 24 great readers, we’ve been able to fully or partially fund 73 of these applications, investing over $112,000 to support BVSD students. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS

Our Academic Opportunity Fund provides funding to meet the needs of students, educators and classrooms across the district. From Cal-Wood scholarships to transportation expenses to software licenses, we fund a variety of requests that will enable students to engage in learning.

School-based tutoring for Adelante! students

Over 150 first-generation Latinx students at Boulder and Fairview High School have been disproportionately impacted by COVID and need support to get back on track. An Academic Opportunity Fund grant will pay for tutors to help students enrolled in the Adelante! Program during and after school. Adelante! encourages and inspires college and career readiness for first-generation and low-income students.

Tutors will offer personalized support based on student needs and will provide subject area tutoring and college application preparation. Adelante has a proven track record of re-engaging students in their pursuit of education and bolsters post-secondary readiness in the areas of college and career.

The need for tutoring and coaching to complete college and scholarship applications is particularly urgent at Boulder High School because the school has seen a dramatic increase in students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program and an increase in Latinx, mostly first-generation English speaking, students. Both schools have noted that there is a serious gap in pursuing higher education between the majority and minority student populations. The Adelante program has traditionally offered tutoring in addition to standardized test prep, essay reviews, workshops on filling out applications and scholarship applications.

Art therapy for middle school students

Like many schools across the district, Centennial Middle School has seen an increased need for mental health support. With limited mental health resources available their part-time school psychologist and school counselors asked for funding to bring a local art therapist to their students.

The funding will allow the school to engage the art therapist, providing an additional trusted adult for students, and support the purchase of supplies. This additional mental health support will help students interpret and express their emotions and thoughts so they’re better equipped to focus on learning at school.

Educational field trips

Young AmeriTowne is an award-winning educational program to help students learn about business and economics in a fun and hands-on way. 44 fourth graders at Alicia Sanchez Elementary are now able to take a field trip to Young AmeriTowne next spring.

Coal Creek fifth graders will participate in their annual field trip to Cal-Wood this school year. The school PTA subsidizes the class trip, but families are asked to contribute $100 per student. We’re covering this cost for 14 families for whom the $100 will be a hardship, 8 families in financial need and 6 families affected by the Marshall Fire.

Helping students develop their STEM identity

At Boulder High School, AP chemistry students have access to supplies like PH sensors and direct drop counters to develop their own experiments. In other chemistry courses that occur outside of block periods, the logistics of sharing these supplies in quick succession means that students who are not enrolled in AP level courses don’t have access to this experience.

Not all students will take AP level courses and the fees can be a barrier to participation for students in financial need. In order to offer similar learning opportunities to all students, we’re providing funding for chemistry supplies that will allow more students to develop their STEM identity by deepening their interaction with these concepts.

OUR CONTINUED SUPPORT

We’re still working with BVSD to gather additional information to make funding decisions on some remaining applications from our first round. We always verify the grants we disperse are aligned with District goals and standards and that we are not funding projects that can be met by District or other community resources.

We just opened our application for a second round and applications are due on Monday, November 14, 2022.
To learn more or apply, click here.

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.

Working together to support BVSD schools

We hosted a Parent Partnership Summit last week and were thrilled to see so many schools in the Boulder Valley School District represented. This event brings together parent leaders from schools across the district to strengthen fundraising efforts and connect with other parent leaders to grow their impact in our schools.

Working together to support schools

PTO and PTA organizations across BVSD provide important resources to supplement the educational experience for students and help build community. Impact on Education convenes the leaders of these organizations each year to ensure they know how we can support their efforts and how we work each day to support the students and educators at their school.

After a brief update on our programs and recent happenings, we shared this new video about how we are supporting the mental health of BVSD students affected by the Marshall Fire.

An important part of supporting schools is making sure all families are included. To support parent leaders, we invited representatives from the NAACP Boulder County Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Collaborative to share resources and ideas for implementing or strengthening school DEI committees.

An update from the BVSD Superintendent

In addition to presenting information on and answering questions about the BVSD Facilities Critical Needs Plan and the All Together for All Students strategic plan, Dr. Anderson also spent over an hour with us discussing pressing current issues in the district including

• the labor shortage affecting special education and transportation
• safety and security in the district, including a debrief on the Fairview High School threat
• declining enrollment
• math acceleration pathways

We’re grateful that Dr. Anderson was able to spend so much time with BVSD’s parent leaders at the summit to share important and timely updates and answer questions.

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.

Investing in our schools is investing in our children and our communities

Where students learn matters. In Colorado, without adequate state funding, school districts are on their own to provide and maintain the schools where students and teachers do their essential work everyday. This fall Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) is asking our community to invest in improving schools across the district. The only way for BVSD to address the critical needs included in ballot measure 5A is by asking our taxpayers — our community — for help.

The $350 million property tax increase asks property owners to invest approximately $118 per year, or $9.83 a month, for each $600,000 of home value. While the ballot is crowded with tax measures this year, it’s important to support ballot issue 5A this year because our buildings are aging and require immediate maintenance to extend their useful life, and new home construction at the northeastern edge of our district will lead to overcrowded and inequitable classrooms if we fail to act. 

Perhaps the most exciting projects included in measure 5A, however, are the proposed investments that will provide BVSD students with quality skills-based learning experiences. The Boulder Chamber identified workforce development as a priority need for local employers and BVSD’s Facilities Critical Needs Plan would include renovating our middle and high schools to offer innovative classrooms and learning laboratories that will ensure our graduates are equipped for postsecondary success. 

What’s included in Ballot Measure 5A

Renovating buildings to better prepare students for their futures – 15%

BVSD is ready to transform the student experience in college and career preparedness. Proposed renovations at PK-8, middle, and high schools will expand or create flexible, agile spaces where students can experience industry-inspired environments with the latest equipment, helping them acquire valuable technical skills along with the real-world, hands-on experiences that lead to high-wage and high-growth jobs that are in high demand. 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.

Critical maintenance, facility improvements, rebuilding New Vista High – 68.9%

Measure 5A also represents the District’s highest priority building needs that must be addressed in the next four years in order to optimize taxpayer investments. Nearly 60% of the buildings in BVSD are over 40 years old and the cost of current critical building needs, recommended by the Capital Improvement Plan Review Committee, will only increase if the measure does not pass. Plans also call for the 70-year old New Vista High School building to be replaced.

Relieving overcrowding in schools – 13.8%

The only BVSD school in Erie, Meadowlark PK-8, is at 100% capacity in grades PK-5. Development that’s already under construction in the area requires a plan to address enrollment growth before it’s a crisis. Building a second elementary school in Erie will accommodate new students and relieve overcrowding in other district schools, which leads to inequitable classrooms and learning experiences.

Improving ADA access on playgrounds – 2.3%

So that students of all physical abilities can benefit from play and exercise, playground mulch on a number of elementary playgrounds would be replaced with rubberized solid surfaces that are wheelchair friendly.

Vote yes on 5A

Public schools are a pillar of local cities and towns, providing an important thread in the social fabric of our community. It’s difficult to imagine our neighborhoods without their local schools – critical infrastructure that enables learning, social connections, and student growth and achievement to take place. In order to positively impact our economy and community we must educate our youth, facilitate avenues for careers, and provide safe facilities for learning. 

Voting yes on 5A is a vote for public education.

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.

Our partnership with BVSD prepared more students for Kindergarten

One of the magical ingredients to our work is our partnership with the Boulder Valley School District. We’re much stronger when we work together, and our Kinder Bridge program is a prime example.

Why we became a champion for early learning

Preparing students for that all-important first year of formal schooling allows us to address opportunity gaps facing our youngest learners. The BVSD community is diverse in many ways, welcoming students from different races, cultures, economic and family backgrounds.

Because we know school readiness can impact everything from reading at grade level to graduating high school to being career ready later in life, Impact on Education partnered with Boulder Housing Partners over six years ago to start offering a summer program that provided high quality early learning experiences to preschool age students heading to BVSD. In 2022 this program was woven into BVSD’s summer learning, allowing us to serve four times the number of students and provide 50% more instructional hours.

What Kinder Bridge offers students

This past summer, 170 rising Kindergarten students with identified risk factors participated in our Kinder Bridge program. These students wouldn’t have otherwise had access to summer preschool and would have arrived in our kindergarten classrooms less prepared than their peers. The new partnership allowed us to:

• Increase the number of students served, enrolling 170 preschoolers from 30 schools at three sites in Boulder and Lafayette
• Enroll 40% Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) students
• Provide BVSD transportation to make the program accessible to all students
• Double instructional hours, providing 80 hours of instruction focusing on letter recognition, counting, letter sound formation and recognition, name-writing, executive functioning and social emotional skills

The impact of the 2022 Kinder Bridge program

While many students were already demonstrating Kindergarten-level behaviors at the beginning of the summer, all students saw growth on the BVSD TS-Gold Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, and 65% left the program within the expected range of a kindergartener one month into the school year. The greatest gains were in identifying letter-sound correspondences and taking care of their own needs appropriately.

Class attendance averaged 86% across the three sites and 92% of families indicated plans to enroll their students in BVSD Kindergarten.

Looking ahead to 2023 we’ll continue working closely and proactively with BVSD to improve and enroll students in our Kinder Bridge program.

*The BVSD TS-Gold Kindergarten Readiness Assessment measures literacy/letter recognition, numeracy/number recognition and counting, and executive functioning skills necessary to engage productively and positively in a kindergarten class.

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.

Local elementary teachers go the extra yard

Check out more photos on Facebook >>

Each year, we partner with the College Football Playoff Foundation to recognize educators going the extra yard in the Boulder Valley School District. The Extra Yard for Teachers Award honors great educators and reminds teachers across the country that they are valued and respected.

The impact of this year’s awardees

Two educators with Louisville Elementary School, Nicole Duster and Caroline Fassora, were honored this year with the Extra Yard for Teachers Award. Nicole and Caroline go the extra yard for their students in many ways, but we’re sharing two ways they support equity and opportunity for all students at Louisville Elementary. 

When students live within a mile of Louisville Elementary they cannot take a BVSD bus to school, but they don’t always have a safe and reliable way to get to school. Nicole and Caroline worked with RTD to coordinate transportation via RTD’s FlexRide, funded by Impact on Education, to remove this obstacle for at-risk students and their families, leading to increased attendance rates. 

They’ve also done extensive work building Louisville Elementary’s Families and Educators Together (FET), a team of educators and family members partnering together to create a more inclusive community to support the well-being of all students and families. FET helps foster cross-cultural learning, encourages meaningful dialogue, and equips families who are historically under-represented to advocate for their childrens’ education. Most recently, Nicole helped coordinate child care at FET meetings across the district to enable more families to be able to attend and fully participate.

Two special celebrations

On Tuesday, September 20, Louisville Elementary hosted University of Colorado spirit squad, and of course, Chip, to celebrate Nicole and Caroline and present a $1000 check to support their work. The awardees were also honored on the field during halftime at the CU Buffs football game on Saturday, September 24 and received an additional $7,000 check for Impact on Education to continue to support the needs at Louisville Elementary and other BVSD schools. 

Check out more photos on Facebook >>

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.

Thank you for supporting Impact on Education

We are humbled by the outpouring of support we received on Friday at our annual gala, Together We Build.

From the family style dining experience to the lively conversations to raising 56 paddles for our 56 schools, the evening was centered around community. Together we raised over $300,000 to help students build resilience, confidence and their path to success.

We had so much fun on Friday and shared all of the wonderful photos on Facebook >>

For those that were unable to join us, we invite you to watch a new video about how we are supporting students and educators in the Boulder Valley School District affected by the Marshall Fire.

We’re so grateful to have a strong community behind us making sure we can put our mission into action. Thank you for being part of our work!

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 of the Boulder Valley School District.

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