Critical Needs Fund
In March 2020, when school doors were forced to abruptly close, we wasted no time reacting swiftly to the immediate needs we knew our students would face. With 6,500 students receiving free or reduced lunch and an economic crisis impacting thousands more students and families, Impact on Education created a Critical Needs Fund. With the support of generous individuals, businesses, and foundations, we have raised over a half million dollars to specifically support the needs of local students and ensure that all students can continue to learn while school operations are disrupted due to COVID-19.
Our Critical Needs Fund efforts are focused on four areas:
- Working closely with BVSD Food Services to distribute food to families in need. Many students rely on school for breakfast, lunch, and weekend nutrition. With our partners at BVSD, we are committed to ensuring that students and their families receive nutritious food for as long as students are unexpectedly out of school. Every Monday, food is distributed at seven school locations across the District.
- Ensuring that all students have access to resources, including technology devices and reliable internet, necessary to work and learn remotely. We mobilized tens of thousands of dollars worth of school supplies and age-appropriate books to support students’ at-home learning. We’re also working with BVSD IT to make sure all students have access to internet and technology while at home and we are proud to share that all 31,000 students in the district will receive reliable internet and technology. For help accessing internet assistance, please reach out to the BVSD Help Desk or call 720-561-4357
- Catching up students. Thousands of hours of additional instructional time will be necessary to catch students up on their learning. This includes knowledge/skills lagging from remote learning as well as ensuring that any gaps in learning do not widen or become more permanent learning deficits.
- Driving student support and engagement. Our focus throughout this school year will be ensuring students receive the support they need and stay engaged in learning. To do this, we will address any potential barriers to student success through our new Student Academic Support Fund. This fund will provide money to offset the costs for schools to provide financial assistance to students in need.
