In the Media
Students are raving about BVSD wellness centers, first launched to support Marshall Fire survivors
Boulder Reporting Lab
“Billings and Lawrence believe the centers are working to overcome the stigma around mental health by making access more seamless. In an era of deep anxiety, depression, and ADHD, all of which are exacerbated by social media and the public broadcasting of comments or images that would’ve been more private in the past, something has to be done.”
A sense of calm: BVSD school board hears Wellness Centers update
Daily Camera
Boulder Valley opened the first Wellness Center at Louisville’s Monarch High using grant money in response to the Marshall Fire. With financial support from the nonprofit group Impact on Education, which supports the school district, the district added five more last school year. Along with Monarch, there are Wellness Centers at Boulder, Centaurus, Fairview, Nederland and New Vista high schools.
Boulder County child care assistance program freeze hits vulnerable families
Daily Camera
Impact on Education is raising money to provide at least 10 scholarships to low-income families who otherwise couldn’t attend Boulder Valley preschool because of an enrollment freeze in a child care subsidy program.
The cost of opportunity in public education
Boulder Weekly
Here at Impact on Education we know that providing equitable educational opportunities is more than a mission — it’s a necessity. Members of our community play a crucial role in providing students across BVSD access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.
BVSD Summer Summit preps students for coming school year
Daily Camera
Impact on Education provides $200,000 to cover the cost of including 274 incoming kindergarten students in the BVSD summer learning program. At the elementary level, students learn social and emotional lessons, literacy, math and science. They also rotate to different elective classes, including art, music and P.E.
Wellness centers expand mental health access in Boulder Valley schools
UnitedHealthcare
To address the urgent need to bring mental health support to young people, Impact on Education established Wellness Centers in the Boulder Valley School District. The Wellness Centers operate out of retrofitted classrooms and are staffed by mental health professionals who offer support and resources to students. The space is designed for students to destress, seek help, and build tools to support their wellbeing.
BVSD partners with CU Boulder to evaluate mental health programs
Daily Camera
Impact on Education started a partnership with the Renee Crown Wellness Institute in 2023 to collect and evaluate data for the six high school Wellness Centers that we fund. We’re thrilled to see BVSD take this partnership one step further to research the effectiveness of its mental health programs.
Impact on Education scholarship applications open
Daily Camera
In its ongoing commitment to provide educational opportunities for students in the Boulder Valley School District, Impact on Education announces two new scholarships and opens applications for the Class of 2024. These scholarships highlight IOE’s dedication to removing barriers to higher education, ensuring students from all backgrounds have the support they need to access post-secondary education
Students get tips for resumes, jobs with Career Readiness Academy
Daily Camera
Students in our Career Readiness Academy recently answered questions about their interests, skills and passions and wrote statements about their purpose that they could use for resumes and college applications. This program is a series of 10 after-school workshops supporting about 90 students at three high schools — Boulder, Broomfield and Centaurus.
Supporting youth mental health in schools
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
With support from CDP’s Colorado Wildfires Recovery Fund, Impact on Education hired four mental health advocates (MHAs) and provided them with extensive training to meet the unique mental health needs of 4,640 students impacted by the Marshall Fire.
A Public Affair: Youth Mental Health
KGNU
On the latest episode of “A Public Affair” with Community Foundation Boulder County our executive director Allison Billings joined Kim Wright, a Mental Health Advocate with Boulder Valley School District, to discuss youth mental health. The show provides great insight into the mental health supports available for students, including the Wellness Centers we created this year.
BVSD school board hears update on student mental health supports
Daily Camera
The Boulder Valley school board heard an update at its Tuesday meeting on student mental health supports in place this fall, from wellness centers at the high schools to social skills lessons at the elementary schools. New this fall, Boulder Valley added wellness centers to all its comprehensive high schools with financial support from Impact on Education.
BVSD, SVVSD foundations raising funds for school supplies
Daily Camera
Impact on Education and the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation are holding separate community fundraising drives for school supplies this summer through the Crayons to Calculators program. Impact on Education seeks to raise $15,000 of the $140,000 program cost through a revamped Community Challenge.
CDP Colorado Wildfires Recovery Fund announces final grant and fund closeout
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
In October 2020, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy opened the CDP Colorado Wildfires Recovery Fund to help fund recovery from the historic 2020 Colorado wildfire season. Three years and multiple wildfires – including the devastating Marshall Fire of 2021 – later, CDP is pleased to announce the final grant award and closing of this recovery fund. The final grant from the fund is a second grant to Impact on Education.
Boulder schools share resources to address youth mental health crisis
CBS Colorado
An evening to share mental health resources with parents and guardians, organized by the foundation for Boulder Valley schools, Impact on Education.
Impact on Education names Lifetime Achievement, Early Educator award winners
Daily Camera
Impact on Education this week celebrated the winners of its lifetime achievement and early educator awards, as well as honoring an educator from each school in the Boulder Valley School District.
Youth mental health forum brings hope to a community in need
Denver Post YourHub
Young people are facing pressures today that rival previous generations. Social media, the pandemic, and climate change were just some of the external pressures students and parents cited during A Community Conversation: Supporting the Mental Health of our Youth, a panel discussion that attracted more than 300 people to Boulder’s Manhattan Middle School on April 12.
Impact on Education organizes community conversation on youth mental health
Daily Camera
As an emergency psychiatrist and mother of a teen, Dr. Kimberly Nordstrom can share how to engage a teen, what signs are mental health red flags and when parents should get immediate help.“ Nordstrom will be one of the speakers at Impact on Education’s mental health panel discussion for parents on Wednesday, April 12.
Impact on Education prepares students for jobs in Career Readiness Academy
Daily Camera
Impact on Education piloted the program a year ago with 20 high school students, expanding it to more students this year. The sessions teach students workforce readiness and leadership skills, preparing them to pursue summer job and internship opportunities.
Monarch High School wellness center helps students cope with Marshall Fire
FOX 31
School counselor Greg McDonald manages the wellness Center at Monarch High School, a place where students can “breathe, relax and unwind.“ The wellness center, with plush seating, calming aroma, and zen lighting, is brewing more than tea. It’s brewing conversations.
Impact on Education seeks Blake Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award nominations
Daily Camera
Any community member can nominate a BVSD educator or staff member for this award. Nominations must be received by Feb. 28. The award recognizes and celebrates an individual who, consistently over the course of decades, creates positive change within the Boulder Valley School District and whose own passion for education and learning mirrors that of the award’s namesake.
BVSD looks to continue, replicate new Monarch High student Wellness Center
Daily Camera
Monarch opened the Wellness Center in the fall, using grant money available following the Marshall Fire to hire Greg McDonald to staff the room full time. It’s proven so successful, the district is working with Impact on Education to raise money to keep the room staffed after the grant runs out at the end of the school year — and, potentially, expand it to more of the district’s high schools.
Impact on Education provides critical support to Boulder Valley students in Marshall fire’s wake
The Denver Post
Impact on Education works directly with the Boulder Valley School District to bridge gaps in education for all students with a focus on equity for all.
Guest opinion: Vote to invest in our children and our communities
Daily Camera
Where students learn matters. In Colorado, without adequate state funding, school districts have limited resources to provide and maintain the school buildings where students and teachers do their essential work every day. The only way for BVSD to address the critical needs included in ballot Measure 5A is by asking our taxpayers — our community — for help.
Impact on Education partners with Target to donate school supplies to educators
Daily Camera
We borrowed a Boulder Valley School District warehouse to create a pop-up shop of $80,000 worth of donated school supplies, and then invited 500 educators to shop for free supplies for their classrooms and students.
BVSD teachers shop for $80K of donated supplies from Target
Broomfield Leader
Over the last several weeks Impact on Education staff organized a wealth of supplies, including calculators, locker organizers, art supplies, lunchboxes and backpacks, for BVSD teachers and staff to share with students.
How a Colorado Community Put Mental Health First After a Wildfire
MindSite News
After the Marshall Fire community programs ramped up to offer counseling for families and students. See how Impact on Education’s investment bolstered the mental health resources available to students.
Crayons to Calculators school supply drive seeks donations
Broomfield Leader
The annual Crayons to Calculators campaign, which provides school supplies for local students, is seeking public support to meet an overall program goal of $250,000 for the upcoming academic year.
Boulder County nonprofits raising funds for back-to-school supplies
Daily Camera
The Crayons to Calculators Community Challenge asks individuals and organizations to raise funds totaling $25,000 — about 10% of the program’s total cost — to supply some 8,000 students facing financial hardship in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts with school supplies, headphones and backpacks.
Local woman recognized for preparing students for school
Broomfield Leader
Our Executive Director Allison Billings is one of six honorees at the Boulder Chamber’s 27th annual Women Who Light the Community Award. These awards recognize women who have made significant, innovative contributions to the community.
160+ students enrolled in new Kinder Bridge program
Broomfield Leader
The Kinder Bridge program provides six weeks of learning and play for children to receive extra support in transitioning between preschool and kindergarten and is new this year, funded by a more than $150,000 donation from the district’s foundation, Impact on Education.
Impact on Education, BVSD pilot Kinder Bridge summer program
Daily Camera
About 160 incoming kindergarten students enrolled in the free summer program, which is taught by 10 teachers at three sites. Impact on Education raised about $150,000 through grants and individual donations to cover the cost of the program.
Mental health resources added to schools after Marshall Fire
9News
Impact on Education raises $600,000 to put four mental health advocates in BVSD schools to help students deal with the trauma of displacement.
Impact on Education to fund 4 mental health advocates for Marshall Fire schools
Daily Camera
Boulder Valley’s mental health advocates support students’ social-emotional and behavioral development and achievement, as well as provide crisis intervention.
Angevine Middle School counselor receives lifetime teaching award
Daily Camera
Transitioning from a grant-funded, district-level position to a school-based job, Boulder Valley counselor Lisa Cech knew she wanted to work in a middle school with a diverse, high-needs population. She ended up choosing Lafayette’s Angevine Middle School, where she’s worked as a counselor for 13 years.
Boulder schools deploy trauma response teams to counsel kids after Marshall Fire
9News
Impact on Education provided funds to help provide extra mental health support in the months after the Marshall Fire and over the summer. Hear about their experiences working with more than 1,000 students, parents and teachers to help them cope with the loss and trauma.
Impact on Education pilots Career Readiness Academy
Daily Camera
We piloted the Career Readiness Academy starting in January, holding eight workshops with 20 high school juniors and seniors. The sessions were designed to teach students workforce readiness and leadership skills to help prepare them for success after graduation.
A Public Affair: Youth Mental Health
KGNU
On the latest episode of “A Public Affair” with Community Foundation Boulder County, Jim Williams talks with Allison Billings, Executive Director of Impact on Education, and Jennifer Banyan, Jewish Family Service Boulder Director, about how they’re supporting mental health in the wake of the Marshall Fire.
Boulder Valley seeks emergency mental health funding
Broomfield Leader
Impact on Education is working to raise funds to hire four additional mental health advocates and the school district is seeking emergency grants from the state and federal governments to hire additional support staff.
Community provides ‘enormous support’ for Boulder Valley School District students displaced by Marshall Fire
Daily Camera
We’re proud of how we’ve helped students and staff in the Boulder Valley School District so far, and going forward, we’re working to supplement the mental health resources available.
Boulder Bookstore raises $87,000 to support Marshall Fire victims
CU Independent
We’re proud to partner with Boulder Book Store to provide $100 gift cards so students can purchase books to rebuild their personal libraries.
Hundreds of Boulder Valley students were displaced by the Marshall Fire. Resources are available to help.
Boulder Reporting Lab
The Marshall Fire has displaced hundreds of students from their homes, according to Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Rob Anderson. A federal law ensures students without a home have access to school resources, including transportation.
Fairview High hosts student conference on sexual violence education, mental health
Daily Camera
The conference, organized by Assistant Principal Rose Lupinacci with the help of a team of Fairview seniors plus funding from Impact on Education, was created in response to student feedback as the school responds to concerns around sexual violence and multiple traumatic events.
BVSD community looks to support Marshall Fire victims
Daily Camera
So far we’ve raised over $200,000 from over 400 supporters through our Critical Needs Fund. These dollars are already being deployed to support the students, staff, and families in the Boulder Valley School District displaced by the Marshall Fire.
BVSD working to support students, staff displaced by Marshall Fire
Daily Camera
The magnitude of this tragedy is unimaginable. But so is our community’s willingness to help. We are standing by and ready to support students, families and staff who are impacted.
Impact on Education gives $100K in grants to meet BVSD student needs
Daily Camera
From school-based tutoring to RTD bus passes to an online math software, our Academic Opportunity Fund provided $100K in grants to meet Boulder Valley School District student needs this fall.
BVSD, SVVSD summer programs focus on preparing students for fall
Daily Camera
About 1,300 incoming first through ninth graders are enrolled at eight school sites — about double the number enrolled prepandemic. Four sites offer free extended care to 180 students that’s funded by Impact on Education.
Crayons to Calculators School Supply Drive Seeks Donations
Daily Camera
The community challenge encourages local organizations and individuals to build fundraising teams and raise $25,000 to support local families. Google has offered to match any gifts made to Crayons to Calculators from July 15-30, up to $10,000, a generous challenge gift.
IOE Awards Scholarships to Three BVSD Students
Daily Camera
Shannon Blanco, who graduated from Monarch High in May, is the first recipient of a new $5,000 scholarship from Impact on Education endowed by Earl and Barbara Bolton. They also recently awarded $1,000 scholarships to two other Boulder Valley high school graduates.
IOE PROVIDES $300,000 FOR BVSD CATCH-UP PLAN
Daily Camera
District leaders shared a “catch-up” plan to address learning loss that focuses on the remainder of the year, though an expanded summer program also is in the works. We are providing $300,000 to cover the cost of the tutoring.
Hot spots help BVSD students connect online
Daily Camera
Through a partnership with BVSD, Boulder and Boulder County, hot spots were purchased with federal CARES Act money to ensure our students have reliable internet access.
Impact on Education erases BVSD families’ child care debt
Colorado Hometown Weekly
To ease financial stress on struggling families, we stepped in to eliminate the child care debt for 53 BVSD families. The combined debt of $25,000 was paid through our Student Academic Support fund.
Impact on Education erases BVSD families’ child care debt
Daily Camera
To ease financial stress on struggling families, we stepped in to eliminate the child care debt for 53 BVSD families. The combined debt of $25,000 was paid through our Student Academic Support fund.
Impact on Education collects more than 6,000 books as holiday gifts
Daily Camera
Impact on Education set out to brighten the holidays for Boulder Valley School District children by hosting a book drive from Nov. 30 to Dec. 14, and its goal was to collect 1,500 books to stock the bookshelves at Share-a-Gift’s annual Holiday Toy Shop for BVSD families. Instead, the group collected more than 6,000 books in just two weeks.
Impact on Education provides Student Academic Support grants
Daily Camera
Manhattan Middle School counselor Zennia Jennie turned to Impact on Education while trying help three students who weren’t engaging as the district switched to online only instruction in November.
Local school districts work to solve internet access challenges
Daily Camera
Moore said it helped that the district had already been working on the issue before the coronavirus pandemic hit. For the families still without access, the district — with the help of its foundation, Impact on Education, and a Boulder Public Library grant — has provided hot spots and covered…
Local school districts work to solve internet access challenges
Longmont Times-Call
Moore said it helped that the district had already been working on the issue before the coronavirus pandemic hit. For the families still without access, the district — with the help of its foundation, Impact on Education, and a Boulder Public Library grant — has provided hot spots and covered…
Impact on Education distributes school supply kits to BVSD students
Daily Camera
Lafayette’s Rosana Trujillo didn’t participate in past school supply distributions because her parents had always helped buy all the notebooks, crayons, markers and other supplies on her three children’s lists. But this summer…
BVSD school supply kit distribution set for this week
Daily Camera
Impact on Education, the foundation for Boulder Valley Schools, is distributing school supplies this week at drive-through locations to families. No documentation is needed to pick up the supplies, but organizers note they’re intended for students in need…
Summer Shuffle school readiness program goes virtual
Daily Camera
Teacher Kathy Luna drops off kits of school supplies and books on Monday mornings, giving families of preschool-age children living at Boulder Housing Partners sites the materials they need to participate in a virtual school readiness program…
SVP Announces New Catapult Program Investee
SVP Boulder County – Blog
Social Venture Partners (SVP) Boulder County announces the most recent investee in its multi-year Catapult program. “In our efforts to support local nonprofits with a variety of programs and resources that strengthen strategy and management, the Catapult…
Crayons to Calculators school supply drive seeks donations
Daily Camera
The annual Crayons to Calculators school supply drive for Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley students is asking for monetary donations only to buy wholesale supplies for the coming school year. Because of social distancing restrictions…
Emerald Elementary teacher wins early career teacher of the year award
Daily Camera
Emily Trujillo, a kindergarten teacher at Broomfield’s Emerald Elementary, ended her first year with an award from Impact on Education as the early career teacher of the year…
Boulder Valley School District Foundation Helps Struggling Families During Coronavirus Pandemic
CBS Denver
As school districts across the state look to make plans for the fall, some are taking the summer to make sure their most vulnerable students have the means to make it through…
A massive undertaking
Daily Camera – Print
Cydnee Melville planned a move to Lafayette from Longmont and enrolled her two children at Alicia Sanchez Elementary before the coronavirus pandemic prompted shutdowns. She moved into an apartment near…
BVSD volunteer outreach team delivers food, gift cards directly to families
Daily Camera
Cydnee Melville planned a move to Lafayette from Longmont and enrolled her two children at Alicia Sanchez Elementary before the coronavirus pandemic prompted shutdowns. She moved into an apartment near…
Community steps up to support BVSD students during pandemic
BVSD
Shortly after schools closed in March, Liquid Mechanics reached out to Impact on Education, to let the Boulder Valley School District’s foundation know that they were planning to donate a portion of their proceeds…
Broomfield Community Foundation awards first round of coronavirus-related grants
Broomfield Enterprise
The Broomfield Community Foundation last week distributed more than $10,000 to local nonprofits through its Disaster Relief Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation’s goal is to raise more than…
BVSD’s Impact on Education collecting cloth masks for emergency childcare centers
Daily Camera
Impact on Education, the foundation for the Boulder Valley School district, is collecting handmade fabric masks for kids and workers at the district’s three emergency childcare sites. Masks can be dropped off at a bin…
Open Forum
Daily Camera – Print
It’s easy to focus on the dark in scary and uncertain times. Thankfully, it’s also easy to see how this crisis is bringing out the very best in our community. When schools had to pivot to supporting students…
Please help unlock matching funds for BVSD students
Prairie Mountain Media
I have written recently about the outstanding efforts of Impact on Education, the foundation for Boulder Valley Schools, in mobilizing support for our students and schools…
Letters: No time for agendas; put Cuomo in charge; praise for BVSD; modern-day fairy tale
Broomfield Enterprise
It’s easy to focus on the dark in scary and uncertain times. Thankfully, it’s also easy to see how this crisis is bringing out the very best in our community. When schools had to pivot to supporting students…
BVSD starts Chromebook distribution ahead of home learning during coronavirus
Daily Camera
Claudia Borlovan picked up a Chromebook on Wednesday at Lafayette’s Ryan Elementary School for her daughter, along with a second one for a neighbor’s child. With four daughters in elementary, middle and high…
Boulder Valley’s Impact on Education announces $100K critical needs fund match for coronavirus impacts
Broomfield Enterprise
Impact on Education, the foundation supporting Boulder Valley schools, recently announced that all donations, up to $100,000, will be doubled for its critical needs fund to help students impacted by closures to prevent…
BVSD, SVVSD provide updates on at-home learning plans
Daily Camera
The Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts are providing updates on at-home learning in the event school closures are extended beyond spring break — a possibility that looks increasingly likely based…
Southern Hills special ed teacher to receive lifetime teaching award
Daily Camera
Congratulations to Sue Taddeucci, the 2020 Blake Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
