From the very start of the pandemic, we knew disrupted learning would create widespread inequities and learning gaps. We made sure to include supplemental instruction in the launch of our Critical Needs Fund to make sure we could fund opportunities for K-12 students to access additional instruction to catch up on learning they might miss.
This spring, we funded over 10,000 hours of supplemental instruction, providing opportunities for students to receive academic support and additional instruction after school and on Mondays as well as access to ACT/SAT preparatory courses.
This summer, we are turning our attention to supporting the elementary and the middle school students whose skill levels in core classes are below grade level as well as high school students who need to recover credits they did not pass or did not complete. Doing the learning now will lead to higher growth and achievement in the fall.
While schools are closed for the summer, many BVSD students are still engaged in learning. The Boulder Valley School District kicked off its Summer Learning program this week for rising 1st graders through 9th grade students.
With over 1,200 students enrolled, 160 of them, about 15%, are able to attend only because Impact on Education funded before and after child care. This allows all students, regardless of family income, the opportunity to receive safe, supplemental instruction, technology, and curriculum on their grade level.
In addition to summer learning, nearly 1,800 students are making up high school credits this summer, at no cost to them. Any student needing to retake a failed or incomplete course may sign up to take credit recovery courses this summer. While fees to retake high school classes typically cost between $50-$300, Impact on Education is funding all credit recovery courses for BVSD high school students this year with dollars from our Critical Needs Fund.
The academic support being offered this summer is designed to help ensure students start the 2021-22 school year on grade level. Work is underway to ensure we meet student needs when school resumes in August and throughout the school year, too. Keep an eye out for our blog or sign up for our e-newsletter for more updates about the ways we are supporting local students.
We’re excited to share that we have awarded up to $24,000 in scholarships to three graduating high school seniors. Applications were reviewed by a group of trained community volunteers, and student winners were selected based upon their academic achievement, financial need, and other eligibility requirements.
“From the number of applications we received for both scholarships to the strength and accomplishments of the applicants, this year highlights both students’ incredible drive to pursue their post-secondary education and goals as well as the deep need for post-secondary resources.”
Jen Biegen, IOE Program Coordinator
Our new Earl & Barbara Bolton Scholarship, is awarded from a $500,000 endowment left to Impact on Education by its namesake. The couple grew up in Boulder County, attended Boulder Valley public schools, and were well known in the community for their love of aviation, history, education, and travel. The scholarship is intended for students planning to study engineering, forestry, nursing, or medicine in the state of Colorado.
The $5,000 Earl & Barbara Bolton Scholarship was awarded to Shannon Blanco, a senior at Monarch High School. Shannon plans to pursue biomedical engineering & the Business Engineering Tech Program at CU-Boulder in the fall. This scholarship award is renewable for up to four years, with the potential to fund $20,000 of Shannon’s college expenses.
“On my service trips and volunteering in my community, I have seen the disparity of medical resources for under-served populations [which has] inspired me to look deeper into people’s access to medical equipment and aid. My overall goal is to transform the accuracy and efficiency of medical equipment to provide more accessible medical aid to those in need, specifically in struggling socio-economic communities and developing countries.”
Shannon Blanco, Senior at Monarch High School
One of Impact on Education’s longtime scholarships, the Dennie and Donna Wise Scholarship, was endowed by a former board member to support up to two students a year planning to pursue a vocational, technical, or community college education.
A $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Maria Garcia Diaz, a senior at Fairview High School and to Rodrigo Marquez, a senior at Boulder High School. Maria plans to pursue child psychology at Front Range Community College in the fall, and Rodrigo plans to pursue law enforcement also at Front Range Community College. This scholarship award is renewable for up to two years, funding a total of $2,000 of each recipient’s college tuition.
“My goals are to make my parents proud as well as myself…I want to become a child psychologist. I have the opportunity to work in a field where I’m able to not only help others but make other people feel heard. I’m able to use my own life experiences to better understand others and help them know that they’re not alone.”
Maria Garcia Diaz, Senior at Fairview High School
“Since I was a child, my dream has been to become a police officer and help my community, especially the Latino community, my family, and friends. I want to help make changes that can help solve problems, and my goals have been influenced by my parents.”
Rodrigo Marquez, Senior at Boulder High School
We offer these scholarships to support Boulder Valley students in financial need who wish to pursue higher education. We’re able to provide this type of important financial support thanks to generous bequests left to the organization from local community members. If you’d like to discuss opportunities for planned giving, including bequests, gifts from a retirement account, charitable trust, or real estate, please contact darcy@impactoneducation.org.
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.
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.
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.
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.
$265,000 invested in supplemental instruction
$165,000 to ensure families have food on the table
$100,000 to provide a safe and stable place for students to learn
$60,000 to enable access to remote learning
$12,000 to equip elementary students with supplies
$10,000 to keep kids reading at home
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.
Last year, we kicked off a partnership with Couragion, a locally owned software company working to inspire underrepresented students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. This women-led company uses an online platform to provide inclusive, work-based learning experiences that introduce students to jobs of the future.
We proposed a pilot program to the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) to implement Couragion in order to meet the district’s career and technical objectives. Our goal was to see if this new software could more precisely align with these objectives than the Career Pathways program, an in-house mentorship program helping elementary students explore careers. Working with Arlie Huffman, Director of CTE Education for BVSD, and Katie Romero, Director of Student Support for BVSD, we were able to launch the program in the fall of 2020.
We targeted five BVSD middle schools for the Couragion pilot program to reach a cross-section of schools representing various geographies, academic environments, and socioeconomic demographics. Their school counselors received training in September 2020, and then their students received access to the platform for eight weeks.
4,580 career “quests” were completed by students throughout the program, with each student completing an average of 4.1 quests.
Students were surveyed each time they used Couragion, and the program showed an increased knowledge of STEM careers and school resources. The pilot results include:
The student participants demonstrated self-awareness, critical thinking and a broadened knowledge of career possibilities:
Some students also focused on a specific career goal:
The goals of this pilot program extend beyond career exposure to impact on course selection and the perception of how STEM classes can lead to careers. With our partners at BVSD, we are now evaluating next steps to determine if we should continue to offer Couragion to BVSD middle schoolers in the 21-22 school year and how we might deploy it most successfully in the future.
We recently shared the story of Earl and Barbara Bolton, announcing the $500,000 endowment they left to Impact on Education. Today, we’re excited to share the details of our newest college scholarship opportunity for Boulder Valley students, the Earl and Barbara Bolton Scholarship, and two other scholarships available to BVSD high school seniors.
All seniors who meet the eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply. These scholarships are only available to BVSD students.
All three scholarships are accepting applications now through April 18, 2021.
This $5000 scholarship is renewable for up to four years ($20,000). Applications are accepted from BVSD graduating seniors who demonstrate financial need, have an acceptance letter to a Colorado college (2-or 4-year) or university, and plan to pursue engineering, forestry, nursing, or medicine.
Born in 1920 and 1924 respectively, Barbara and Earl both grew up in Boulder County — Barbara in the City of Boulder and Earl in the City of Longmont. The pair met in grade school but fell in love while attending Boulder High School.
Earl was a distinguished Army veteran, and Barbara was the first draftswoman for Boeing.The couple settled in Boulder and worked with the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology), until retiring together in 1980. They dedicated much of their lives to aviation, education, and travel, and were both driven to give back to those in need.
Review the full eligibility requirements or the scholarship application.
This $1,000 scholarship is renewable for up to two years ($2,000). Applications are accepted from BVSD graduating seniors planning to pursue a vocational, technical or community college education (full or part-time).
Dennie Wise, a former Impact on Education board member, established a scholarship fund in his wife Donna’s name upon her death. He wanted to help BVSD graduating students access community college and trade school by offering a scholarship to students who choose to pursue post-secondary education at a vocational, technical, or community college. When Dennie passed away, his children contributed to the scholarship fund and requested the scholarship name be updated to honor both parents.
Review the full eligibility requirements or the scholarship application.
This $1,500 scholarship is offered to two graduating seniors (one male, one female) who have attended both Boulder High School and Foothill Elementary and plan to pursue elementary education.
James B. Gould and Bernice W. Gould left Impact on Education this scholarship endowment to aid Boulder High School students seeking to become elementary school educators.
Review the full eligibility requirements or the scholarship application.
We’re excited to share the second round of Student Advisory Board interviews with local community leaders.
Our students asked the leaders questions about how high school impacted their lives and careers as well as issues facing high school students today. They also sought advice for making the most of their time in high school and early on in their careers.
In this edition, we hear from the first Colorado African-American member of Congress, the first female Boulder city manager, a healthcare CEO envisioning healthcare as an industry of service, and the co-founder of a wildly successful yoghurt company.
Below, our students provide a glimpse into their conversations, and you’ll find links to each individual interview.
Joe Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in November 2018, becoming the first Colorado African-American member of Congress in our state’s history. He was interviewed by Jasper Brockett and Audrey Bahintchie.
Jasper enjoyed learning “the degree to which he was involved with things in college” and getting a behind the scenes look at life as a Congressman. Audrey related to how his immigrant parents have influenced how he lives his life, “as I too take on life with the beliefs that were passed down to me from my mother.”
Jane Brautigam is the former city manager of the City of Boulder. She is the first female city manager and longest serving Boulder city manager in modern history and shared her story with Elle Vickey.
More a conversation between the two than an interview, the experience of hearing that Jane enjoyed being a city manager more than being a lawyer surprised Elle. She found it interesting that Jane “believed in doing things that were able to help more people and reach her community.”
Isaac is the CEO of Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Colorado. He shared his experience as the son of Cuban immigrants and his journey into healthcare with Sara Cuervo and Lolita Grandbois.
Sara was surprised to hear Isaac talk about how higher positions often have less control but thought it made sense because “you have to rely on others, have trust, and allow for nuance to be a good leader.” Lolita enjoyed the opportunity to hear about Isaac’s journey to CEO “and getting to know him on a personal level.”
Koel Thomae is the Co-Founder of Noosa Yoghurt. She shared her story of building a yoghurt company with Bella Chang and Paul Masters.
Paul found it interesting to “hear from someone with an outside perspective on what it’s like to live in the United States.” And Bella was struck by the importance of building a strong team. Even though Koel didn’t have a background in dairy, “she paired up with someone with dairy experience and she was in charge of the business and marketing.”
Each of the leaders’ What I Know Now interviews highlights the uniqueness of success. We’re proud our Student Advisory Board leaders could bring out each leader’s individual story and learn so much in the process.
In this edition, we hear from the first Colorado African-American member of Congress, the first female Boulder city manager, a healthcare CEO envisioning healthcare as an industry of service, and the founder of a wildly successful yoghurt company.
What do a Google engineer, a Colorado House representative, and two entrepreneurs have in common?
Our Student Advisory Board recently set out to learn from leaders in our local community about how high school impacted their own lives and careers. These virtual interviews discussed favorite classes, important life skills, and issues such as equity, allowing students to glean key insights from a diverse group of community leaders.
How do their high school experiences contrast with those of current students in the Boulder Valley School District? What advice can they offer students navigating personal and academic growth as they look toward their futures?
And of course: what do a Google engineer, a Colorado House representative, and two entrepreneurs have in common? Each community leader emphasized the importance of written communication skills as critical to their success, one insisting that a pen and paper should travel with you everywhere you go!
Below, our students provide a glimpse into four of these conversations, and you’ll find links to each individual interview.
Bhavna Chhabra is the Payment Engineering Director and Boulder Site Lead for Google. She was interviewed by Noah Mollerstuen and Maya Clements. Bhavna shared her unique journey to engineering, emphasizing the importance of hard work and communication skills.
Noah’s favorite part of the interview “was the opportunity to get advice from an industry leader on what students in our position can do to create a more equitable and inclusive school system,” while Maya enjoyed learning what it’s like to hold an influential position, and hearing “ about the trials and tribulations that come with the path when you’re a minority in your field.”
Justin Gold is the Founder of Justin’s, a local natural foods company. He was interviewed by Lindsey Kendall and Mattie Pape. Justin shared his entrepreneurial journey and the importance of surrounding oneself with diverse and smart people who will challenge your thoughts and ideas.
Lindsey was surprised to hear Justin share two important skills for running a business: positivity and curiosity: “Those are the things you are told when you are young, but to know he still thought those were important was surprising.” Mattie enjoyed hearing “how his unique experiences shaped his company. This taught me that all of our unique interests can grow into something big.”
KC Becker is a former Colorado state representative and Speaker in the Colorado House of Representatives. She shared her high school experiences and political journey with our students, Abby Cohen and James Clemson.
When talking about “how to encourage diversity in both government and at school, she told us Colorado is one of two states with a majority female legislature, and emphasized how diversity can only be achieved through active effort,” says James. Abby says it was “an amazing opportunity. I really value her viewpoints … even though we disagreed on a few things.”
Pete Estler is an innovative tech entrepreneur who founded and served as CEO of Quintess, was Chief Executive Officer of dbINTELLECT Technologies, and later founded and served as CEO of MatchLogic. He shared his entrepreneurial lens and perspective with Emery Jansen and Roane Edwards.
Emery found “it was incredibly fascinating to research our interviewee and brainstorm questions that would truly challenge him…Pete recognized the importance of diversity of thought, meeting people from all walks of life … and he emphasized that experiencing life and exiting the bubble Boulder County kids live in is vital to gaining perspective and learning how to better collaborate.”
In this edition, we hear from the first Colorado African-American member of Congress, the first female Boulder city manager, a healthcare CEO envisioning healthcare as an industry of service, and the founder of a wildly successful yoghurt company.
What do a Google engineer, a Colorado House representative, and two entrepreneurs have in common?
As I think we all know by now, last week’s rally and subsequent storming of the U.S. Capitol were not isolated incidents nor are they a temporary problem that can quickly be resolved.
It was interesting (and difficult) timing that we held a Board and staff conversation about race, equity and inclusion the very next night. The session was led by a talented facilitator who helped us understand and reconcile our own biases and develop tools to overcome them as individuals and as an organization. We left the meeting feeling empowered and hopeful that we were having the hard discussions that can really make a difference, and that our entire team is deeply committed to equity.
As we reflected on the work we did that night, we realized that our work to embrace diversity, to champion equity, to become more inclusive and to ensure justice is finally poised to move beyond talk and into action.
For a long time in education, and especially in Boulder Valley, we’ve talked about our persistent achievement gap. Students of color fare worse in almost every conceivable way, scoring lower on standardized tests, enrolling in fewer advanced classes and offered fewer post-secondary options. Our students reflect similar realities along economic lines.
Our affluent and middle income students perform well while their low income peers lag significantly behind. And despite all of the talk about the quantifiable facts that are laid bare when you look at student academic performance, very little action is taken to address this achievement gap.
Last week, over 50 of BVSD’s talented professionals serving on the post-pandemic recovery task force met to discuss the robust recovery work that will address these persistent inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.
Educational equity was a priority when our organization was founded nearly 40 years ago. Since March, however, we’ve been particularly concerned about how disruptions to learning would impact students, especially those who are traditionally underserved.
The pandemic shifted our funding priorities from addressing achievement and opportunity gaps to addressing newly identified critical needs of our students. In 2020, we raised $2.4 million to support students in the Boulder Valley School District. This funding allowed us to provide:
Now, we are finally at a place where we can create targeted interventions to address both the academic and social-emotional well-being of students. I’m encouraged by the forthcoming BVSD plan and how it might create lasting change for students in our community.
While overcoming disparities and addressing inequities among local students will take time, we’re working to ensure that meaningful action is taken now to ensure changes that endure far beyond the pandemic. We are hopeful that this work may one day be seen as a turning point, and that a positive legacy of these trying times will be the way we finally moved beyond talking about equity to finally addressing it.
The names Earl and Barbara Bolton may ring familiar for you. And if not, we’re so excited to be the ones to share their story with you.
Born in 1920 and 1924 respectively, Barbara and Earl both grew up in Boulder County: Barbara in the City of Boulder and Earl in the City of Longmont. The pair met in grade school, but fell in love while attending Boulder High School.
Barbara’s family owned a stage line that operated between Boulder, Nederland and Eldora, and Earl’s father and stepmother ran a local grocery store in Eldora. They played and worked in Eldora during the summers and in the winter they went to school in Boulder. Barbara’s family has a long history in Eldora and it’s where they eventually built their summer home.
Earl and Barbara were married shortly after Earl graduated from Boulder High, on November 15, 1942, and they spent their first three years of marriage apart while Earl served in WWII. Barbara studied drafting at the University of Colorado during that time. She became the first draftswoman for Boeing in Seattle, Washington, working on the B-17 during the war. Earl’s knack for electronics and engineering directed his service as a pilot in WWII, the Korean War and later the Air National Guard. Barbara and Earl were both avid aviators with Barbara learning to fly at 55 years of age!
The couple was married for 76 years. Barbara passed away in April 2019 and Earl shortly after in August 2019.
After Earl’s distinguished Army service, the two Boulder High School graduates returned to Boulder to work with the National Bureau of Standards (now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology), and retired together in 1980. They dedicated much of their lives to both aviation and education, pursuing leadership and learning opportunities for youth in Boulder County.
The Boltons were incredibly generous throughout their life, fostering several young people and making donations to many organizations in support of people and animals in danger. They were also active in preserving Colorado history, especially in maintaining the historical value of Eldora. As time went by they gave wonderful collections to local libraries, museums, schools, organizations and individuals.
The Boltons traveled to many countries, learning and exploring along the way. They had great compassion for underprivileged cultures and developed passions for geology and anthropology.
With a fondness for Boulder and the Boulder Valley School District, Earl and Barbara named Impact on Education in their will, leaving 70% of their estate to create a new scholarship for deserving BVSD graduates.
While they didn’t leave many assets behind, the sale of the home they built together in 1960 provides a new endowment of over $500,000 to create the Earl and Barbara Bolton Scholarship. We are honored to use this endowment to award deserving BVSD graduates with college scholarships. More details on the eligibility criteria and the application will be shared in February 2021.
It’s been such a tough year for students and we’re excited to have a new way to support a student in need in 2021. And to have an incredible asset that will support our vital work for decades to come.
Want to learn more about the Boltons?
info@impactoneducation.org
303.524.3865
Impact on Education
721 Front Street, Suite A
Louisville, CO 80027
Tax ID #84-0943046
