EduCommunities

Across Colorado, we have helped to build strong, sustainable, thriving communities by putting exceptional education at their heart.

Empowering Colorado students and their communities creates a ripple effect of goodness across our state.

 

E-470 Education Master Plan
In August 2006, under the leadership of Kelly Leid, the Foundation issued the E-470 Education Master Plan Report to provide a series of recommendations to address the significant residential growth expected in the City of Aurora and Aurora Public Schools over the next 25 years. The project included over 100 citizens representing 65 different stakeholder groups, across committees. Unfortunately, the plan was largely shelved when the housing market crashed the following year. Now that the market is back, efforts are brewing to reengage stakeholders and create a version 2.0 of the plan.

 

Banning Lewis Ranch Education Master Plan
On November 30, 2012, the planning effort for this commuintiy began with a kickoff meeting where more than 30 educational experts gathered to set a vision for what education would look like in Banning Lewis Ranch. These experts included parents, educators, higher education leaders, early childhood educators and community members. During the next year, three workgroups met regularly to develop goals and strategies around: 1) Land, planning and finance, 2) P – 20 continuum, 3) Community partnerships. The plan was completed in early 2014.

Since then, Falcon 49 School District has passed two Mill-Levy measures with voters to help support teaching and learning and most recently in 2016 to help fund capital construction, including a K-5 elementary school which is slated to open in the fall of 2018 in Banning Lewis Ranch.

In addition, Banning Lewis Ranch K-8 Academy was approved by Falcon 49 School District in December 2015 to expand their school to 12th grade. The secondary school will be called Banning Lewis Ranch Preparatory School. A new 80,000 sq. ft. facility will be located in BLR Village 2 and is on track to open in August 2017.

 

Far Northeast Denver Turnaround
Although we did not have the opportunity to partner with Denver Public Schools (DPS) to develop a formal Education Master Plan for Green Valley Ranch (GVR), we have a long and valued partnership with DPS. Together we have implemented many school improvement and new school projects in GVR and Montbello. In addition, in 2005, then DPS Superintendent Michael Bennett released the Denver Plan which provided the vision for education reform and new school development across the District. In 2010, the plan was updated and is now called the Denver 2020 Plan.

Although Oakwood Homes is responsible for new home building and development in GVR, our work in this community around education includes the neighboring communities of Parkfield and Montbello, which together with GVR make up “Far Northeast” (FNE) Denver.

We have worked hard to increase the number of high quality schools across the region by supporting school turnaround strategies and by increasing the number of high-performing charter schools. The 2015 Education Choice and Competition Index by the Brookings Institute, cites Denver Public Schools as the best large school district in the country for school choice. Further, the FNE region has the most robust choice system in Denver.

During 2017 and beyond we plan to partner with DPS and the Far Northeast Denver community to continue to pursue the Denver 2020 Plan’s goal of having at least 80% of students proficient by 2020.

Read the Denver 2020 Plan >

$100k

The E-470 Master Plan included 100 citizens representing 65 stakeholder groups.

“They have a laser-like focus on making sure schools are a part of the upfront thinking when planning a community.”
– Kelly Leid, Office of the National Western Center | Mayor’s Office, City and County of Denver