IMPACT ON EDUCATION

The CIG program focuses on instructional & learning innovation which enhances student learning in the classroom. Innovation pertains to instructional content, procedure/delivery, and outcome and fulfills a void or unique need to be addressed with or without technology use. CIG’s are available to educators and staff within Pre-K, elementary, middle, charter, and high schools in the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), and along with individual grants, we offer collaborative grants! This competitive grant program funds the most innovative, educational and developmental activities created by BVSD teachers.

The Impact Awards process involves each school nominating an Impactful member of its community, an individual who, through unfaltering and purposeful effort, shows an ongoing commitment to professional and personal growth and has powerful, often life-changing, effects on students and/or the rest of the school community. Winners include teachers, support staff, paraeducators, cafeteria staff, and custodial staff who received both an individual plaque and a monetary award of $250. To add to the celebratory atmosphere at the spring recognition event, each winner brought along a cheering section in the audience to represent each school.

The Opportunity Fund distributes funds to schools based on the number of students registered for Free and Reduced Price Lunch—an indicator of family poverty—and the number of schools choosing to participate. Last year, about 1 in 5 local students (19% of total student population) in Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) were registered for the federal meal assistance program.

The intent of the Opportunity Fund is to decrease the economic barriers that too-often prevent low-income students from reaching their full educational potential. Increased, equitable access to medical, academic, extracurricular and student activities is proven to improve student motivation and success in school. Eyeglasses, annual physicals, tutoring, bus passes, class fees, graphing calculators, class planners, field trips, music instrument rentals, and graduation caps and gowns are examples of expenses that this program supports.

Our Cornerstone Programs include Crayons to Calculators, Impact Awards, Opportunity Fund, and Classroom Innovation Grants.

Seeking to combat the common “summer slide” that causes low-income students in particular to experience losses in literacy during the summer break, Impact on Education initiated Summer Shuffle as a summer literacy program in 2013 for elementary school children. Each summer, the program brings certified bilingual teachers to Boulder Valley public housing sites to work closely with needy students. In 2017, we expanded the program to include younger siblings, to build a strong preschool foundation for reading and inquiry. We quickly realized that the program was even more popular among this age group. While district programming served the needs of older children, low-income preschoolers lacked options during the summer months. We were able to respond to this community need by adapting the program to center on preschoolers.