Twenty schools from across the state of Colorado all have the same goal: to connect youth with teachers and support them in their work. How are they doing this? The answer is the Youth Connection Program.
The Youth Connections program website states, “CEI has partnered with Caring for Colorado to launch Youth Connections, a project designed to support public middle and high schools in fostering a culture and climate that meets students’ social, emotional, and academic needs.”
According to the Youth Connections program, Linda Deiner CFC Executive Vice President said, “Caring for Colorado Foundation is honored to work with school communities across our state. We believe that all students deserve well-being and supportive environments and are excited to be working with the Colorado Education Initiative given their long track record of success in this arena.”
“The Youth Connections project aims to increase capacity and expertise over the next four years. Design teams consisting of community members, teachers, and students will build new visions, strategies, and systems. The teams will then create an implementation plan after connecting these ideas and feedback into a cohesive school plan.”
The website Caring for Colorado states, “Investing in the health, well-being, and opportunity for today’s young people, ages 9 to 25, is essential for Colorado’s future.” This program is to help all young people and their families have a bright future.
The student counselor Holly Teyler-Crowder at Delta High School said “Over the last three years, Delta High School has created more opportunities for students to be involved with after-school clubs. We have created incentive programs to recognize students for exhibiting characteristics from both the school social contract as well as the DCSD Graduate Profile. Two years ago as a part of the Youth Connections Grant, a group of students came up with the strategy to create a peer mentoring program where upperclassmen mentor a small group of underclassmen to create connections and support them in achieving their own goals.”
DHS is in its fourth year of the grant, with this year and next year being funded. The goal is to create a sustainability plan to continue the program when the funding runs out.
