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.

Our local Target store was unable to sell their school supply inventory due to a delayed reopening after the Marshall Fire. They generously donated 22 pallets of brand-new school supplies to Impact on Education and we invited educators and staff with the Boulder Valley School District to shop for free supplies for their classrooms and students.

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.

We invited PTO and PTA leaders across BVSD to a Parent Partnership Summit last month to help them strengthen their fundraising efforts and connect with other parent leaders to grow their impact in our schools. Representatives from the NAACP Boulder County shared resources and ideas for implementing or strengthening school DEI committees before a Q&A session with BVSD superintendent Dr. Anderson about upcoming needs and current district issues.

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. The only way for BVSD to address the critical needs included in ballot measure 5A is by asking our taxpayers — our community — for help.

Our early childhood education program was woven into BVSD’s summer learning, allowing us to serve four times the number of students for 50% more instructional hours. These students wouldn’t have otherwise had access to summer preschool and would have arrived in our kindergarten classrooms less prepared than their peers.

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.

We are humbled by the outpouring of support we received 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.

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. Our nominating committee led an effort to identify areas where the Board needed to evolve, and to support this work and further our mission, we’re bringing four new community members onto our Board this month.