 It's really my pleasure to have a chance to introduce this panel both to a studio audience by the way we have a studio audience we have almost a full house tonight so if you're not here tonight right you're watching this from your home in Longmont you're gonna miss really a fun time in the studio so the studio audience has been invited to listen to this conversation and they if they have questions before the the evening runs out before the hour runs out about 40 minutes into the hour we'll see how this conversation goes and if there's time we're gonna ask audience members to come right stand right over there by Eric our camera guy and and if you have a question you'll get to ask it and we'll get a chance to hear the response from this group so pay attention audience members you're gonna be part of the conversation before you finish around the table Jason Valerie is a product of the I Have a Dream program and lots of other experiences in life but part of the reason Jason and Jackie Juarez who are at this end of the table are here is I had the I was had a good fortune of listening to their stories and I have a dream at a high I have a dream foundation luncheon last spring and I was bowled over by what I heard and both their experiences in the program and what they're doing with their lives so I'm excited to share your story with this audience and with this community a lot of folks in town know but if they didn't they're gonna learn pretty soon Jenny Diaz Leon is not a stranger to this to the backstory Jenny is has been I tried to promote her a little bit ago and I was gonna introduce her as a as a program manager but she's a coordinator for the City of Longmont in our division of children youth and families and she's the manager of this project right among the portfolio of other things she's managing brings a tremendous amount of the city and I know it's gonna bring a lot to this program and to my left is Dr. Perla Delgado Dr. Delgado is the executive director slash president I've referred to her I give her a number of titles as we've gone through this of the I have a dream foundation Boulder County okay and Dr. Delgado has been in and around education and doing this kind of work for a long time and and we're really excited about what's happening now this fall in Longmont so Dr. Delgado I'm gonna get started with you in this interview is it okay going forward that we call one another by our first names okay Perla there's a there's a story line that starts way back from 1987 right so if you wherever you want to pick it up this started in 1987 with Eugene Lang stepping into that classroom in Harlem in the world changed in really profound ways as a result get us started of course story line so Eugene Lang attends actually his alma mater his middle school in 1987 and in the early 80s I apologize and he was asked to inspire youth in the community and how did he get to where he was and how can they get there right and so the story goes that Eugene Lang looked around the auditorium and he said oh my gosh like that for me my journey was somewhat easy it might not be as easy for the students that I'm about to talk to so apparently he rips up his talking points and he offers full-right scholarships to students who are graduating from middle school going on to sorry sixth grade going on to seventh grade and he promised them upon graduation from high school they would have a full-right scholarship what he realized through this journey was that it wasn't simply giving them the money but it was trying to remove as many barriers as possible so fast forward to Boulder County in the late 80s early 90s community leaders and local philanthropists come together after a 60-minute interview in 1987 with Eugene Lang and they get inspired and they say how can we change how can we impact the graduation rates in our community at the time it was 37 percent of youth of color in Boulder County were graduating from either school district and as we know that's pretty dismal so community community leaders came together and said we're going to form the I have a dream foundation so we've been around the community for almost 33 years now making a difference in collaborating with youth and their families on this journey on this pathway to post-secondary education and I'll talk a little bit more about it later because I know we have some amazing panel who will speak first hand of the work that we do in collaboration with students and family anymore you want to do with vision and mission of course right now yeah yeah definitely so our mission I have a dream Boulder County is to collaborate with youth and their families as they successfully navigate this journey of education we work with them collaboratively and upon graduation we offer a scholarship to each of our students and it's a scholarship that can be used for any post-secondary pathway whether it's a short-term degree or a certificate two year or four year and we work collaboratively with them to ensure that they have the tools the extra tools in their toolbox as I like to say to build continue building this pathway to post-secondary education and our vision is to impact each of the students and their families that we work with and ultimately our global vision is that every child has equitable opportunities to access educational resources and systems that really meet students where they're at and so we're super excited that we've been around for 33 years working collaboratively with over 2200 family well is this this is the first time however you've partnered with with the city of Longmont correct as an institution have you partnered with other municipalities we partner with Boulder Housing Partners we do get funding from our municipalities our local municipalities but this is the first time that we're partnering with the city to launch a class of 45 first graders we're super excited and again you'll learn more as you get to hear from our other guests the city I'm pretty certain is in the process of thinking hard now about budget priorities for 2024 anything you'd like them to hear from you as they're contemplating budget I mean I think again as we come together as we look at the impacts of the pandemic and how it exasperated a lot of gaps that were already in place and what it also taught us is that we can't do this alone the city the district nonprofits like I have a dream community members we all need each other to ensure that this pathway is a lot easier it's not a guaranteed for all of us right but the pathway can be easier if we work collectively together and I think there is this responsibility that cities and the district have in ensuring that we're collaborating with community members like the volunteers their board members our students and their families as well as nonprofits like the I have a dream foundation and I really believe that if we work collaboratively we can start to close the achievement gaps we can increase graduation rates we can fracture if not eliminate the cycle of poverty for many families that are experiencing that in Boulder County oftentimes it's invisible but we see it as nonprofits we see it as community members but we can also address it if we come together so before we I'm gonna I'm gonna pivot to these two and I'll introduce you by title I know I haven't done that but I want to do that in context of your stories go back to the two tools right yeah that's a generic reference to all kinds of possibilities exactly what are some of the tools that that as you think about a new cohort of kids coming on board getting started in the fall what are the kinds of tools that you imagine will be in their toolbox as they of course they go through their experience yeah definitely I also want to just preface this with our students and families come with many tools they have skills and expertise we're meeting students and families where they're at with these additional tools and the additional tools is knowing how to navigate our school systems it's social and emotional and learning tools and interventions and strategies to help address some of the moments of crises that our students experience it's providing additional academic support in the out-of-school time it's also providing additional mentors and leaders from the community who work in collaboration with the students and their families to address any questions or concerns that they might have again because we want to recognize the value that our families bring to these spaces we just meet them where they're at and we say okay how can we work collaboratively what's missing what do you need more information on and I think this collaboration with the City of Longmont and specifically the Longmont Youth Center is a great partnership because they already have that in place while we have a model that we've been working on for 33 years the City of Longmont and the Youth Center have worked in the community so I think bringing our forces together will really help meet the families where they're at and help them grow academically socially and emotionally. I think it's going to bring a lot to the to the city in our division of children youth and families but the reciprocal is going to be very exciting to see and just to make the point you made it clear that kids bring and their families bring a lot of tools sometimes it's refining the use just recognizing that these are tools exactly that can be used and just some guidance on how to use them really well in addition to new tools so some of those tools came to into your lives right both that you brought to it and that you acquired along the way so Jackie Juarez for those who don't know is a specialist is the diversity equity and inclusion specialist for the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado right that those are a lot of words that's a high-powered position right Jason is the director of a product management team global team from Microsoft so you're managing folks who are doing software development around the world right so flip a coin who wants to start this you both have powerful stories you've told them before you've tagged team this somebody either one of you just jump in it's and pick jump in so my journey dates back to calm by an elementary so folks say calm by an elementary calm by an elementary down the road listen to this yeah calm by an elementary back in 2002 so back then the I have a gene foundation focused on the model of one donor for 50 students and we were very lucky to have Kathy Ray who was our class sponsor and she invested a million dollars into a group of 50 students and throughout calm by an elementary I remember the after-school programming that was something I looked forward to every single time because not only did we get academic support but you talk about the experiential education the camping opportunities things that maybe in my household at the time we weren't exposed to or maybe we didn't have the resources and the I have a gene foundation supplied that for me to get that opportunity so after fifth grade I my class sponsor Kathy Ray sponsored me to attend a private K-12 school in the area and I graduated and went to the University of Denver where I pursued my bachelors in business administration and I loved all things about business international aspects the cultures that contribute to our day-to-day dynamics and relationships those are very much at the core of who I am and in my undergrad years I actually started teaching part-time in Denver public schools a social justice curriculum and it was then you can imagine first-year undergrad teaching part-time to high school students I wasn't you know I was in high school not too long ago and I was here in this classroom but I always remember the one student that's for me in education and it took that one student in the classroom who was too cool for school would not want to engage in our curriculum for me to understand that it wasn't that this student did want to not want to engage they were dealing with things from home and that didn't allow them to be present here and when we were able to work on that relationship and understand me as the adult in the room the instructor what can I support the student they're already so gifted and they needed that emotional support and that understanding that really shifted my passion of how to make business with education and that ultimately started out my career in education and after the university of Denver I worked in Denver public schools of community engagement with some of our charter schools and I returned back as a world language instructor for the K-12 institution that I went to and I was doing diversity equity inclusion work at that time then COVID hit and I said what a better time to get another degree under my belt and that's what everybody said right well I mean the new thing is is that it was an online program so it fit my working needs and graduated from University of Colorado Boulder with my master's in organizational leadership and that led me to my current position here I'd be revised of course not to mention that we're on the board so I've been with the I have a dream foundation serving as a board member for the last four years and the reason for that is always giving back that has been one of the values that my family has instilled in me is always give back to the people that supported you and for me I mean I'm a product of this organization and I know that we cannot get things done just understanding the importance of community and gifted and nurtured and supported through this program I believe that I have that duty to also share that with the rest of our students in this case. I think you probably used the word gifted in two ways you are gifted and you received the gift of this kind of investment in somebody embracing you. You have twice mentioned or several times mentioned the school that you went to, an unnamed K-12 school, it's okay, the name of the school if you want to. Yeah of course so it's Alexander Dawson's school so it's a K-12 private school down the road on 287. Yeah I would say there's a lot of people who deserve credit for the woman that emerged here and Columbine Elementary. My wife was teaching at Columbine in 2002. Janie's in the audience right now so I'm she can take some credit for this even though I don't think she had you as a student but I know there were great teachers. They'll remember their names Tim. And they still show up every day and then that somebody would see and all that promise and give you a chance to experience what you experienced at Dawson is another part of that story and the gift but but but there's a lot of work behind that that storyline. We're gonna come back to all this. Jason pick it up from there. Yeah so my experience with the I Have a Dream Foundation started when I was at Pioneer Elementary School I think it was probably in 1890 when the organization launched a class there and I was fortunate enough to become part of that dreamer scholar class. My personal circumstances at the time were a little unstable. Shortly after that my parents got divorced and my mom and I moved to Longmont when I was nine and you know that class that I have a dream class that was based there in Lafayette continued to you know operate as a class together and have all of the benefits that the I Have a Dream Foundation brings in that tight-knit environment but I was a remote member and one of the things that really think back about and the benefits I got from the organization was that sort of continuity even though I wasn't locally near them I was moving around but you know my mom you know she struggled and we lived all over this community and I switched schools I moved from a number of different elementary schools middle schools and throughout that entire journey that I had from an educational perspective I had one consistent thing in that and that was the I Have a Dream Foundation. My program director at the time would drive all the way up to Longmont pick me up and take me to a meeting in Lafayette after school or Boulder at one point and that sort of consistent adult role model in my life from very old age all the way through when I graduated from Longmont High in 2000 I think was a huge part of my education success just somebody who kept me accountable to what I was you know committing to myself to my educational journey somebody who provided that mentorship just stable adult role model was the tool that I took from the I Have a Dream Foundation into my success. Who was it that said never, never be able to remember that one or two people I can change the world? Yeah. Not my quote. But this is an example when people say what can I do you know what can one person do just think about this story and have what one didn't have one made in your life in your life now talk about what you're doing. Yeah well I mean so when I was a kid I was a computer nerd I was the stereotypical computer nerd really into computers and you know I will also add one of the benefits really got from the organization was the opportunity to pursue my passions in a certain extent like getting access to internship programs and so forth and so you know when I graduated high school I very quickly went into the software industry and so I was a software developer for a number of years and moved through software development into then product management and where I find myself today as I've been at Microsoft for I actually just celebrated my 10-year anniversary with Microsoft and I'm a director of product management so I'm responsible for as you said a large global team we deliver a core part of our storage platform our storage cloud platform and it's been just an incredibly rewarding career that I've been able to have as a result of you know having that accountability young and keeping me focused on the things that that mattered you know I think the this the saying that I often hear is that if you if you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life and that's really what happened for me early on is that I took my passion and was able to take it into a career and that career has carried me to where I am today. I'm going to come back to both of you. Say a little bit more Jackie about what you do with your days now. I think that's an important part of the story as well. Yeah so as I'm going to shorten it, DI culture specialist for the business school I work with our business staff and understanding the culture. There's a lot of strategic analytics looking at the data what does the trends in years past tell us to improve the culture recruitment retention for our staff and for our students of color so there's that component but also that strategic planning what will diversity and inclusion look like in business in the next five years. How do we make sure that we are also aligned with the greater campus and the system views and at the core of it how do we ensure that our employees feel a sense of belonging and often times I think about I'm an empath and that's who I am and for me I strive to ensure that whatever walk of life any of our employees come in that they feel like they are heard seen and valued for the gifts and talents that they bring to our business school so that in short is how I support our employees. I wonder if we took a show of hands for those people who went through university experiences how many would raise their hands and say yeah that's what happened to me. The university went and I was seeing her in the back or are you just kind of on your own. So the fact that that's the work you're doing with such a powerful statement in the extensions of the experience to yourself. I know this is probably not a fair question but I'm going to ask it anyway. None of us right when you're in retrospective we reflect on our lives. None of us can predict where we would be if it worked for filming blank this person that person this opportunity because we're all product of what those doors that opened and the people touched our lives but are you willing to speculate without the I have a dream foundation how likely is it you would be doing what you're doing today. I mean you're both bright and talented yeah there's a lot of things that factor into our success but you know I think about my parents you know and my mom and I think about you know what she went through to provide for me you know she didn't have that opportunity to do what she loves she had to provide and so her life was not in a career that was fulfilling any meaningful way she clean houses and worked at gas stations and did random jobs through her life and that was out of necessity to survive and I really appreciate that the opportunities that I have a dream foundation gave me allowed me to really focus on my passion because if you can turn a passion into a career you have the just continual ability to continue to work up and to continue to find new ways to drive impact through what you do on a daily basis and and I would speculate maybe that I would have had to follow the path my mom took and many working moms and other parents have to take to make ends meet and they have to take jobs that pay the bills not the ones that reward them and provide them opportunities to have the impact that I've had. Inspire the soul and the imagination as opposed to just put food on the table. Yeah similar to Jason for me and I often think about that every time there's a huge milestone in my life and I have a dream has been a part of that I often think what would my life be without the I have dreams foundation and in my moments of reflection I think about the doors and connections that the foundation has supported me with talking about education to traveling I mean the fact that I was able to travel abroad in high school that was something that my siblings and opportunities that they were not presented with and just learning about the world and ways that we work so for me I think about that I'm very grateful and I always give credit where it's due with this organization because it really opened many doors and connections not only personally but professionally I think about I am an extroverted and I love networking with people and a lot of my connections here I mean Tim it has also been because of the foundation and so that's that's what what comes to mind we've all heard people say things like I stand on the shoulders of giants right I mean that's true for probably anybody who's successful in life that you're standing on the shoulders of those who came before you in this case you can name those people and in the shoulders that they gave you a chance to stand up when you were very young right so and I think about when people watch this and they think about what can I do right here in Longmont to make a difference this is a great example of without a whole lot of preparation I'm certain that there's some preparation but it's people bring their heart and their willingness to extend themselves and what an impact they can have and you're going to have a chance to make more of this happen ladies so smile if you're happy about that so Jenny talk about this you do so many great things for the city and you know we could go on and on about all that you do and for folks who have followed you they know you are you know what on the rise as a contributor to the city of Longmont in in in the city government and in the city of Longmont even though you live somewhere else and that's okay and I grew up here so you know it's always fun to have you back here and see what you do day in and day out but just talk about what what's the role what's the city's role how is this going to come together what should people know as this unfolds so the very first thing that I think is important to talk about is when these conversations were started about our partnership what I really started envisioning is how we would work together to fill the gaps that you talked about they got even bigger with COVID and for the city of Longmont we do great programming with with our community and and really I think everybody that works there we're all community connectors we're all cultural brokers that are able to build those relationships and to have a program like I have a dream that also values the community members the strengths that everybody brings it seems like such a natural fit which I'm really excited about working with everybody around the table and the rest of the teams there's a lot that goes into something like this right and I think one of the pieces I mentioned before is is funding and that is a very big piece I think that when I think about programs like this you often hear that youth are the future youth are the future and the truth is that youth are the now right and every time that we invest as a city and as a community in the future of these children in our community we are kind of watering a little seed to be able to blossom to the future right but it starts now and so fundraising is definitely a piece of that we have meetings where we connect with each other to be able to to move this process along one of the things that we are actually in the works of in these next two weeks is doing some interviews for a program manager for this next cohort of students and then after they are selected we'll be working closely with them to be able to determine the students reaching out to different community members so that they know about how they can get involved in the different levels of whether it's service or volunteering is a big piece of that and even spreading the word I think as a cultural broker that's one of the best ways and one of the most simplest ways to be able to support a community program is talking to your neighbor about it hey did you hear that this is happening in town did you hear that this is the first time that this is happening with directly a city and we have an opportunity to create change for our youth here and then after that there will also be a hiring process for a program specialist who will also be supporting this cohort we are hoping this summer to once we have the children selected to be able to do a lot of community building because as you heard from a lot of these people here is that community is the center it's the core of this and I think it's what makes it successful is that the people that go through this program know that they have a community behind them and when you feel that you feel like you can soar and so that's the very first piece is building community within that cohort and you think about the students too but you think about the parents as well the thing that I really appreciate about I have a dream as well is that they are looking at that parent support and that's something that we will be able to work together with because the Long Want Youth Center also has parenting programs to support the families and we'll be able to partner in different ways to leverage the resources that we have to better serve the community so that's a piece of things I think the we're hoping to do like I said that soft lunch in the summer and then by September the program will be already up and running and I said it was 45 students first graders in our community and I think one of the things that that is exciting to me too is that it's this year and then we're going to be having multiple classes throughout the year so we're going to start one class this year take a year to develop and then get another class so it's going to be a great community change and I just think about the stories that you shared of growing up and I think about my story too being I grew up here in Long Want I'm an immigrant from Durango, Mexico and just hearing the message from my parents of you have to go to college or you have to go to post secondary education but not really knowing how you're going to get there this you have people helping guide that experience and so it's going to be very valuable I should do a pitch right now for the 529 jump program makes certain that all the parents of the kids involved in this program are working with us to open those accounts because that's another part of the message that we want to send so somebody who's listening right now or listens after tonight and it sparks an interest who do they contact and what might they be expected or asked to do? Yeah so depending on the level of involvement there's going to be different asked right so especially when working with youth if you're wanting to volunteer there's going to be different mentor roles that they will be able to volunteer to support youth or a group a small group of youth throughout this process they will have to go through like a background check and different trainings because we want to make sure that the volunteers that are coming into this program are able to see the youth from the lens that strength based lens that we want to make sure that that everybody sees the youth with because they do come with so many gifts and talents and if people are wanting to get involved by helping us fundraise there's different opportunities that will be available with that but anybody that is interested right now I ask that you send an email or come to the Longmont Youth Center and I'd love to sit down with each and every one of you and share the different opportunities get you involved because it takes a village it really does. The idea of being seen, heard and valued if it's useful at the university it's critical as first graders and that's part of what this experience is going to be about so you mentioned email what email address would you want people to use? So my email address it's a very long one so make sure you might have to rewind and watch it again my email address is jenniferjennifer.diaz hyphen L-E-O-N at longmontcolorado.gov and my phone number which is a little bit shorter is 303-774-3754 Alright well we're making progress I'm going to suggest members of the audience if they have questions if somebody has one and want to come over here I'll call on you in just a moment the audience might be exiting all the fun they want to have here program is going to start in the fall it's the first of what we hope to see cohort after cohort so starting with first graders it is the intent that we're going to see for a long term I have a dream program working with the city to get students together from across the community or a particular school how's that going to work? So we're hoping the first year we're hoping to focus on one school to make sure that we're very intentional about launching this program and making sure that they get the attention needed and then like I said there's going to be a kind of a gap so this first year really the first two years will be focused on that class and then by the time that the first class is at their third year there will be another launch to another class I haven't missed any of my questions can I also add something that I think has really been mentioned here and that's the piece of when I have a dream started it primarily focused on youth and what we call dreamer scholars what we've done these past couple of years is incorporate a two-generational approach so we're working with the entire family unit we're meeting families where they're at as I've mentioned before but we're also meeting their adult parents, guardians or caregivers we're meeting with them getting to know their aspirations the challenges that they're facing and really encouraging and working collaboratively with them to complete their GED or high school diploma enter a post-secondary pathway whether it's a certificate program a two-year program or a four-year program over 40 adult learners from our dreamer scholar community in a post-secondary pathway either again completing a GED or a short-term or long-term degree we also added a component because what we've learned through this partnership in this relationship with parents is that the parents need a little bit more support if English is not their first language and so about 64% of our dreamer scholars are classified through both districts as English language learners so we're meeting parents where they're at encouraging them to enroll in our ESL classes it's a collaboration with Front Range Community College and getting them that confidence and that encouragement and those connections as has been mentioned before to really just make a difference because we know that if we can begin to move the needle forward with the parents and the adults and the lives of dreamer scholars and others we can move the needle forward in fracturing or eliminating the cycle of poverty so we're trying to move it a little bit faster. So all the adults you just referred to are all parents or guardians of dreamers they're part of the family unit. So it's not a different program specifically for adult dreamers it is family dreamers. But we also have an additional component to our program that we've expanded is working with adult dreamers who for whatever reason weren't able to finish their GED or high school diploma. Who were in the program and haven't had quite the results for these two. Exactly, for many reasons right so we are trying to bring back our alums who weren't able to finish and then we're working with their parent community and the guardian community to support them in accomplishing their goals and aspirations. I know this is a bit of a tangent and I didn't prepare you for this kind of a question. It may not be fair and I don't want to overdo this and I don't want to redirect this but I find myself in conversations frequently in this community about what we should be doing about events, behaviors, situations that occur that we have a lot of anxiety about and we spend a lot of time and effort trying to intervene after problems have occurred whether they're with kids, young adults or adults You want to talk about what this means in terms of getting in front of that. How important affiliation is a sense of belonging, one of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where without these opportunities kids get drawn other places because of that need. If you really care about getting in front of some of the dysfunction we see, what does this represent as a way to keep that from happening? So what we know the research tells us as early as kindergarten we know based on attendance, based on reading, based on engagement which students are going to be successful. We know which students statistically are going to make it to high school graduation and if we know that information, if we've been talking about it why can't we do something earlier? Why can't we begin to remove those barriers for engagement help create systems that encourage students to be seen and heard, meet students where they're at families where they're at. If we know all of the research and it's research based you can just google it and you can find research that supports that if we know that that's happening and those are the stories that we're able to tell as early as kindergarten then we should be focusing on early childhood education. We should be talking to families as early as first grade and saying what are some of the gifts that your students have at home that you see and what are some of the challenges. Because again teachers what we know through the pandemic right the first year teachers were hit really hard and they work extremely, I mean they just work so hard to meet students, to support students and what we also learned was they couldn't do it alone. I mean we had families who didn't know how to navigate computers, who didn't know how to navigate all of those applications and we activated these parent pods to basically encourage parents to learn computers, to learn computer literacy, to embark on these classes because we knew that was a barrier and we knew that teachers couldn't do it alone. And so working with and in collaboration with the school system I think is critical to addressing some of those gaps that they can't take on. Unfortunately our school systems can't do everything for all the families but we have community members who can be volunteers, we have local municipalities who invest in this type of work, we have nonprofits that have an expertise. So if we begin to complement the work that's happening for students we're able to get them on this path. And I think also recognizing that there are different means of success right. A four year pathway can be a success for a student but so can a short term degree. If you're working with someone who works in HVAC or is an electrician that too is success and we knew we needed all of those expertise during the pandemic right. Everybody was at home so the plumbing system right was definitely in need of experts and so I think that's part of again this journey. I don't know if my panelists want to add something else. One of the things that came up for me too is I always think how are we engaging community voices in the places where decisions are being made. And one of the neat things that as board members we have experience is also the representation of a parent board member. So really bridging those connections between all of our stakeholders so that there's information transparency but there's also that level of engagement from within our families so that they know what's the board doing, what's the organization doing with something that my child will be invested in for all of these years. So I just wanted to make sure that that was also how I did. Thank you. What I was going to say is that when you think about, I think this is one of the reasons why we're such a great fit as organizations is that when you think about youth protective factors, when a child is learning how to effectively manage their emotions and learn how to communicate in a positive way. When they're learning about their identity and their culture and they're proud of that, they learn those gifts that they have and those are identified at a young age. You are setting that child up for success. My co-worker Louis Lopez is very well known in the community. He always says if you know where you come from, you know where you're going. And so if you're developing a strong character and a strong identity at such a young age, that's only going to flourish. That's only going to grow into a more positive view for that person and then they'll be able to see that these doors are open. Because if you don't have that strong core within yourself, then if a door opens, you're not going to feel like you're capable of taking those opportunities. And that's one of the things that I really think is going to be so valuable that we're going to do that. And the other thing that I think about too is that we're going to be able to in some families you might think, you know, well you're only working with the first grader. This is going to be an opportunity for us to give resources to the family as a whole with this partnership. So if they have a middle school student, they'll be able to participate in an afterschool and summer programming. So siblings? Yes, siblings. We also have a post-secondary planning program which I'm very excited to partner with you all on because we have Aspire which is focused on supporting first generations high school students on their pathway to higher education. And so there's some pieces where we might overlap but really this is going to be able to see how we can support each other to make that impact. I should have brought the vision statement that the City of Longmont Council has adopted in 2018, reaffirmed just recently. But part of that vision for people is that this would be a community in which children would be most fortunate to be born and raised. When somebody asks, what does that mean? Those are words on paper. This is what it means. It doesn't solve every problem but it is a huge step, a huge contribution to answering the question, what does this mean in communities like this? Put that together with, you made reference to early childhood and I'm going to get a chance, I hope to do a back story on child care and early childhood education coming up pretty soon but I'm waiting until a moment to do that. But if you add them up, add those things up and it's a first-rate school district that what the city does in terms of outreach to community and families is pretty remarkable. But it all comes together in this constellation of folks leaning in together to elevate, so that our kids are seen, heard, and valued. Are there questions I haven't asked you that you wished I had asked? Why didn't he ask me this? I don't want to left anything unsaid and I don't think... We do have a question. The question's been answered. Hey Cheryl, I recognize that voice. You've enjoyed this. I'm curious as to what the cohort of first-graders activities would look like in a given month or a given semester that makes it unique that they are, I haven't dreamed people versus just regular students. Great question. So our program model for the most part is the out-of-school time. So once the students have completed school what we do in our program model is one, it's developed as a cohort. So we recruit 45 students and in the out-of-school time it's more structured. So there is a curriculum, there's a social justice curriculum, there's an academic curriculum which will focus on both math and literacy because we know that those are two indicators also for success. And we provide snacks, we provide experiential learning activities, oftentimes for a population that doesn't have those resources. We know that many of our students also often go home to empty homes. If they can't afford after-school childcare for whatever reason the school is in offering after-school care programs that are affordable I have a dream model really encompasses very many aspects of after-school care. So experiential learning, academic support, social and emotional support and to ensure that the students again are being exposed to different opportunities that they otherwise would not have and we build a pathway to a post-secondary education. So we focus a lot in the out-of-school time and ringing in panelists and volunteers, doing tours on campuses, learning about colleges like the Emily Griffith School, coming in and really again doing hands-on, oh you want to be a chef, oh you want to be an artist, here is what you can do. Here are the resources locally that will help you. Again, we're really unique in the sense that we're one of the few models that builds a relationship with the students. We're with them for anywhere between 10 to 13 years because of that cohort model. So we get to know the family, the family's really well, we're able to address food insecurity, we're able to address housing insecurity with collaboration with other nonprofits in the community. We don't do it all. There's expertise across the county and so because of those relationships that are fostered in our model, we're able to address and celebrate a lot of these achievements. Wonderful, a great answer. One other question, what kind of attrition is there in cohorts? That is a great question, you have amazing questions. So our cohort model again is about 45 students with this new class. We've had cohorts in the past that are as large as 65 students and we have about a 93% retention rate. Most of our students and families who don't remain in the program is because I'm sure Tim has talked about it in the past. Boulder County is not affordable and so it's because they moved, it's because mom and dad found another job in another community but we very much still keep in contact with the dreamer scholars once they've moved. But sometimes life happens and they feel like we're not the right model because what we do while we provide a lot of resources and supports for students we also ask for that engagement back. So we add a component of community engagement and community leadership and volunteerism and they're volunteering in the community making a difference again and really planting that seed of leadership for our youth. So it's a pretty high rate of retention and it's really based on that relationship that they form with the program staff. And I do want to just add another statistic we had a 95% graduation rate in our dreamer classes last year and so that's again a statistic that is really important to share with everyone because we're doing this collaboratively. The school district is making a difference we're making a difference. The city and other nonprofits are addressing these barriers that the students have and celebrating the successes and the gifts as Jackie mentioned that they bring to our communities and together we're able to create these students who say I belong in Boulder County and I can make a difference. I mean to know that these experts all three of them still reside and do work in our community we want to be able to not just grow that intellect that they bring but also keep it here right because we want them to contribute to the work that is happening and I feel really proud to be part of this panel and to know that they're a product of these school systems and that they're still giving back. Well, talk about being proud. I'm so proud that you all would be willing to take an evening or an hour out of your evening and donate it again right to the community by spending your hour with me and sharing this story. Were there any other questions? Eric Alright, any last words? Any of you want to share? I do just want to share. As a nonprofit I would be remissed if I don't plug in. The way that we survive as nonprofits in Boulder County is through donations. It's time, treasure, and talent right? So if you can't donate you can donate your intellect and expertise and we're always looking for those individuals who want to work with you both at the Longmont Youth Center through the Friends of the Longmont Youth Center and I Have a Dream. So we're at IHaveAdreamBoulder.org. The Longmont Youth Center you can find through the City of Longmont's website because that's how we can give back. It's really important for me to also share that Boulder County is one of the wealthiest communities in the state of Colorado and yet we are the least giving. There's an interesting dichotomy that happens. So I ask that if you don't have treasure to donate but you have talent to give that's how we can really meet families and students where they're at and move us forward as a community. You would like to say that over and over again. Just kind of amplify and reiterate. Exactly. Because that part of this message has to get through. And there's so many ways people can contribute to this. It doesn't have to just be through big checks. Although that's good. It makes a difference. Generosity takes a lot of different forms. You do remarkable things with your lives. In addition to thank you for this hour, thank you so much for what you do day in and day out. It's a great place to live because of people like you and what you're willing to give back. I'm honored that you were here in Longmonters. That is the backstory on the I Have a Dream program and it's new cohort starting in Longmont in the fall of 2023.