Last year, 9,277 students dropped out of school in Colorado. That’s down from 2017-2018 when 10,180 students left school early. In some ways, that’s 933 more students who stayed in school and have a better chance at obtaining post-secondary education, meaningful employment, better health care and less interaction with the court system. This is truly a great thing.

Yet despite this amazing accomplishment, there are still trends that appear year after year and suggest the work is not finished. To simplify, we can divide these trends into two different areas. One is the demographic question while the other appears to be a resource question.

We are grateful for your support throughout the year. From the little acts of kindness to the generous donations, it all encourages change and makes a difference to the children and young adults we serve.

Here are 10 “acts of change” from 2019 and the change-makers behind them. See yourself helping next year? Then join us and BE THE CHANGE in 2020!

Students – and their success in school – are our primary focus at Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC). Yet it takes many amazing people, working behind the scenes, to help us thrive in this endeavor. From board members to volunteers, from our staff to school district partners, they humbly provide important support to our organization and the students. We are extremely grateful for each and every contribution.

In this time of giving thanks, we would like to highlight some of these special people in this month’s blog post: Clare Wilson, Board Chair; Twanisha Parnell, Director of Finance; Becky Manning, Englewood Schools Partner; Robert McBride, CYC Volunteer.